Blog

Our New Board Members, 2016 Edition

29 June 2016   Blog, Featured | Tags:

It’s that time of year when we welcome our incoming board members. Each of these public-interest-minded folks will officially join our Board of Directors in September. (more…)

Meet Our Summer Intern, Miranda Hines

24 June 2016   Blog, Featured | Tags: ,

Hello! My name is Miranda Hines and I’m excited to intern for Washington Council of Lawyers this summer.

I’m from Akron, Ohio, and right now I’m an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis. I’m majoring in English Literature and Political Science (focusing on on comparative politics and theory). Outside the classroom I am a writer and current Design Chief for Washington University’s ISSUES Magazine, which covers social, political, and economic issues facing the urban community in the St. Louis area and seeks to broaden the student community’s awareness of the challenges facing those who live and work around us. I love studying political science and discussing it with others, this fall I’ll be serving as a Teaching Assistant for one of my school’s American politics classes. (more…)

Blogging for Ward 7: Community Activist Susie Cambria

23 June 2016   Blog, East River of the River Profiles, Featured | Tags: ,

By Peter Nye

Ward 7 blogger and community activist Susie Cambria has worked on District policy and public-interest initiatives for more than two decades, partnering with local nonprofits and the DC city government before launching Susie’s Budget and Policy Corner in 2009. But she first got involved in community issues early in her childhood. Her parents led her in that direction: “Being an activist was just something that we did.”

When she was seven, her father, a Shriner, took her to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was influenced by the patients’ problems, especially those of a seven-year-old amputee who pushed himself around in a cart. Susie promptly hosted a neighborhood fair to raise money for the patients. She raised seven dollars; impressed by her dedication, the Shriners donated twice as much. (more…)

Summer Forum 2016: Photos

20 June 2016   Blog, Featured | Tags:

Board Member Karen Grisez Honored for Protecting Immigrants’ Rights

16 June 2016   Blog, Featured | Tags: ,

Karen Grisez, a longtime member of our board and the Public Service Counsel at Fried Frank, has won the 2016 American Immigration Lawyers Association Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award. The award honors Karen’s work protecting the rights of immigrants. (more…)

NLSP and Duane Morris Launch Veterans Legal Assistance Project

30 May 2016   Blog, East River of the River Profiles, Featured | Tags: ,

On Thursday, May 26, advocates gathered to launch Neighborhood Legal Services Program’s Veterans Legal Assistance Project. This new initiative will feature monthly drop-in legal clinics for DC veterans; the clinics will be staffed by attorneys and paralegals from DC law firms, supported by experienced NLSP attorneys. (more…)

Protecting the Veterans Who Protected Us

27 May 2016   Blog, East River of the River Profiles, Featured | Tags: , , ,

By Ryan C. Wilson

For veterans, applying for government benefits and housing can feel like David fighting Goliath. A confusing array of deadlines and eligibility requirements often choke veterans’ efforts to get the benefits to which they are entitled. And when veterans attempt to find housing, post-service disabilities can expose them to slumlords who bypass the legal process and force them out onto the streets. The Washington Post recently highlighted two veterans who were forced to live in their Southeast apartment for months during the winter without heat and then locked out without their possessions. [more…]

Friday the 13th Pro Bono Puns

14 May 2016   Blog, Featured | Tags:

Yesterday was Friday the 13th. We made puns.

Expungement Clinic in Anacostia

05 May 2016   Blog, East River of the River Profiles, Featured | Tags: ,

By Caroline Fleming

On May 17, DC Ward 8 Councilmember LaRuby May will host a record-sealing and expungement fair in Anacostia. At the fair, volunteer lawyers will help DC residents with the complicated process of sealing or expunge criminal records. If you’re a DC lawyer or legal professional interested in pro bono work, it’s a great way to volunteer for a discrete period of time.

The fair supports the broader movement in DC to make it easier for people with criminal records to get jobs. In particular, the 2014 Ban the Box law prohibits certain DC employers from asking about criminal history on their initial application forms, and allows them to ask about criminal convictions only after making a conditional offer of employment. […]

Back To Top