DC Pro Bono Week 2018: Exploring New Horizons
18 September 2018 Blog, DC Pro Bono Week, Featured
DC Pro Bono Week is coming soon! DC Pro Bono Week 2018 will take place from October 21–27. Why not come explore our annual celebration of pro bono service? There is something for everyone….. clinics, volunteering opportunities, a panel, a court tour, and a hackathon!
Welcome to our new editors!
05 September 2018 Blog, East River of the River Profiles
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!
Improving Children’s Literacy East of the River
31 August 2018 Blog, East River of the River Profiles, Featured, Uncategorized
By Christelle Tshibengabo Reading Partners connects students in under-resourced schools with volunteer tutors and mentors across the United States. In Washington, D.C., Reading Partners has reading centers in 19 elementary schools, 10 of which are East of the Anacostia River. A significant percentage of the volunteers and tutors in the District’s Reading Partners programs are attorneys and other legal professionals. Attorneys from Hogan Lovells LLP, for example, have volunteered for Reading Partners for several years, and Hogan Lovells partner Stuart Stein is on the board of directors. Hogan Lovells has a number of programs that service communities east of the Anacostia River, including a partnership with Kimball Elementary School. Stein became involved with Reading Partners after attending a citizenship program held by Hogan Lovells at Kimball four years ago and has remained committed to volunteering since. Speaking with WCL intern, Christelle Tshibengabo, Stein explained that when he started volunteering at Kimball, he ran the corporate practice at Hogan Lovells. While his professional life kept him busy, he still made time to spend an hour every week with the students at Reading Partners. Currently, he works regularly with at least four students. When asked how volunteering with Reading Partners has impacted his life, he explained that it is an “unequal partnership” because you get more from the students than you give to them. To learn more about Reading Partners, Tshibengabo also interviewed Reading Partners Community Engagement Director, Naomi Shachter, at Maude Aiton Elementary School in Lincoln Heights. When Tshibengabo arrived, three students from kindergarten through third grade were already in the reading center starting their day. Participating students are usually pulled from classes during independent reading times based on their reading ability and needs. When they arrive at the reading center, they meet with their tutors and begin a lesson, which consists of reading a book of the student’s choice aloud, targeting difficult vowels and consonants, and assessing content comprehension. Lawyers can have an outsized impact on the students they tutor. As an example, Naomi shared the story of Ana, a DC law student and Reading Partners volunteer, and her student Israel, who worked together at Aiton’s reading center. At the beginning of their first year working together, Ana had said she wanted to become a lawyer, while Israel said he wanted to make pizza. But by the end of their second year together, both Ana and Israel wanted to become lawyers. After their time at the reading center, the students are encouraged to take books home both as homework and for recreational reading. Because books for the program are donated to Reading Partners, donors are also important to the long-term impact on the students. Reading Partners is always seeking new volunteers for its programs. To volunteer for Reading Partners, register online here. After registering online, attend an orientation, complete a background check, and then schedule a session time. The students’ lessons run for 45 minutes, so volunteering involves hour-long shifts during school hours. If finding time during the school day is a challenge, you can also donate books to Reading Partners for the students to take home. Christelle Tshibengabo interned with Washington Council of Lawyers in 2018.
Walk-A-Month Poverty Simulation at The George Washington University Law School
20 August 2018 Blog
In August, we held a Walk-A-Month Poverty Simulation at The George Washington University Law School for new public-interest law students. All participants were very involved, and the simulation generated a lot of discussion and unexpected reactions. Rebecca Goldfrank and Tyra Moore from Children’s Law Center facilitated the training.
DC Volunteer Lawyers Project Offers East of the River Resources for Victims of Domestic Violence
15 August 2018 Blog, East River of the River Profiles, Featured
DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP) has opened a satellite office in The Commons at Stanton Square to serve victims of domestic violence and at-risk children and their families. The new location will be a collaborative effort with Martha’s Table and Community of Hope to serve clients in Ward 8. DCVLP Co-founder and Executive Director, Karen Barker Marcou, said that she is excited the new location will provide more legal and social services to families and children in Ward 8. “At least 30 percent of our clients reside in Ward 8. We were excited about Stanton Common’s focus on families and children, because our legal practice focuses on families and children.” The new location will provide space for attorneys to meet with clients and will provide support services in areas such as housing assistance, counseling, parenting classes and emergency assistance with food and clothing needs. DCVLP recently celebrated its tenth anniversary in May. The organization was started in 2008 to provide pro bono legal services to domestic violence victims and Guardian Ad Litem services to at-risk children. DCVLP attorneys staff the Domestic Violence Intake Center at DC Superior Courthouse every Monday and provide walk-in clinic services every Wednesday at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Southwest DC. Marcou stated that the Wednesday clinic sees over 400 people annually and that she never dreamed that DCVLP would grow to be so big. “I am very excited that we have been able to engage thousands of attorneys in pro bono work to help District residents in desperate need.” If you are interested in getting involved, sign up to attend DCVLP’s volunteer recruitment lunch on Thursday, September 13. Register here.
2018 Summer Forum: Full Video
Last month at our Summer Forum, ACLU National Legal Director David Cole discussed civil-rights litigation, the Trump administration, and building social movements; he was interviewed by our board member Nicole Austin-Hillery.
Meet our Intern: Faith Walker (Summer 2018)
Say hello to our summer intern, Faith Walker, a rising senior at The University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Supreme Court View from the Press Gallery: Photos and Video
On Friday we held our annual Supreme Court Term in Review: View from the Press Gallery. The panel of leading Supreme Court reporters covered the major decisions from the just-concluded term and predicted what lies ahead post-Justice Kennedy. If you weren’t able to attend, check out C-SPAN’s coverage.
Whitman-Walker Health
27 June 2018 Blog, East River of the River Profiles
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.