WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF LAWYERS

By Nicole Portnov        Five days a week, from September to June, children all over the nation pack up Spiderman lunch bags and Five Star notebooks and head off to classrooms where parents hope they are safe, healthy, and learning. Sometimes, schools are not the safest or healthiest places for kids, especially those who already have health issues like asthma or severe allergies. As a parent, what do you do when your child’s prescription isn’t enough and just being in the school building sets off an asthma attack? As the Children’s Law Center put it, “Sometimes, the best prescription for an asthma diagnosis . . .  is not medicine. It’s an attorney.” Children’s Law Center (CLC) has partnered with health clinics across Washington, D.C. to make sure that children are safe and healthy at home and at school. CLC has embedded attorneys in each partner clinic. These attorneys work with pediatricians to address the non-medical barriers to children’s health, such as poor housing conditions and building infestations that exacerbate health conditions like asthma. Recently, CLC announced the opening of their new office in Ward 8 at the THEARC (Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus), where they are partnering with the Children’s National Clinic. This medical-legal partnership aims to provide holistic services to families and children. Beginning this month, CLC attorney Caitlin Russi will spend two days a week at THEARC clinic, teaching families their legal rights and helping parents make sure that their children have safe and healthy environments at home and at school. Read more about the launch of this new East of the River legal resource here. Nicole Portnov is a member of Washington Council of Lawyers. 

Welcome to the revamped East of the River Profiles Blog. This past summer, three new editors joined our team. They have been hard at work planning fresh and exciting articles for the coming year. We thought we would introduce the new team as we kick off another year of the EOTR blog. Without further ado, please meet Jessalyn Schwartz, Elizabeth Fischer Laurie, and Nikita West. Jessalyn Schwartz, a DC-area native, joins the Washington Council of Lawyers’ East of the River Profiles Blog as a co-editor upon her return to the area after 8 years in Boston. Jessalyn is a 2013 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, where she developed her passion for public interest law, especially in relation to child welfare, education, and civil rights. Following her graduation, Jessalyn entered a small practice and served as a court-appointed attorney for children and parents involved in child protection proceedings, students facing school offender and truancy petitions, and adults in mental health guardianship and commitment cases. Jessalyn is active in other professional organizations, writing Practice Point pieces for the American Bar Association’s Children’s Rights Litigation Committee and engaging in continuing education and networking events. She is excited to be back in Washington with the opportunity to serve her home community as she continues her legal career and to cheer on her DC sports teams (STANLEY CUP CHAMP CAPS!!!!!). Jessalyn lives in Northeast with her husband and kitties and is an avid crossword enthusiast and baker. Jessalyn is the social media arm of the editing board and looks forward to spreading the word about the incredible legal resources and advocacy efforts in place to serve Wards 7 & 8. Elizabeth Fischer Laurie serves as a Lead Attorney Advisor for the Departmental Appeals Board (DAB), Civil Remedies Division (CRD) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, D.C.  CRD's jurisdiction includes  Medicare provider and supplier enrollment cases, nursing home enforcement actions, and Office of the Inspector General practitioner exclusion cases. Elizabeth serves as a member of the management team, performing a variety of tasks, including processing all incoming requests for administrative law judge hearings, responding to congressional and FOIA requests, leading a team of attorneys, and providing input on strategic decisions. She also assists ALJs with case management and drafting. Prior to joining CRD, Elizabeth served as a Process Management Attorney in the Medicare Operations Division at DAB, where she handled a docket of over 29,000 cases; as a Program Analyst for the Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources at HHS, where she managed the Indian Health Services budget portfolio; and as a Realty Services Specialist for the General Services Administration. She joined the government as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2012. Because of her love for public service and volunteering, Elizabeth participates in a number of activities outside of work that provide value to the D.C. community. In addition to serving as co-editor of the EOTR blog, she has volunteered with Young Government Leaders for the past six years, where she currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer, and has served as a mentor through several formal programs. Elizabeth lives in Alexandria with her husband; loves SoulCycle, yoga, and begrudgingly attends [solidcore] once a week; attends as many live music and theater performances in the D.C. area as she can, and participates in numerous book clubs. Nikita West serves as the DC Volunteer Lawyer’s Project’s Roxana Cannon Arsht Fellow in the Child Advocacy Program and Domestic Violence Program. During law school, Ms. West clerked in the Narcotics Division in Cook County Circuit Court and for the Chief Judge in the Chancery Division. Ms. West earned her J.D. from John Marshall Law School, her B.A. from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, and received an LL.M in International Criminal Law. She has also done legal volunteer work and research in Namibia, Myanmar and Haiti. We want to thank our inaugural editor, Caroline Fleming, for her dedication, hard work, and expert editorial pen. We so appreciate your help launching a forum for highlighting the great work of pro bono and public-interest lawyers in the East of the River neighborhoods of DC. Onward!

By Christelle Tshibengabo        Whitman-Walker Health is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the District of Columbia this year. Whitman-Walker Health is a non-profit community health organization. Whitman-Walker specializes in providing health care to the LGBT community and to those living with HIV; however, the centers are also open to those with a wide range of health concerns and needs. Whitman-Walker Health has six locations, including four in Northwest DC (Whitman-Walker at 1525, Whitman-Walker at WeWork Manhattan Laundry, and Whitman-Walker Research). Whitman-Walker Youth Services is in Eastern Market in SE and The Max Robinson Center is located East of the River in Anacostia. The Anacostia site offers medical care, behavioral health care, dental care, HIV testing, insurance navigation, and legal services. Recently, Whitman-Walker announced that it will be opening a pharmacy adjacent to its Max Robinson location. The Max Robinson Center is named after American broadcast journalist, Max Robinson, who was the first black anchor for ABC World News Tonight and one of the founders of the National Association of Black Journalists. Mr. Robinson died of complications associated with AIDS. In February, a program hosted by Whitman-Walker Health and PNC Bank at the Lincoln Theater celebrated the life of Mr. Robinson and other pioneers of black journalism. I recently spoke with Allison Dowling, a staff attorney who focuses on public benefits law including applications; advocacy; appeals for Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare; Food Stamps; and Interim Disability Assistance. Whitman-Walker Health has a legal services team that provides assistance across its sites to assist its patients with access to care and other areas related to patient's health and wellness, including healthcare planning documents, identity documents for transgender clients, discrimination, and immigration status. According to Ms. Dowling, the Max Robinson Center is important to the community because everyone deserves to be able to access care in their own community. Whitman-Walker Health has had a presence in SE DC for over thirty years. In its next decade, Whitman-Walker plans to continue to bridge the gap for access to healthcare throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area. You can learn more about Whitman‑Walker Health here. Christelle Tshibengabo interned with Washington Council of Lawyers in 2018. 

Most Washingtonians, regardless of where they reside, know that the city landscape is changing. It is hard not to notice the construction cranes and ubiquitous “sidewalk closed” signs signaling new buildings on the horizon. But this construction has left some, including those residing in older and economically challenged neighborhoods, asking whether these changes are ultimately a step forward, especially if construction makes the cost of living in their neighborhood unaffordable. A recent New York Times article addresses this battle between gentrification and the expansion of affordable housing options. Many advocates and residents are concerned that developers are solely focused on building high-cost, market-rate housing, leaving those in low-rent apartments or in lower-cost neighborhoods in untenable positions. Specifically, the Times discusses development in Anacostia, where median home sales prices jumped 22 percent in 2017. The Times also reports on the city’s efforts and commitment to increasing affordable housing. Since 2013, the city government has adjudicated thousands of legal challenges, many filed in an attempt to slow the speed of development across the District and ensure more affordable housing is included in development plans. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is currently seeking to revise a comprehensive city plan to decrease these court challenges and undo the logjam of construction of badly needed new housing units. Despite these efforts, the future of affordable housing – and the effects of development on well-established neighborhoods – remains in question.