Racial Justice Series: Rising to the Top – Resources & Guidance
On Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the Washington Council of Lawyers hosted a Racial Justice Series panel: “Rising to the Top: Diverse Executive Leadership for Non-Profits.” Moderated by Henry E. Floyd, Jr., Senior Associate Attorney, Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis LLP and Washington Council of Lawyers Board Member. Panelists included Avis Buchanan, Director, The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia; Rochanda Hiligh-Thomas, Executive Director, Advocates for Justice and Education; and Glen O’Gilvie, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Non-Profit Advancement.
Litigation Skills Series: Legal Writing
On Thursday, April 9, 2021, Noah A. Messing, Yale Law School’s Lecturer in the Practice of Law and Legal Writing, led a legal writing workshop, the latest installation in the Washington Council of Lawyers’ Litigation Skills Series. With great skill and wit, Noah took the audience through the three main areas where lawyers can improve their writing skills: organization, prose, and drafting. Four Key Organizational Strategies Noah urged attendees to orient readers fast. Even if the memo or brief is inherently lengthy, try to frontload the important information; this allows the reader to quickly become familiar with the purpose of the document and determine its urgency. While telling a narrative, it can be tempting to simply state the facts in straightforward chronological order but introducing facts using flashbacks can help better organize your writing. Doing so can allow the reader to understand why the facts the writer has presented in the past are important and relevant to their message. Another pitfall that lawyers can easily fall into is focusing too much on rebutting their opponents’ arguments. Noah urges lawyers to focus on winning, THEN rebutting. This means not only showing the flaws in your opponents’ arguments; it means clearly demonstrating why your arguments are more persuasive and the correct way for the Court to decide. But how does one go about creating a structure to organize all of this information? Noah introduced attendees to the idea of CRAC, which stands for Conclusion, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. This method is a simple way to ensure that your arguments and messages stay neatly organized. Five Strategies for Better Prose When dealing with complex issues, it can be easy for lawyers to fall into the trap of writing long and complicated sentences and paragraphs as they try to address every part of their argument. However, this can cause the reader to feel as if they were in a confusing labyrinth, quickly losing track of where the writer was trying to lead them. To combat that, Noah encourages writers to write short sentences and paragraphs. This does not mean writing curt or robotic-sounding prose; it rather means to vary the length of your sentences to ensure that your message is clear and easy to follow. He also encourages writers to use active and short verbs. Try keeping your writing in the active voice and watch out for passive verbs. On that note, pay attention to the length of the words you choose – notice the number of syllables in the words you choose. This does not mean you have to count out the syllables in each word but rather encourages the writer to keep their language clear and concise. Noah also encourages writers to place familiar information before new information. Start by setting a foundation for the reader, including providing who the parties are and defining unknown terms, such as names of projects. To keep the reader on track for where you want to go, use “signposts” to let the reader know where you are trying to lead them. And be sure to get to the subject of the sentence and the principal verb quickly; nothing loses a reader more than having to wade through lengthy clauses to find the point of the sentence. Five Tips for Drafting Anticipate issues. As the old saying goes, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Being a good lawyer requires one to be prepared for any and all possible outcomes, so be sure to consider additional options when listing who your messages apply to. Be sure to have all of your bases covered. Watch for Ambiguity. Ambiguous language can be the downfall of even the best attorney. Be sure to make sure that your language is specific. Watch for Vagueness. Notice wiggle room in the terms you write? Your opponents can use that to their advantage. Ensure that your language is not vague to allow your message to be as impactful as you mean it to be. Watch for Inconsistencies. Even the tiniest details matter! Ensure that you are consistent throughout your writing, whether it be through how you refer to the parties or whether you capitalize certain words. Find Good Precedent. Good writing is nothing without the precedent and the research to back it up! Noah captivated attendees not only through these useful lessons but also with his sense of humor and his ability to present these lessons in a fun and interesting way. Using great metaphors and visual examples, attendees were able to easily grasp the skills that will help them become better writers and better lawyers. Want to learn how to become a better litigator? Sign up for our next events in our Litigation Skills Series here. Caitlyn Burnitis is a Staff Attorney at the Amara Legal Center and a member of the Washington Council of Lawyers Communications Committee.
50 Years of Leadership: Past President Paul Lee
Leadership starts from within. Paul Lee, board president from 2014-2016, knew that as he began his presidency during a time of growth. During his tenure, Washington Council of Lawyers expanded its staff and offerings of programming, trainings, events, and ways to come together to accomplish our mission in new and exciting ways.
50 Days for 50 Years Membership Drive
Washington Council of Lawyers was founded in 1971, which makes this our 50th Anniversary year! To celebrate the occasion, we are holding a 50 Days for 50 Years Membership Drive, now through May 20. It’s the perfect time to join DC’s only public-interest bar association! Our membership is comprised of hundreds of attorneys and supporters from law firms, federal and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and law schools; we have one main thing in common — we care deeply about access to justice for our DC neighbors. If you do, too, we would appreciate your membership and welcome you officially into this wonderful community. As a member, you will enjoy: Member-only events Free or reduced rates at programs Networking opportunities Our Public Interest Jobs Clearinghouse emailed to you on the 1st and 15th of each month As an added bonus, when you join now, you will receive a two-year membership for the cost of one, effectively a 50% reduced rate! Act quickly! The 2-year offer for new members ends on May 19. Join today, and then plan to meet other members at Lawyers with a Fine Palate, a virtual wine-tasting event to welcome all of our members. It’s the perfect way to celebrate your official membership! Join us today!
Government Pro Bono Roundtable (2021)
On Thursday, February 4, 2021, Washington Council of Lawyers hosted its annual Government Pro Bono Roundtable. To meet the great need for pro bono lawyers in the District, our expert panel discussed ways to find pro bono projects, presented legal considerations to avoid conflicts of interest, and connected government lawyers with the vast network of support and mentorship available.
50 Years of Leadership: Past President David Steib
As we celebrate 50 years of working to ensure that our legal system treats everyone fairly, regardless of money, position, or power, we recognize and appreciate the leaders that moved us forward in the fight for access to justice for all. Without the stalwart leadership, unwavering commitment, and insightful guidance of our past board presidents, we would not be the organization we are today. Over the next months, we will highlight some of our past presidents and take a look at the state of the world during their tenure and the initiatives and priorities they oversaw that helped us grow. Our first highlighted past president is our most recent past president. David Steib was board president from 2018-2020, a tumultuous time for our country.
Language Access Program of the DC Office of Human Rights Releases 2019 Compliance Review
The Language Access Program of the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights (OHR) recently released its 2019 Compliance Review. The report, found on the Office’s website, serves as a valuable resource to anyone interested in learning more about DC’s limited English proficient population, about the city government’s obligations under the DC Language Access Act of 2004 (the Act), and about the performance of city government agencies to meet those obligations.
For public interest and pro bono lawyers, it is important to understand where agencies stand with regard to language access. If your housing client is limited English proficient, you may want to review the language access score for the DC Housing Authority (if your client is in public housing) or for the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (if your client needs a housing code inspection). This is just one example of the myriad ways that legal services clients interact with DC government agencies.
Best Practices in Pro Bono: Beyond Trump, What Now?
03 February 2021 Blog
On Thursday, January 28, 2021, Washington Council of Lawyers reflected upon pro bono legal services and what changes, if any, have transpired after the historical 46th Presidential inauguration. The central question of this discussion was what the new administration might mean in providing pro bono legal services in the District.
Going Public: Tips on Navigating a Career in Public Interest Law
02 February 2021 Blog
On Wednesday, January 27, 2021, Washington Council of Lawyers hosted an in-depth discussion on how to navigate to a public-interest career, how to be successful once you get there, and how to thrive in an often emotionally taxing career path. It was an inspiring conversation with concrete tips to help guide those in pursuit of meaningful public interest law careers.