Graphic: Screenshot of panelists for Pro Bono Goes Local

Pro Bono Goes Local Recap

DC Pro Bono Week official;y kicked off with Pro Bono Goes Local! Our panelists began with a lightning round covering where the need for pro bono attorneys exists within our community by highlighting the nuances of our community, statistics that drive their work, and where they see the gaps in justice for District neighbors.

Graphic: Liam Montgomery headshot

DC Pro Bono Week 2022 Profile: Passionate Advocacy for Survivors

Network for Victim Recovery of DC (NVRDC) is proud to celebrate the dedication and commitment of our Board Chair, Liam Montgomery. Liam, an eleven-year veteran of United States Naval Aviation and a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP, has been a passionate advocate for survivors of crime, veterans, and numerous other pro bono causes. His leadership in pro bono work is an inspiration to others at his firm and throughout our DC community.

Photo: Group of Georgetown University Law Center students

DC Pro Bono Week 2022 Profile: Law Students Can Do Pro Bono Too!

Following the end of D.C.’s eviction moratorium, many residents were worried about falling behind on their rent and the looming threat of losing their homes. When the DC Office of the Attorney General planned pop-up clinics to help residents access emergency federal funding for housing and utility expenses, dozens of Georgetown students – including a Black Law Students Association contingent that made this a group pro bono project – joined the efforts.

Photo: Mary Gately headshot

DC Pro Bono Week 2022 Profile: Pro Bono Work Comes in Many Forms

Maya Angelou profoundly said, “If you’re going to live, leave a legacy.  Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.”  I am reminded of this quote when I reflect on Mary Gately’s profound service and deep commitment to the pro bono work she performs as DC Affordable Law Firm’s Litigation Director, a role she performs entirely on a pro bono basis.  Across the past three years, Mary’s work with and on behalf of DC Affordable Law Firm’s clients soared to unprecedented levels, leading to exceptional legal outcomes for dozens of DC Affordable Law Firm’s low- and modest-income clients while synchronously shaping and inspiring the careers of the next generation of public interest attorneys. 

Photo: Mariah Hines headshot

DC Pro Bono Week 2022 Profiles: Helping Vulnerable Individuals in Our Community Across Practice Areas

It is inspiring to speak with Mariah Hines, an associate in Sidley Austin’s Healthcare group, about the quantity, variety, and impact of her many pro bono engagements. Her pro bono matters span across practice areas including disability benefits, immigration, housing discrimination, and more. Even more impressive is that Mariah has done so much to help others so early in her legal career, having graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 2020.

Photo: Chris Marin headshot

Welcome Our New Program Director, Chris Marin!

Join us in welcoming Chris Marin as our new Program Director. Chris is a recent graduate of the American University, Washington College of Law, where they cultivated a passion for access to justice and finding innovative connections between legal professionals to advance the work of pro bono and the public-interest community.

Photo: Collage top right clockwise, Justice Glazebook, Judge Whalen, Annie Helms, Karen Grisez, Justice Lynch, Judge Ruiz

DC Pro Bono Week 2022 Profile: Firms Come Together to Rescue Women Judges from the Taliban

On an early morning in January 2021, two women judges in Afghanistan were assassinated in their car on their way to court.  The other women judges, many of whom had tried or sentenced Taliban members, soon realized they were in serious danger and sought help from the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ).  That May, the IAWJ formed an Afghan Women Judges Support Committee which included leaders from New Zealand, the US, Australia, Canada, Spain, and the UK.  The Support Committee began exploring ways to support its sister judges in peril.   As Taliban control expanded and the Afghan government began to collapse, not only were the women judges stripped of their ability to practice their profession, but they began receiving threats, warning letters, and visits to their homes demonstrating that their lives were at risk.  Family members were abducted and beaten. By late summer, as the fall of Kabul approached and danger to the women judges escalated, the IAWJ asked two major law firms to join in the effort to assist them on a pro bono basis. 

Photo: Jeremy Calsyn headshot

DC Pro Bono Week 2022 Profile: Crucial Pro Bono Leadership

Jeremy Calsyn has been a pro bono champion at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, and Hamilton since he joined the firm in 1999, and especially since he became a partner in 2008. In his regular work in the antitrust space, Jeremy handles a broad range of matters, including merger reviews, criminal and civil government investigations, and complex class action litigations. However, in addition to his many professional accomplishments in the legal field, it’s Jeremy’s pro bono leadership and commitment to pro bono services that truly stands out. Not only does he regularly provide hands-on supervision of pro bono cases, but Jeremy also serves as Pro Bono Committee Chair in the D.C. office, supporting the work of the D.C. Pro Bono Attorney and offering guidance to the firm’s pro program as a whole.

Photo: Johanna Hickman & Christine Webber headshots collage

DC Pro Bono Week 2022 Profile: Helping Unaccompanied Minors Find Safety in the U.S.

The recent influx of migrants to the District has shined a renewed spotlight on the difficult immigration landscape of the past decade and beyond. (UCs) are expected to navigate the incredibly complex U.S. immigration legal system alone, placed in removal proceedings in immigration court without the right to counsel, and often forced to defend themselves against highly skilled attorneys representing the government. Central to their success is the need for zealous, high-quality legal representation, which could not be achieved without the involvement of pro bono attorneys. Christine Webber and Johanna Hickman of Cohen, Milstein, Sellers, and Toll, PLLC are two such stellar attorneys who have served as counsel for a KIND client since 2014.

Nominations now open for our 2022 Legal Services and Government Pro Bono Awards!

We are now accepting nominations for our 2022 Legal Services Award and 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 government pro bono lawyers. Our 2022 Awards Ceremony will take place on Thursday, December 1. Our Legal Services Award recognizes a dynamic legal-services lawyer who represents low-income clients, works to improve access to justice, or thinks creatively to solve difficult legal problems. Our Government Pro Bono Award commends a dedicated government lawyer who also volunteers time to organize pro bono efforts or represent low-income clients. Nomination materials are due by 5 pm ET on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. The awards criteria and nomination instructions are here.

Graphic: Panelists headshot collage

Supreme Court: View from the Press Gallery Recap

On Thursday, July 7, 2021, lawyers, law students, and legal professionals around the country attended our 34th annual Supreme Court: View from the Press Gallery event. Our panel of journalists who cover the Court talked about the unusual recently concluded term. The discussion started off with everyone agreeing that it was a momentous term for a number of reasons.

2022 Summer Forum Keynote with Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke

Washington Council of Lawyers' Annual Summer Forum began on June 8 with an engaging and eye-opening discussion by keynote speaker Kristen Clarke. Kristen Clarke is the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice and served as a lifelong civil rights lawyer and advocate in the public service. AAG Clarke was joined in conversation by Nicole Austin-Hillery, President & CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. and Washington Council of Lawyers Board Member. This first session touched on topics of opportunities such as the Attorney’s General Honors Program in the Justice Department, the ability civil rights lawyers have to tackle important issues, the duty to give back to the community, and promoting the importance of pro bono work. Read on to find out more.

Collage of headshots of female judges Pictured from top left, going clockwise) Hon. Marjorie McKenzie Lawson, a possible sketch of Charlotte E. Ray, Esq., Hon. Julia Cooper Mack, Hon. Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Hon. Anita Josey-Herring, Pauline Schneider, Esq., Hon. Judith Ann Wilson Rogers, and Hon. Norma Holloway Johnson

Black Women in the Judiciary

On Friday, February 25, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden fulfilled a promise to nominate the first Black woman as a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court if given the opportunity.  Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic nomination is momentous, not just because history s being made, but also in recognition of the barriers Black women must overcome in entering and succeeding in the legal profession and, more specifically, on the bench. In honor of Black History Month and Women's History month, we take a look at some amazing D.C. Black women trailblazers.

Photo: collage Henry Floyd Yaida Ford Stephon Woods Gwen Washington

Black History Month: Perspectives

In closing out Black History Month 2022, we'd like to share thoughts from some of our dedicated board members. They are mentors and leaders in our community. We are inspired by them every day. I'm sure you will be as well.

New Year, New Direction!

Happy New Year! Like many of you, I am reflecting on what has come before and what I’m looking forward to in the new year. Usually, that means making personal New Year’s resolutions that I may or may not keep through February and setting professional goals for the next 12 months. But this year is different. This year marks nearly two years since the start of the global pandemic that changed everything, which has prompted us as a society to think about how those who are low-income are most impacted. How we provide services, what effective client representation means, how the courts operate, client and lawyer well-being, and more all became topics of intense discussion and unprecedented cultural shifts.

Give the gift of pro bono inspiration this year!

The hustle and bustle of the holidays are here. Our shopping list now includes gifts for loved ones we hold dear. We want to suggest these six pro bono and racial justice-focused must-reads carefully curated for you or the legal bookworm in your life. We hope these stories inspire you or your gift recipient to spread that holiday feeling of warmth and cheer to others in need by taking on a pro bono commitment in the new year. “A Knock at Midnight: A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom” by Brittany Barnett is a riveting memoir about how Barnett’s life was forever changed when she began taking clemency cases pro bono while she worked as a corporate tax lawyer. Her many successes included winning release for many individuals who had been sentenced to life for minor drug infractions. The book is guaranteed to inspire those who read it, as it is a story about hope and justice. “Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much” by Eldar Shafir and Sendhil Mullainathan delves into research from behavioral science and economics to draw surprising connections between busy attorneys and clients living in poverty, in a way that hopefully encourages attorneys to understand how scarcity affects everyone’s daily lives. They also introduce the idea of fault-tolerant systems, which is so important in thinking about how to serve our clients best. “Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley, which is based on the author’s experience growing up as a biracial woman in the Ojibwe community of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is a true-crime adventure and an insightful journey into what it means to be a part of two cultures. "Law Man: Memoir of a Jailhouse Lawyer" by Shon Hopwood is about an incarcerated person who, with pro bono counsel, brought some successful prisoners' rights challenges to the Supreme Court of the United States. "Unbillable Hours: A True Story" by Ian Graham is another easy read: first year, big-law associate takes on pro bono case and discovers the "injustice system." “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America” by Clint Smith takes you on an eye-opening tour of various present-day landmarks and explains their connection to the country’s era of slavery.

2021 50th Anniversary Awards Ceremony and Celebration

Even though our 2021 Awards Ceremony was virtual again this year, we had a lot to celebrate and the atmosphere created by our community made it feel like we were all in the same room. Our public interest community is warm, welcoming, insightful, and inspiring, and we brought all those elements and more to honoring our 2021 Awards Recipients. The Law Firm Award recipient Arnold & Porter has been a long-time and committed partner of Washington Council of Lawyers and the public-interest community since the beginning. Pro bono is a fundamental part of the firm’s culture, values, and history. In 2020 alone, firm lawyers provided more than 121,000 hours of pro bono service. And the firm is consistently recognized as a leader in pro bono service. Lastly, we are grateful for the firm's encouragement of their attorney's participation in outside organizations such as ours. Retired partners Larry Schneider and Phil Horton, Counsel Mary Kennedy, Lead Attorney & Managing Director of the eData Group Melissa Weberman, and Director of Pro Bono Marsha Tucker have been active and engaged members of our Board of Directors. Their contributions are immeasurable. We are proud to call Arnold & Porter an ally and pleased to honor them for their contributions to our organization and our community. Nichelle Johnson Billips of USAID is a leader among her colleagues and the government in service to the community. She not only engages in pro bono work herself but also promotes pro bono work throughout USAID, helping ensure it remains a priority in the office. As her colleagues note, "Nichelle’s work and leadership serves as an inspiration to us all for how to live our values as lawyers and members of the community." We were honored to present her with our Government Pro Bono Award. Our Legal Services Award went to Leah Myers from Legal Counsel for the Elderly for her almost 20 years of service to tenants and older adults. Through her management of LCE's Hotline alone, she has positively impacted nearly 10,000 older adults annually. Her colleagues share that her greatest contribution might be the large number of attorneys and judges that she has trained, mentored, and educated. She is a force to be reckoned with, and a shining example of dedication and commitment. Lastly, it is fitting that in our 50th year, we honored Susie Hoffman, Pro Bono Counsel at Crowell & Moring, with the Presidents Award for Public Service. Susie is a trailblazer, mentor, and leader in the public-interest community. She has dedicated her career to pro bono and has personally made a difference for many families in the District. And she has undertaken numerous leadership roles in our community. But beyond her professional accomplishments, Susie is a true hero to her clients and colleagues. She is simply a legend. 50 Years seems like both a long time and just yesterday. We were thrilled to share this evening with friends old and new, honor truly outstanding pro bono advocates, and celebrate 50 years of service. For more inspiration, rewatch our 50th Anniversary video and Attorney General Karl Racine's remarks.

Back To Top