WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF LAWYERS

Our most recent Dinner & Discussion featured Councilmember Charles Allen. Mr. Allen and attendees discussed a range of legal topics directly affecting the District. Thank you to Cooley for hosting this event.

We are pleased to announce a new member benefit! Washington Council of Lawyers has joined the American Bar Association’s Books for Bars Program. And don’t forget about all the other great member benefits.

Last week, we held our annual Government Pro Bono Roundtable. A panel of seasoned government lawyers discussed how and why they have made pro bono work a part of their legal careers. We’ve summarized the questions posed to and answers provided by our panelists: Jonathan Jacobson, Nicholas Kazmerski, Laura Klein, and Catalina Martinez, and Liz Symonds. The main point is that pro bono work is fun and rewarding for government lawyers, too.

By Gregory M. Lipper Public-interest lawyers can and did learn a lot from Judge Patricia Wald, who died at age 90 on January 12. Many knew her as a giant of the District’s bar and bench—an influential writer turned successful public-interest litigator turned pathbreaking federal judge turned international war-crimes jurist. Fewer, perhaps, know that she was one of the lawyers who founded our own organization, Washington Council of Lawyers, in the early 1970s. Through it all, she marched to the beat of her own drummer, retaining a zeal for helping vulnerable people, a refreshing sense of humility and candor, and a willingness to push hard—and tell people what they didn’t want to hear—on behalf of society’s most vulnerable.

AND WE HAVE A WINNER!! Thank you to everyone who contributed such witty quips. The most clever are first place winner Steve Schulman, second place Nathaniel Maranwe, and third place Elaine Stamp.

With so many federal government employees struggling during the shutdown, we've collected links to and summaries of resources available to federal employees who are furloughed. From free food to free CLE programs, many groups are trying to support those affected by the shutdown.

Thank you again to everyone who joined us at our 2018 Awards Ceremony, and extra special thanks to our award winners for the work that they do to serve our community.

At the Washington Council of Lawyers annual Awards Ceremony on December 4, we will recognize the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for the District of Columbia for its recent adoption of an office-wide Pro Bono Program that encourages lawyers in its office to provide critical legal services to individuals in need.