Book Vending Machines Provide Free Summer Reads for EOTR Kids
19 July 2015 Blog, East River of the River Profiles | Tags: literacy
A heartwarming, summer-reading true story about free books being put into the hands and homes of children in Anacostia. Book vending machines in three locations East of the River are providing kids with their choice of books to enjoy over the break, with the goal of handing out 100,000 books by summer’s end.
East of the River Casehandlers Meeting: July 29!
09 July 2015 Blog, East River of the River Profiles | Tags: casehandlers
Practicing Public Interest Law East of the Anacostia River: 5th Annual Summer Panel Discussion with the East of the River Casehandlers Wednesday, July 29, 2015 12:30 pm – 2 pm Deanwood Neighborhood Library 1350 49th Street, NE Washington DC, 20019 Metro: Deanwood (Orange Line) The Program The East of the River Casehandlers group invites all legal interns, summer associates, law students and pro bono attorneys to come find out more about practicing public interest law east of the Anacostia River. This informal panel discussion will feature attorneys from DC legal services providers that serve the low-income residents of these diverse and vibrant neighborhoods. Imoni Washington from the DC Bar Foundation will join us after the provider panel to discuss the Loan Repayment Assistance Program for public interest lawyers working in the District and the recent grants the DCBF has made to legal services providers east of the river. We will also have information available on fall student internship and pro bono opportunities with EOTR legal services providers. Panelists We anticipate having panelists this year from Whitman Walker Health, NLSP, Bread for the City, the Public Defender Service, Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, Washington Lawyers’ Committee, Childrens Law Center, Covington & Burling LLP, and more. Registration To register, contact Heather Hodges at (202) 269-5100 or hhodges@nlsp.org. This program is intended to be highly interactive and driven by your questions. We encourage you to submit any questions you have with your registration request. About Us The East of the River Casehandlers meet every three months at the Anacostia Library to share program information and discuss strategies for dealing with issues of common concern to our low-income clients in Wards 7 and 8. We also conduct legal information programs for community members and legal services attorneys. If you would like to join our listserv, please send an email to EastoftheRiverLawyers-subscribe@mail.lawhelp.org.
Bread for the City Plans East of the River Expansion
28 June 2015 Blog, East River of the River Profiles | Tags: bread for the city
Exciting long-term news! Bread for the City plans to double the size of its Southeast Center, on Good Hope Road in Anacostia, to provide more medical, legal, and social services to people living East of the River. Read more about the plans to expand East of the River services at Blog for the City.
Meet Our Summer Intern!
28 June 2015 Blog | Tags: interns
Hello! My name is Alex Kurtz, and I am excited to be interning this summer with Washington Council of Lawyers.
I am an undergraduate at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and I am pursuing a degree in Political Science with minors in Economics and Spanish. In my free time, I am active in my student government association; I currently serve both as a senator and my class Vice President. I am also the Vice Delegation Chairperson of my college’s delegation to the Maryland Student Legislature, which is a model of the Maryland state legislature. I love helping other students, so I have also become a Peer Consultant in the Writing Center and a Peer Mentor, where I assist incoming freshmen.
East of the River Casehandlers Meeting – June 26
03 June 2015 Blog, East River of the River Profiles | Tags: casehandlers
The East of the River Casehandlers is a group of legal services providers, law professors/students, and pro bono lawyers who meet every three months at the Anacostia Library to share program information and discuss strategies for dealing with issues of common concern to our low-income clients in Wards 7 and 8. We also conduct legal information programs for community members and legal services attorneys. The group welcomes guest speakers who would like to provide information or training on programs and services that you provide to low-income residents of Wards 7 and 8. Please email or call Heather Hodges if you would like to attend or be added to the agenda. Date: Friday, June 26, 2015 Time: 10 am to 11 am Place: Anacostia Neighborhood Library (1800 Good Hope Road, SE) Contact: Heather L. Hodges Neighborhood Legal Services Program of the District of Columbia 680 Rhode Island Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (202) 269-5100
Making a Difference at DC Employment Justice Center’s Workers’ Rights Clinic
03 June 2015 Blog, East River of the River Profiles | Tags: employment
By Caroline Fleming Other than a few projects in school, Carla Chambers didn’t have much experience volunteering when she contacted the DC Employment Justice Center. A trained paralegal, Carla sought to volunteer with the DCEJC as a way to expand her experience and knowledge while simultaneously helping others. It ended up becoming one of the most rewarding experiences of her professional life. Carla has served as a DCEJC intake volunteer since June 2014, and she is the primary point of contact with clients seeking help with employment problems. She meets with clients, learns about their workplace issues, and consults with DCEJC’s volunteer attorneys to provide the best advice for each client’s situation. Carla has helped workers with their employment problems but has also noticed that these issues are “very personal in terms of the pride people have in working and wanting to continue to work.” Apart from the professional experience she’s gained in employment law, Carla has been moved by what she calls the “huge responsibility to thoroughly tell my clients’ stories.” Carla has been struck most by the dignity and work ethic of the individuals who seek help from DCEJC. Although her clients have a wide range of employment issues, Carla has noticed a trend: they are all “determined to resolve their issues and move on with their working lives.” Carla encourages everyone to take time to volunteer. In addition to learning new skills and growing professionally, she has discovered the rewards of helping workers solve their employment problems and move forward. Wherever her career takes her, Carla plans to continue volunteering to help people who “just need a little advice and help through the process, whatever the process is.” To learn more, or to volunteer for the Workers’ Rights Clinics sponsored by the DCEJC, email the Clinic Coordinator or visit the Volunteer Page.
Low Bono, Hi-Tech
31 May 2015 Blog | Tags: low bono
At the most recent installment in our Looking Into Low Bono series, we looked at ways that technology can expand access to justice. Our panelists had lots of great information to share, and their presentations are worth checking out: Presentation by Billie-Jo Kaufman (Associate Dean, American University Washington College of Law) Presentation by Briane Cornish Knight (Responsive Law) Presentation by Tanina Rostain (Georgetown Law) You may also be interested in these apps built by Georgetown Law students. Debt & Eviction Navigator: An app that supports social workers serving home bound elderly (built with Jewish Association Serving the Aging) New York City Earned Sick Time Advisor: A self-help app to determine user’s entitlement to paid sick leave under NYC law (built with A Better Balance) Over the summer, we’ll be putting together a compendium of the topics and resources highlighted during our Looking into Low Bono series, and providing opportunities to continue to expand our low bono community. Finally, our Low Bono Google Group continues to grow! If you’d like to join, please email our Executive Director, Nancy Lopez. We’re excited to be looking into low bono, and we look forward to the next steps!
Member Profile: Jaya Saxena
15 May 2015 Blog | Tags: member profiles
1. Tell us a bit about yourself. I am an Assistant Director at The George Washington University Law School’s Center for Professional Development and Career Strategy (Career Center). In that role, I advise JD students on a variety of career-related issues, including self-assessment, resume and cover letter reviews, networking and informational interviewing, and job search strategies. I also advise students specifically interested in public sector opportunities in the government and nonprofit sectors and state court judicial clerkships. In addition to counseling students, I help to coordinate a variety of programs in these areas throughout the year. Before joining GW Law’s Career Center, I was a Career Counselor at the George Mason University School of Law. The work that I do now is a wonderful bridge between my coaching background and prior legal experience. Other prior experiences include working at a national healthcare advocacy organization where I primarily assisted in the management of funding to state-based health care advocacy organizations and practicing law as a legal services attorney at Maryland Legal Aid. In the five years that I was at Legal Aid, my practice focused on public benefits and elder law. I also worked on issues related to Limited English Proficient individuals and health care reform and co-chaired the Elder Law Task Force, which comprised elder law practitioners throughout the community who regularly met to discuss legal issues relevant to an elder law practice. Immediately after graduating law school in 2005, I clerked for the Honorable John M. Mott of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 2. What are you working on right now? Most of our students have either started their summer internships or are getting ready to graduate so the summer is the perfect time to reflect, re-energize, and start planning for the next school year. In terms of advising, I am mostly counseling students who are still seeking summer or post-graduate employment. I’m also starting to respond to inquiries about our Fall Recruitment Program. Many of my colleagues and I recently returned from the 2015 Annual Education Conference in Chicago that was hosted by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) and I’m also working to put together proposals for public sector programming at next year’s conference. 3. How long have you been a Washington Council of Lawyers member, why did you join, and what are some things you’ve done as a member? I have been a member for about two years. I had identified Washington Council of Lawyers as an organization that I wanted to get involved with given my commitment to public interest law, and I thought that serving as a mentor in the mentoring program would be a great way to get more active. This is my second year participating in that program;. I firmly believe that a mentor is really just anyone you can learn from and I have tremendously enjoyed my participation in that program. Through my participation in the mentoring program, I became more familiar with the organization and very quickly realized it is an incredible community of public-interest minded individuals. That insight, along with my increased familiarity with Washington Council of Lawyers programming, prompted me to get even more involved as a member of its Board of Directors. This is my first year serving on the Board of Directors and I am currently co-chair of our Membership Committee. 4. What has been most valuable about membership and participation in Washington Council of Lawyers? There have been many valuable aspects about membership and participation in Washington Council of Lawyers. First and foremost is the opportunity to meet and interact with public interest minded law students and lawyers in the community. Whenever I attend an event—be it a happy hour or a substantive program—I walk away feeling reenergized and eager to support law students and recent graduates interested in public interest and pro bono work in my day-to-day job counseling GW Law students. Another tremendous benefit is the extensive programming that takes place throughout the year, including practical skills trainings, post-graduate public interest fellowship programs, and the upcoming Summer Forum that draws law students from throughout the country who are working in DC for the summer. 5. How has legal practice/the DC legal scene changed since you’ve started practicing? I think it’s a tough legal market and it’s definitely more competitive than when I graduated from law school in 2005. Disadvantaged communities continue to remain in dire need of legal services, so the work is out there, but employers and organizations don’t necessarily have the resources to hire people. Meanwhile, DC has 7 area law schools with many graduates interested in establishing their legal careers in the area. If you’re a law student or recent graduate seeking public interest employment, it is critical to demonstrate a commitment to the issues and to build relationships with practitioners in the field, and Washington Council of Lawyers provides the space to do both. 6. Any advice for law students/new lawyers? I will preface my response by stating that much of my perspective stems from my health and wellness coaching background and a blog series I’m currently writing. Generally, I think it’s critically important for law students and lawyers to engage in an ongoing process of self-reflection and discovery in order to identify their values and strengths, areas in need of improvement, what they enjoy doing, the kind of work environment suited to their personalities, etc. We’ve all seen the articles about unhappy lawyers and I think it’s possible to create a new reality by engaging in this type of thoughtful reflection that will, hopefully, lead to meaningful and authentic professional satisfaction. Also, a legal education provides an incredibly powerful skill set. There are countless people in our society in need of legal assistance and I firmly believe in the importance of giving back to one’s community. I’d like to remind law students and new lawyers that it’s possible to engage in public service in many different ways; working full-time in a public interest…
DC Employment Justice Center Expands Resources for East of the River Workers
14 May 2015 Blog, East River of the River Profiles | Tags: employment
By Caroline Fleming Recognizing that workers living East of the River needed greater access to their services, last September the DC Employment Justice Center launched an expanded monthly clinic in Fairlawn. The clinic, which had previously been open every other Friday morning, is now open to clients on one Saturday each month. The clinic offers help with a full range of issues addressed by the DCEJC, including Family and Medical Leave Act violations, unpaid wages and overtime, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, unlawful discrimination and harassment, and wrongful termination. As the DCEJC’s Executive Director Barbra Kavanaugh explained, clients East of the River were finding the weekday-only clinic difficult to fit into their busy schedules. The DCEJC moved the clinic to Saturdays as a way to provide greater access for residents. Because the need for workplace justice continues to grow, the DCEJC has also introduced a second clinic with a new partner, the Neighborhood Legal Services Program. This clinic takes place during the week, allowing workers whose schedules don’t permit Saturday visits to receive employment law assistance as well. The schedule changes were spurred by the DCEJC’s interest in community lawyering. The expanded access shows that the DCEJC is committed to helping the East of the River community ensure that workplace justice is fully available. To learn more, or to volunteer for the workers’ rights clinics sponsored by the DCEJC, email the Clinic Coordinator or visit their volunteering page. The DCEJC weekend clinic takes place on the last Saturday of each month, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Fairlawn office of long-time DCEJC partner Bread for the City (1640 Good Hope Road, SE). The DCEJC/NLSP clinic takes place on the first and third Friday afternoons of each month, from noon to 3:00 p.m., at 2811 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.