On May 4, the D.C. Court of Appeals announced that it was considering whether to amend D.C. Appellate Rule 49, which governs pro bono practice in the District by non-D.C. bar members. The Court’s Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law has proposed a series of amendments that is largely consistent with requests made by the D.C. legal services community. Several groups of which Legal Aid is a member or with which we work closely – the D.C. Access to Justice Commission, the D.C. Consortium of Legal Services Providers, the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, and the Washington Council of Lawyers – submitted comments seeking changes to the rule, which had needlessly prevented competent lawyers affiliated with legal services organizations from offering free legal assistance to low-income clients. Read more →

The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia honored four individuals for their contributions to access to justice at its 29th Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner last week, raising $1.3 million to provide legal assistance to persons in poverty in D.C.

“Legal Aid, you provide an opportunity for lawyers to use their skills to fight injustices where we see them, to right wrongs, to pay attention when others might turn away,” said Abid Riaz Qureshi of Latham & Watkins, who received the Servant of Justice Award, and whose personal pro bono victories include a First Amendment case that allowed a Muslim-American film production company to display its comedic ads on the NYC subway system.

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In 2017, the D.C. Council passed two pieces of legislation to address longstanding problems in the D.C. Healthcare Alliance program. The program provides health insurance to some of the District’s most vulnerable residents but its burdensome process for renewing enrollment means that, each month, people in the program get dropped from their health coverage. Despite the Council recognizing the need to change the Alliance program and passing legislative solutions without a single “no” vote, the Mayor’s FY19 Budget does not include any funding for either piece of legislation, allowing needless losses of coverage to continue. This budget season, Legal Aid has testified at the budget hearings for both the Department of Human Services and the Department of Health Care Finance to urge the Council to do what the Mayor failed to do: work together to fund changes that Alliance program enrollees need. Read more →

This morning, Legal Aid Executive Director Eric Angel took a break from preparations for the 2018 Servant of Justice Awards Dinner to attend the 40 at 50 Judicial Pro Bono Recognition Breakfast. This annual event, hosted by the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, recognizes local law firms for outstanding leadership in pro bono service and promotes the aspirational goal of the Circuit’s Judicial Conference that attorneys contribute at least 50 pro bono hours per year.  Eric is a member of the Standing Committee. Read more →

The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia is pleased to announce that we will be honoring Thomas C. Papson with the Servant of Justice Award at the 29th Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner taking place on April 24th.

Tom is a Volunteer Staff Attorney in Legal Aid’s Consumer Law Unit. He represents clients in a range of consumer law matters and is a member of Legal Aid’s team of lawyers providing same-day representation to defendants with cases on the Superior Court’s high-volume small claims debt collection calendar. He also is active in Legal Aid’s legislative reform efforts relating to consumer protection and broader efforts to enhance access to justice for Legal Aid’s client community. Read more →