The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia is proud to announce that we will be honoring Tamika Hayes with the Partnership Award at the 30th Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner taking place on April 25th.

Legal Aid’s Partnership Award was created in 2008 to recognize significant collaboration between Legal Aid and non-legal organizations and individuals. In the pursuit of justice, the individuals Legal Aid serves are often not only our clients, but are our true partners and few people exemplify that more than Tamika Hayes. Read more →

The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia is pleased to announce that we will be honoring Judith L. Lichtman with the Servant of Justice Award at the 30th Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner taking place on April 25th.

Judy’s commitment, vision, and talent as an attorney and advocate have made a profound difference for women and families across the United States for more than 40 years. In 1974, Judy became Executive Director of the Women’s Legal Defense Fund (name later changed to the National Partnership for Women & Families.) She stepped down as president in 2004, and is presently senior advisor at the National Partnership. Read more →

The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia is pleased to announce that we will be honoring Anthony T. Pierce with the Servant of Justice Award at the 30th Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner taking place on April 25th.

Tony is a commercial litigator and Partner in Charge of the DC office of Akin Gump. Throughout his career, Tony has demonstrated a deep commitment to the cause of access to justice for vulnerable DC residents. During his decade-long tenure managing the office, Akin Gump has become one of the leading pro bono firms in the city, with its attorneys averaging more than 140 pro bono hours last year. Read more →

Legal Aid announced today that we have named Heather Latino and Jennifer Mezey as the organization’s first Deputy Legal Directors.

Heather and Jennifer will work with Chinh Le, who has been Legal Director at Legal Aid since July 2011. Over the past two decades, we have grown our legal program from eight attorneys to 56 paid attorneys on staff, impacting more than 10,000 people in 2018. Read more →

Last week, Legal Aid filed comments opposing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposed rule change that would make it more difficult for the District of Columbia and all states to obtain waivers of onerous work requirements for a population of SNAP beneficiaries known as ABAWDs (Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents). Read more →

The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia is pleased to announce that we will be honoring four Hogan Lovells associates – Emily Goldman, Lance Murashige, Susan Musser, and Kaitlin Welborn – with the Klepper Prize for Volunteer Excellence next month at our 30th Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner on April 25th. Read more →

The District of Columbia experienced the most intense gentrification—and had the highest percentage of gentrified neighborhoods—of any city in the nation between 2000 and 2013, according to a new study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). This study, released last week, helps to highlight the continuing importance of the work that Legal Aid is doing to preserve affordable housing in DC. Read more →

A report released yesterday by the DC Fiscal Policy Institute finds that the burdensome recertification requirements the District imposes on Alliance beneficiaries contribute to worsening health outcomes and higher health care costs.

The DC Health Care Safety Net Alliance program provides health insurance to low-income residents of the District who are not eligible for Medicaid due to strict federal restrictions on immigrant eligibility for federally funded public benefits. Although Alliance provides critical, life-saving services, the DC Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) adopted a harmful policy in 2011 requiring all beneficiaries to complete an in-person, face-to-face interview every six months in order to keep their coverage. Read more →

Last week, thousands of DC residents with suspended driver’s licenses based on unpaid civil money judgments became eligible to have their licenses reinstated. On March 13 the Driver’s License Revocation Fairness Amendment Act of 2018, passed by the DC Council last December, officially took effect as DC Law 22-0236. According to a report recently released by the DMV, 2,282 DC residents have their licenses suspended as a result of provisions now repealed under the new law. The DMV has announced it will mail notices to all affected persons letting them know they can apply for reinstatement of their licenses. Read more →

Yesterday, Legal Aid and Alston & Bird LLP announced that they filed a complaint in federal court against the D.C. Housing Authority and its Executive Director, Tyrone Garrett, alleging that the agency fails to comply with local and federal laws and regulations protecting the rights of survivors of domestic violence who participate in housing subsidy programs. The plaintiff (to whom we will refer to as Jane Smith, to protect her identity) also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction. Read more →