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Free to Ride: Transportation as a Civil-Rights Issue

05 March 2018   Blog, Featured

By Alexis Applegate

When someone mentions the Civil Rights Movement, what comes to mind first? For many of us, it’s Rosa Parks’s stand on a bus, which sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and galvanized the broader effort. Yet few of us think about transportation as a civil-rights issue. (more…)

Bread for the City Breaks Ground in Southeast DC

26 February 2018   Blog, East River of the River Profiles, Featured

Exciting news from Bread for the City — the organization has begun construction on a 30,000 square-foot facility on Good Hope Road, more than tripling their footprint in Southeast! The new Southeast Center will provide a variety of new and enhanced services, including primary health care, vision, and dental services; a wellness center; and even a vegetable garden on the roof. The new facility will also feature an expanded jobs center, which will provide job seekers with a new classroom, computer lab, and training space, in addition to offering counseling, mentorship, and long-term support. Bread for the City hopes to open the new and improved Southeast Center in 2020. In the meantime, they plan to continue providing Southeast residents with legal, employment, and social services. Read more about this exciting development in Anacostia here!

Meet Our Intern: Christelle Tshibengabo (Spring 2018)

08 February 2018   Blog, Featured

Please welcome our 2018 spring intern, Christelle Tshibengabo, an undergrad at the University of Nebraska. Learn more about her and say hello when you meet her at one of our upcoming events.

I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo to a family of seven; I am the youngest of my siblings. My family and I immigrated to the United States in 2001. I lived in Atlanta, Georgia for most of my life pre-adolescent life. Then my mother and I moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, because Nebraska is known for its cardiologists and she was diagnosed with heart failure. (more…)

Welcome 2018: In Verse

31 December 2017   Blog, Featured

As we start 2018, our Executive Director, Nancy Lopez and her poetic daughter, Jessica, look back on the past year and ahead to new challenges: As 2017 comes to a close, we reflect on all the things that arose: The programs, people, and legal developments, Some of them were small, and others immense. Trump officially took office; women marched on the mall Lawyers left the federal government – some, but not all. Some went to Dulles to fight the travel ban Pro Bono in Action tapped the earnest, as part of our plan. Our Government Pro Bono Roundtable was sold out: it was packed! Our panelists spoke of those who felt the system was stacked; Believing that without a lawyer by their side They could never prevail; that we could not abide. So we trained lawyers in depositions, objections, and public speaking Teaching those classes were Clap, Horton, Harden and Pinckney. Some Litigation Skills Trainings were casual, others more intense, But they all taught lawyers how to effectively represent clients. Perspectives on Poverty Law was a bit hit, as always Because students learned from judges about court happenings on most days Judges Raffinan, Becker, and Dayson replied eloquently, To questions which were posed by the jovial Chinh Le. The Supreme Court: A View from the Press Gallery was fantastic The convened panel of journalists was slightly bombastic Barnes and Mauro, Liptak and Howe, De Vogue and Savage, you can read them right now! Our Summer Pro Bono & Public-Interest Forum, we’ll never forget: With Ruth Bader Ginsburg, our most popular guest yet! Over 350 people listened in awe, And attended panels on Civil Rights, Immigration, Criminal, Transactional, and Poverty law. Legal Services Corporation provides civil legal aid across the nation Congress threatened to cut their funding – a major abomination! But lawyers rallied from law schools, Big Law, corporations, and more and so this vital funding became fully restored. Emily, Melinda, Katie, Rebecca and Erich, Plus Sarah, together they are our latest board picks. We gladly welcomed these fine new members in, but we had to say a sad goodbye to our beloved Jim Rubin. This year’s DC Pro Bono Week was utterly astounding Constantly it seems to grow—events are compounding. We strove to encourage volunteer service without much fuss Using Pro Bono to Advocate for Social Justice. Our Awards Ceremony closed out the year We honored some outstanding advocates, and shed a few tears Patty Fugere, Mayer Brown, and Jaya Saxena performed incredibly, Also great: Deborah Birnbaum, and Tracy Goodman from CLC! As 2017 comes to a close, we reflect on all the things that arose, But the most important thing through each laugh and tear, Is the hope that comes with each turning year: Time never stops It keeps going and going Meanwhile, our community Keeps growing and growing So let’s make this year the best we’ve seen Welcome, new year, welcome 2018!

2017 Awards Ceremony: Photo Album

13 December 2017   Blog, Featured

Thanks again to everyone who joined us last week for our 2017 Awards Ceremony, and special thanks to our award winners for the work that they do to serve our community. (more…)

2017 Presidents Award for Public Service Award: Patty Mullahy Fugere

21 November 2017   Blog, Featured

Soft-spoken but fierce in pursuing justice, Patty Mullahy Fugere is the 2017 Presidents Award for Public Service recipient. Patty has served as Executive Director of Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless for over 26 years, and she fights hard for her clients. She co-founded the Clinic based on a simple mantra: “If you see something wrong, don’t just complain, try to work for a solution.”

2017 Law Firm Award: Mayer Brown

20 November 2017   Blog, Featured

Mayer Brown, winner of our 2017 Law Firm Award, is known for handling complex legal and business challenges for clients worldwide. It also, however, is deeply committed to pro bono and community service. Mayer Brown lawyers have devoted countless hours to helping those in need, including indigent clients here in DC. (more…)

2017 Above & Beyond Award: Jaya Saxena

16 November 2017   Blog, Featured

By Christina Jackson

Jaya Saxena joined our Board in 2014 and has been going gangbusters ever since. By day, she serves in dual capacities: Assistant Director of GW Law School’s Career Center and Director of the Dean’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. And as a member of our board, her ideas and energy have propelled us forward in several ways. So many ways, in fact, that we’re delighted to honor her with our 2017 Above & Beyond Award. (more…)

2017 Government Pro Bono Award: Deborah Birnbaum

13 November 2017   Blog, Featured

By Anne King

Deborah Birnbaum, winner of our 2017 Government Pro Bono Award, does it all. She practices at the Office of the Solicitor at the Department of Labor and serves as her office’s Pro Bono Program Coordinator. In the latter role, Deborah has developed a robust pro bono culture; her colleagues at the Solicitor’s Office are doing more pro bono than ever. Deborah is also a dedicated pro bono advocate in her own right, taking on a variety of cases for many different legal-services organizations. (more…)

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