By Erin Mee Serving on nonprofit boards can help expand access to justice and give back to the community, while at the same time providing board members an opportunity to expand their networks and build meaningful skills. So explained the speakers at Washington Council of Lawyers's DC Pro Bono Week panel discussing service on nonprofit boards. (more…)
A dozen lawyers and law students gathered at Judiciary Square on Tuesday morning, October 25 for The Housing Crisis from the Inside: A Guided Tour of D.C. Superior Court’s Landlord and Tenant Branch. This Pro Bono Week event was co-sponsored by Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia and Neighborhood Legal Services Program; the tour, led by Legal Aid's Beth Mellen Harrison, sought to educate participants about the lack of safe, affordable housing in the District and the experience of low-income tenants forced to defend themselves in eviction cases in a fast-paced, high-volume court. (more…)
Every year we give out awards to recognize lawyers and firms who provided exceptional pro bono and public-interest service. This year's Awards Ceremony will take place on December 1, and we're pleased to announce this year's winners: (more…)
A Storify of our Pro Bono Week event on Nonprofit Boards. (more…)
For DC Pro Bono Week 2016, we whipped up five profiles of lawyers who've done fantastic pro bono work despite extremely busy schedules: (more…)
When DC Pro Bono Week meets Halloween…
By Children's Law Center When you ask Gerald Richman why he volunteers as a pro bono lawyer for Children’s Law Center, he is quick to talk about vulnerable children who need someone in their corner. “A lot of these families are walking on a tightrope,” he says. “But when you take a case, you can see immediate benefits for someone who needs help, who doesn’t have a lot of advantages in life.” (more…)
By Lise Adams For Katrina Rouse, public service transcends her day job. Despite her challenging career as a trial lawyer with DOJ's Antitrust Division, Katrina regularly makes time to volunteer with the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, working with the Center's Advocacy & Justice Clinic to provide extended representation for low-income clients. This volunteer service is central to Katrina’s professional life: “I have a goal of taking on at least one case per year. If that case gets dismissed quickly, I take another. It is my personal commitment to being a good resident of the city.” Katrina first became aware of the Pro Bono Center when she started working at the Antitrust Division. Her orientation packet included a flier about pro bono opportunities for federal government lawyers. Katrina immediately contacted Laura Klein, manager of the Federal Government Pro Bono Program, and Laura encouraged Katrina to take a Pro Bono Center case. (continued…)
By Michael Lukens It takes a special and dedicated pro bono team to fight for a noncitizen facing deportation and exile from his family. Cases like these often combine immigration law and criminal issues and require lawyers willing and able to articulate why their client, despite past mistakes, deserves to stay in the United States. This year, Williams & Connolly's Will Ashworth and Shauna Kramer successfully made that case—and did so with poise, strength, and compassion. (more…)
By Jodi Feldman Just a few weeks ago, the Legal Aid Society recognized Joseph J. Patry, an associate at Blank Rome, with the first Making Justice Real Pro Bono Award. The award came at a special celebration recognizing Legal Aid’s Generous Associates Campaign and pro bono volunteers. (more…)
We started off DC Pro Bono Week with a Hacky Hour, looking at how technology can improve access to justice. (More…)
By Amy Nelson “Public service is a privilege,” says Angela Buckner, a volunteer lawyer at Whitman-Walker’s Name and Gender Change Clinic. Angela has sought out public service throughout her career, and is one of the clinic's many proud volunteers. (more…)
For DC Pro Bono Week, we'll be posting from certain events on two additional social-media platforms. You can find us on Snapchat at WashLawyers; and we'll have geofilters for a few events, including Monday night's Hacky Hour. (more…)
In an attempt to address ongoing budget difficulties, WMATA recently proposed several options, including service changes and fare increases to its rail and bus services. CityLab reports that both changes will disproportionately affect riders East of the River.
In addition to the main schedule of DC Pro Bono Week events, there are lots of other pro bono trainings taking place throughout the month. Here are some of the upcoming highlights. (more…)
DC Pro Bono Week is coming up soon, and we've got trainings, clinics, site visits, and more. Check out the full schedule, and click on the links to sign up. (more…)
Two years ago, we began Looking into Low Bono, a series of events exploring ways to expand access to justice for clients of modest means. As part of that process, we examined service models from around the country, heard from other low bono experts, and learned from established initiatives in other jurisdictions. In response, attendees took action—they formed an independent working group and worked hard to bring low bono solutions to Washington, DC. (more…)
By Miranda Hines Deborah Levine has achieved the legal trifecta: She's gone from private practice to the federal government to a public-interest organization. Now she's bringing her skills east of the river. (More…)
The Georgetown University DC Public Policy Initiative and the School of Nursing & Health Studies are hosting an upcoming event series: The State of African Americans in DC. The series joins reports commissioned by the DC Commission on African-American Affairs and sponsored by Georgetown in order to focus on the condition of African Americans living in DC. (more…)
Another round of Summer Olympics pro bono puns. (more…)
Our 2016 Mentoring Program will be starting soon, and we can’t wait to welcome this year’s mentors and mentees. Mentees are paired with an experienced lawyer mentor and meet with that mentor two to three times throughout the year. We also hold six additional mentoring events, including panels on setting career goals and succeeding as a new lawyer and happy hours with local public-interest lawyers. The combination of individual meetings and group programs provides answers to questions about life as a new lawyer and a variety of tips and perspectives that can help lawyers throughout their careers. (More…)
The Olympic Games have put camaraderie and public service on our minds…
Do you know a dynamic legal-services lawyer who represents low-income clients, works to improve access to justice, or thinks creatively to solve difficult legal problems? Do you know any dedicated government lawyers who also volunteer their time to organize pro bono efforts or represent low-income clients? If so, we need your nominations for our 2016 Legal Services Award and 2016 Government Pro Bono Award! Each year at our Awards Ceremony, we recognize the extraordinary work of some of the District's most dedicated public-interest and pro bono lawyers. Our 2016 Awards Ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 1 at 6:30 pm. (more…)
By Miranda Hines Shana Wynn, a 2015–2016 Borchard Law and Aging Fellow, may need to clone herself: She is effectively doing the work of two people, fighting on two fronts to ensure that her clients can age with dignity. She works primarily for Justice in Aging, which does policy work; two days a week, she also represents clients pro bono at the Southeast DC office of Neighborhood Legal Services Program, which serves residents of Wards 7 and 8. (more…)
Celebrate the nation's birthday with … puns.
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
