2021 Presidents Award Recipient: Susie Hoffman
04 November 2021 Blog, Featured
Susie Hoffman is the quintessential recipient of the Presidents Award, which makes it especially appropriate that this honor is awarded to her during our 50th anniversary year. She is wicked smart, phenomenally kind, passionate, dedicated, and always willing to lend a hand. She is a trailblazer, mentor, and leader in the public-interest community. She soars among legal luminaries. But she is also down-to-earth, practical, and willing to roll up her sleeves, represent individual clients, and do the work of building a strong public-interest community in DC. For all of these reasons, we are pleased to recognize Susie as our 2021 Presidents Award recipient.
Welcome Our New Executive Director Christina Jackson
03 November 2021 Blog, Featured
Today we welcome Christina Jackson as our new Executive Director. Christina has spent her career helping lawyers and law students do public-interest work, and we’re thrilled to appoint her to this new role. “I am honored to be selected by our board of directors as our next Executive Director,” said Christina. “I look forward to continuing to support the dedicated pro bono and public-interest advocates who make a difference in the lives of our neighbors and ensuring that our legal system treats everyone fairly, regardless of money, position, or power.” Christina began her career working and doing pro bono at large and small law firms, providing career advice to law students in the Office of Career and Professional Development at American University, Washington College of Law, and brings legal association experience from her time at NALP. She is a graduate of Penn State and the University of Richmond School of Law. Christina also has a long history with Washington Council of Lawyers. She previously was a member of our board of directors where she served as Vice President and co-chaired our Advocacy Committee. She left the board to become our Deputy Director four years ago. In that role, she has coordinated the growth of DC Pro Bono Week into a nationally-recognized initiative, led our groundbreaking Eviction Defense cohort program, supported our stellar communications team, and reinvigorated our longstanding mentoring program. In welcoming Christina, we say goodbye to our outgoing Executive Director, Nancy Lopez. Nancy has been a stalwart leader of Washington Council of Lawyers with a passion for our mission and an unwavering commitment to access to justice work. We have been fortunate to have her hand at the helm through unprecedented growth and once-in-a-lifetime challenges. “Serving as Executive Director of Washington Council of Lawyers has been the privilege of a lifetime,” said Nancy. “I carry with me deep gratitude for the many kind and brilliant people with whom I have worked and profound pride in what we have accomplished during the last 11 years.” Thank you Nancy for your service. We look forward to great things ahead with Christina’s leadership.
DC Pro Bono Week 2021: Eventful & Inspiring
31 October 2021 Blog, DC Pro Bono Week, Featured
That’s a wrap on DC Pro Bono Week 2021! But the increased legal need for pro bono lawyers continues beyond Pro Bono Week. As we move into the next phase of the pandemic recovery, the unprecedented legal needs crisis will only increase. Now is the time to volunteer your time to help a neighbor in need. As lawyers, we have a duty and obligation to help bridge the access to justice gap. Whether it’s by taking on a pro bono case, volunteering for an advice and referral clinic, contributing to systemic advocacy, or financially supporting a legal services organization, we can all do something for the public good.
Pro Bono Week 2021 Profiles: Complete Set
31 October 2021 Blog, DC Pro Bono Week, Featured
DC Pro Bono Week 2021 is in the books, but we hope that our complete set of Pro Bono Week profiles will inspire you to take on a pro bono case and help those in need.
DC Pro Bono Week 2021: Coding Justice
27 October 2021 Blog, DC Pro Bono Week, Featured
In recent decades, our society has seen a boom in technology advancement, seemingly with one goal in mind: to improve efficiency in every aspect of our lives, from things such as connecting with friends and family or shopping to political engagement around causes we care most about. But should efficiency be the primary goal of technology advancement? Can we trust that tech companies have the best intentions with the data they collect about us? What happens when that data is misused or abused? These are some of the questions raised in the Coding Justice panel held on October 25, 2021, during DC Pro Bono Week 2021.
DC Pro Bono Week 2021: Closing the Gaps in Public Education
27 October 2021 Blog, DC Pro Bono Week, Featured
Brown v. Board of Education, decided by the Supreme Court in 1954, unanimously established that segregation in education is inherently unequal and thus unconstitutional. “Separate but equal” had no place in our society, especially in the classroom. “Education is the foundation of good citizenship.” That ruling was over half a century ago. Yet today, according to Kent Withycombe, Director of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee Public Education Project, public schools in the District of Columbia and the surrounding region are more segregated, separate, and unequal now than they were in the 1950s. Brown v. Board of Education may have established equal access to education as a constitutional right, but it did not close the gaps in public education. Getting legal professionals involved in the school communities, to help close the gaps in D.C. public schools, was the focus of the panel discussion, Pro Bono Goes to School: Closing the Gaps in Public Education, held on October 29, during D.C. Pro Bono Week 2021.
DC Pro Bono Week 2021: How You Can Help With The Coming Eviction Crisis
27 October 2021 Blog, Featured
On Wednesday, October 27 as part of National Pro Bono Week we hosted a discussion about the need for pro bono attorneys to represent tenants on the landlord and tenant docket. Our panelists shared the contours of the issue and provided statistics, facts, and background to enable the audience to fully understand what we mean when we discuss the coming eviction crisis. Our panelists included Judge Todd E. Edelman, Deputy Presiding Judge, Civil Division, Superior Court for the District of Columbia; Gabriella Lewis-White, Associate Director, Housing, DC Bar Pro Bono Center; Beth Mellen, Supervising Attorney, Housing Law Unit, Legal Aid Society for the District of Columbia; and John O’Connor, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson, Pro Bono Volunteer. Below is what they shared.
Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel Promulgates Pro Bono Policy for D.C. Government Lawyers
20 October 2021 Blog, Featured
Let’s admit it – for some of us, embarking on our first pro bono project can seem a little daunting. For lawyers working for the District of Columbia government, it can seem even more complicated, as seemingly countless questions can arise: Who in my office grants me permission to do pro bono work? Where can I obtain malpractice insurance? Am I permitted to use my leave when pro bono activities occur during the workday? How can I be sure my pro bono work poses no conflicts of interest? Fortunately, now all D.C. government lawyers working in the Executive Branch have answers to these and many other questions that are addressed in the new pro bono policy promulgated by the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel. The Mayor’s new policy provides much-needed direction to lawyers who want to give back to their community and discharge their professional responsibilities as attorneys by participating in pro bono work.
DC Pro Bono Week 2021 Profile: Amazon & DC Pro Bono Center Collaboration – Partnership Aids D.C. Entrepreneurs, Nonprofits
20 October 2021 Blog, DC Pro Bono Week, Featured
Long before Northern Virginia was announced as home to Amazon’s HQ2, many Amazon employees called a Ballston office building “work” and the D.C. metro area “home.” In 2019, Aisha Gantt, Senior Corporate Counsel at Amazon Web Services (AWS), reached out to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center to discuss how Amazon’s legal team could use their skills to support the District’s nonprofits and small businesses. After reviewing the Center’s Nonprofit & Small Business Legal Assistance Program needs and the skills of Gantt and her team, the organizations partnered to launch a brand-new service: the Startup Legal Clinic for Nonprofits & Small Businesses.