The legal services award recipient will display qualities such as:

• An advocate who has not previously been widely, publicly recognized for their work, and whose work benefits low-income or otherwise marginalized clients in the Greater DC Metro Region;
• An individual who supports the DC public-interest community in improving access to justice for those who cannot afford a lawyer;
• An advocate who has endeavored to bring together the public-interest, pro bono, and government legal communities to improve the quality and availability of free legal services for those in need; and
• Someone who has gone above and beyond the normal requirements of their job to assist persons in need or has demonstrated outside-the-box thinking about how to resolve difficult legal issues.

Government Lawyers
Selection Criteria:

The government award recipient will be a government attorney who has made significant pro bono contributions. The pro bono work performed may include, but is not limited to, activities such as:

• Participating regularly in pro bono clinics, pro bono client representation, or other pro bono efforts;
• Involvement in establishing or implementing an agency pro bono program;
• Increasing the level of pro bono service by agency attorneys through promotion or facilitation of pro bono opportunities;
• Mentoring or training agency lawyers handling pro bono matters, litigating cases, or providing non-litigation legal services to low-income people or entities; or

Law Firm Lawyers
Selection Criteria:

The law firm award recipient will be a law firm attorney who has made significant pro bono contributions. The recipient will display qualities such as:

• An advocate who has not previously been widely, publicly recognized for their work, and whose work benefits low-income or otherwise marginalized clients in the Greater DC Metro Region;
• An individual who supports the DC public-interest community in improving access to justice for those who cannot afford a lawyer;
• Addressing a critical legal need and/or particularly vulnerable community/target group;
• Mentoring or training law firm lawyers handling pro bono matters, litigating cases, or providing non-litigation legal services to low-income people or entities; or
• Participating regularly in pro bono clinics, pro bono client representation, or other pro bono efforts.

Corporate/In-House Lawyers
Selection Criteria:

The corporate legal department award recipient will be committed to increasing pro bono representation by corporate counsel. The pro bono work performed may include, but is not limited to, activities such as:

• Participating regularly in pro bono clinics, pro bono client representation, or other pro bono efforts;
• Involvement in establishing or implementing a legal department pro bono program;
• Increasing the level of pro bono service by legal department attorneys through promotion or facilitation of pro bono opportunities;
• Creating or expanding collaboration with legal services and/or law firms to improve the quality and availability of free legal services for those in need; or
• Demonstrating outside-the-box thinking about how to resolve difficult access to justice issues through pro bono.

Please note that the above lists of pro bono activities are not exhaustive. We will gladly consider nominations of attorneys who have performed other kinds of pro bono service that positively impact DC residents.

Nomination Instructions 

Nominations should describe the nominee’s relevant professional activities, including:

(1) a description of the legal services and/or other efforts upon which the nomination is based;

(2) an explanation of the impact of that work on clients, other advocates, and/or others; and

(3) the time period covered by the activities.

Nomination materials should include the nomination, resume, and any other supporting documents, such as letters of recommendation (no longer than 6 pages in total). Please submit nomination materials as a single PDF to info@wclawyers.org. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Executive Director, Christina Jackson, at cjackson@wclawyers.org or 202.451.8129.

Deadline  ​

All nominations must be received by 5:00 pm ET on Thursday, October 16, 2026.