Summer Forum 2017: Facts about Justice Ginsburg
The keynote speaker at our 2017 Summer Forum, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has had a landmark career both on and off the bench. Here are a few tidbits that you may not have known about her: (more…)
Meet Jackie Rogers, Our New Summer Intern
We are delighted to introduce our 2017 summer intern, Jackie Rogers. Jackie is a rising senior in the Honors College at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. She is majoring in Political Science and Economics; serves as VP of the Young Democrats Club; and represented the state of Oregon in College Debate 2016. Last summer, Jackie interned at the U.S. Senate for Senator Ron Wyden. She’s also interested in the legal system and how it can improve. At a recent conference, Jackie presented on inclusivity in Supreme Court decisions, focusing on cases that changed social, legal, and political status quo. And this fall she’ll take the LSAT and apply to law school. Interning with us is another outgrowth of her interests in activism and the law. “Washington Council of Lawyers provides everything I wanted in a summer internship,” said Jackie. “The organization works to ensure everyone, regardless of income, has access to our justice system. I look forward to learning about the legal profession and public-interest law.” We’re thrilled to welcome Jackie back to Washington, DC and to work with her this summer. And we can’t wait to see what she does with her legal career!
Our New Deputy Director: Christina Jackson
Today we welcome Christina Jackson as our new Deputy Director. Christina has spent her career helping lawyers and law students do public-interest work, and we’re proud to welcome her to our staff.
Before joining us, Christina served as the Director of Public Service Initiatives & Fellowships at NALP; before that, she was the Public Interest Specialist in the Office of Career & Professional Development at American University Washington College of Law. Christina has also practiced civil-rights employment-law for eight years in Georgia and Alabama, is a member of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, and is a former member of the Equal Justice Works National Advisory Committee. (more…)
Fellowships 101: Video + Resources
If you missed last week’s Fellowships 101, we’ve got some resources for you: Delisa Moris’s presentation slides about PSJD online resources and Malik’s Walker’s slides slides about resources available from the Partnership for Public Service. (more…)
The Experience of Immigrants in D.C. Courts [Video]
On June 16, 2017 we hosted The Experience of Immigrants in D.C. Courts featuring Katie D’Adamo Guevara (Immigration Attorney, DC Public Defender Service) and Susannah Volpe (Associate Director, Ayuda). These immigration experts highlighted the relevant laws, provided a flowchart of legal processes, and identified the ways that clients involved in civil and criminal cases may come into contact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. (more…)
DC Bar Foundation Awards Access to Justice Grants to Legal Services Providers East of the River
28 April 2017 Blog, East River of the River Profiles, Featured | Tags: bread for the city, Children's Law Center, DC Bar, legal aid, NLSP, tzedek, whitman-walker
The DC Bar Foundation recently announced the 2017 recipients of the Access to Justice Grants Program, which awards grants to DC-based organizations that provide free legal help to low-income DC residents. This year, over $4.5 million was awarded to more than thirty DC-based legal services providers, including more than $3 million in grant funding for providers assisting residents of underserved areas. In 2016, Access to Justice grantees served nearly 23,000 DC residents, 52 percent of whom live in Wards 7 and 8. In addition to the multiple legal services providers receiving grants to assist low-income and vulnerable citizens across DC, several grants will benefit East of the River residents directly. One new grantee for 2017, Tzedek DC, received funding to assist low-income DC residents in debt-related legal matters, including providing community outreach by partnering with the United Planning Organization in Ward 7. Bread for the City received continued funding for its community lawyering work at its offices on Good Hope Road SE. The project’s attorneys work directly with the community to help identify options to tackle issues affecting its residents and, when needed, provide substantial direct representation to the residents. The project focuses on affordable housing, housing conditions, and hiring practices. The grant awarded to Whitman-Walker Health will provide legal representation, counseling, and outreach to people living with HIV/AIDS and other low-income residents East of the River, through lawyers based at its Max Robinson Center in Southeast DC. Whitman-Walker offers free legal aid to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in DC, regardless of HIV status, and to health care patients regardless of sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity. Children’s Law Center received continued funding for its Healthy Together Medical-Legal Partnerships with Unity Healthcare’s Minnesota Avenue clinic in Northeast DC, and with clinics in Southeast DC. In this medical-legal collaboration, the lawyers provide services through the Unity Healthcare clinic and two Southeast clinics of the Children’s National Medical Center, working with families of CNMC patients to identify and resolve non-medical solutions to children’s health issues. Neighborhood Legal Services Program received continued funding to provide neighborhood-based legal aid in the areas of housing, family law, and public benefits through NLSP’s office Ward 7 on Polk Street NE, which will provide low-income residents of this underserved community with free and accessible legal assistance. And the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia received continued public funding to support their Southeast Neighborhood Access Project, which provides clients with access to lawyers who work in two neighborhood offices in Wards 7 and 8.
D.C. Bar Candidate Endorsements (2017)
By Susan Hoffman & Barbara Kagan
The D.C. Bar has over 100,000 members, and its leaders can influence the legal profession significantly. With this in mind, each year we endorse candidates for D.C. Bar leadership candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to pro bono service, the public-interest community, and access to justice.
This year, we hope that you’ll vote for the following candidates (listed alphabetically, and not in order of preference) between now and May 19th: (more…)
More Join Fight to Preserve LSC Funding
The White House’s $1.15 trillion budget calls for the defunding or eliminating a variety of programs and agencies, including the Legal Services Corporation. We previously reported on responses from LSC and its supporters. Other groups are joining chorus calling on Congress to fully fund LSC. Some recent highlights:
Trump Budget Would Eliminate Funding for Legal Services Corp.
This week the White House released its $1.15 trillion budget—which, among other things, that targets domestic programs and calls for eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts, low-income heating assistance, and the AmeriCorps national-service program; it would also reduce funding for, among other things, Environmental Protection Agency, medical research, help for homeless veterans, and community-development grants.
Another agency on the chopping block is the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). In FY16, Congress gave LSC $385 million—less than one-ten-thousandth of the federal budget. Our court systems are not designed for people to go it alone; cutting or eliminating LSC funding would especially harm the elderly, victims of domestic violence, veterans, tenants, and those in rural areas. And in many places, LSC-funded legal-aid organizations are the only sources of civil-legal services.