WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF LAWYERS

Maryam Casbarro immigrated to the United States from Ghana with her parents when she was a young girl.  She recalls how after her family settled in the Bronx, NY, her parents "regularly engaged in community service and were active in their local African immigrant community."  In particular, Maryam recounts how her parents invited several newly immigrated women who were facing domestic violence in their own homes to stay with her family. "Overhearing the discussions between my mother and these women, I was moved by their experiences," Maryam said.  "Immigrant survivors can feel even more vulnerable being in a new country and often are unaware of the resources available to them.  It didn’t matter how well educated or highly regarded these women may have been in their home countries.  When experiencing domestic violence, they needed help." Maryam's early exposure to the impact of domestic violence has had a profound impact on her and has guided her pro bono practice as she has forged her professional career.

Washington Council of Lawyers and the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Task Force are collaborating to bring a new initiative to family law practitioners in D.C. this September. The Family Law Career Development Program is a 12-month intensive mentoring program for newer family law practitioners. It's also a way for family law attorneys to give back to their community by providing critical pro bono representation to D.C. families unable to afford a lawyer.

At the core of our mission is our work striving to ensure our legal system treats everyone fairly, regardless of money, position or power. This year, we wanted to find ways to highlight just what access to justice means to our staff, members, and community partners. A common theme emerged: #WCLawyers4Justice.

We are thrilled to welcome eight new board members to our Board of Directors. Read more about these exceptional individuals here.

We had a busy summer here at the Washington Council of Lawyers. In addition to some amazing events, we launched our very first virtual #BookClubFriday series. Members sent in suggestions for books they were reading or wanted to read this summer, and in some cases, fun facts about themselves. If you missed these posts, do not fret, we have recapped all of them here, and suggested some other great book lists from which to select your next literary adventure. Thank you to all who participated, and we’ll pick this list back up next summer.

While the summer isn't technically over, we do say good-bye to our summer intern Lydia Kotowski this week. She has been a wonderful addition to our team and has brought a new perspective to our work. We are exceedingly grateful for all the ways Lydia has helped move our mission forward this summer. Thank you, Lydia!

Washington Council of Lawyers was honored to host A Conversation with Justice Elena Kagan and Dean William Treanor of Georgetown University Law Center on Thursday, July 18, 2019.  The conversation began with a discussion about the career of the late Justice John Paul Stevens, whose seat Justice Kagan filled after Justice Stevens retired. Justice Kagan praised Justice Stevens both in his role as a Supreme Court Justice and as an extraordinarily kind man and mentor.  Speaking to an audience largely comprised of law school students, public-interest lawyers, and pro bono advocates, Justice Kagan commented on Justice Steven’s commitment to continued learning on the job and his fierce independence.

Check out photos from the 2019 Summer Forum.

Pro bono work does not always involve litigation; in fact, among the most important contributions pro bono attorneys can make is to help individuals and organizations avoid the need to resort to judicial processes. Find out how at this panel. #SumFo19

Introduced by Council member Elissa Silverman, the Wage Garnishment Fairness Amendment Act of 2018 protects from garnishment weekly wages up to 40 times the District’s minimum wage (currently $13.25 per hour, and rising in July to $14 per hour). The law’s effective date is April 11, 2019, and its protections will likely begin to apply on October 1, when the District’s new fiscal year begins.

Over the past few years, immigration has become one of the hottest pro bono and public-interest fields. At our 2019 Summer Forum, the Immigration and Human Rights panel will discuss the ways that immigrant-rights organizations are working to protect the rights of immigrants and promote access to justice both in the District and around the country. #SumFo19

Being an attorney in the District gives you a myriad of opportunities to work on civil rights and civil liberties issues. DC or federal work, litigation or policy, career or pro bono. Come to the Summer Pro Bono & Public-Interest Forum’s Civil Rights and Civil Liberties panel to learn how to defend these liberties. #SumFo19

During this summer’s annual Summer Pro Bono and Public Interest Forum, the Criminal Law and Death Penalty panel will introduce public-interest careers and pro bono opportunities in this often gut-wrenching field of law, as well as in criminal defense more broadly. #SumFo19

Help us plan DC Pro Bono Week 2019. The first planning meeting of the year will be on Thursday, May 23 from 12:30 - 2:00 pm at Dechert LLP.

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.