WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF LAWYERS

Advocates got an inside look into Children's Law Center's medical-legal partnership with Unity Health Care on Oct. 29, as part of a DC Pro Bono Week site visit. The partnership with Unity's Minnesota Avenue Center is the sixth medical-legal partnership for Children's Law Center and the first for Unity.

DC Pro Bono Week concluded on October 30 with a tour of the Office of Administrative Hearings. Although it operates under the radar, OAH makes decisions about cases that are important for scores of people in Washington, DC, many of them low-income. Cases affect schools, unemployment insurance, housing rentals, public safety, health, and benefits. As a result, adequate representation in OAH is essential to improving access to justice in DC.

As part of DC Pro Bono Week, on October 27th a group of 10 attorneys, clerks, law students, and other members of the legal community met for a morning tour of the Landlord and Tenant Branchof DC Superior Court. The Housing Crisis from the Inside: A Guided Tour of DC Superior Court’s Landlord and Tenant Branch was led by Beth Mellen Harrison, Supervising Attorney of Legal Aid’s Housing Law Unit and Director of Legal Aid’s Landlord-Tenant Court-Based Legal Services Project.