By Kathryn Alfisi and Thai Phi Le
THAT’S A WRAP
On December 15 the Children’s Law Center held a gift wrapping party as part of its annual Holiday Help Drive, which provides Christmas gifts for disadvantaged children and families in the District of Columbia.—K.A.
Bar Seeks Nominees for 2012 Rosenberg, Marshall Awards
The D.C. Bar is calling for nominations for its 2012 Beatrice Rosenberg Award for Excellence in Government Service and 2012 Thurgood Marshall Award. Both awards will be presented at the Celebration of Leadership: The D.C. Bar Awards Dinner and Annual Meeting on June 19.
The Rosenberg Award is presented annually to a D.C. Bar member whose career exemplifies the highest order of public service. The Bar established the award in honor of Beatrice “Bea” Rosenberg, who dedicated 35 years of her career to government service and performed with distinction at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She also served as a member of the Board on Professional Responsibility.
In keeping with the exceptional accomplishments of Ms. Rosenberg, nominees should have demonstrated outstanding professional judgment throughout long–term government careers, worked intentionally to share their expertise as mentors to younger government lawyers, and devoted significant personal energies to public or community service. Nominees must be current or former employees of any local, state, or federal government agency. For more information on the Rosenberg Award criteria, visit www.dcbar.org/
rosenbergaward/rosenberg_info.cfm#criteria.
The Bar established the Thurgood Marshall Award in 1993, which is presented bi–annually in alternating years. Candidates for the Thurgood Marshall Award must be members of the D.C. Bar who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in the pursuit of equal justice and equal opportunity for all Americans.
Nominations for both the 2012 Rosenberg and Marshall awards should be submitted to Katherine A. Mazzaferri, Chief Executive Officer, District of Columbia Bar, 1101 K Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005–4210. The last day for submissions is February 10.
For more information about the Marshall Award, e–mail marshallaward@dcbar.org; for information on the Rosenberg Award, e–mail rosenbergaward@dcbar.org. Information for both awards can be found at www.dcbar.org/awards.
To learn more about the Bar’s 2012 Celebration of Leadership, which will be held at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue NW, visit www.dcbar.org/annual_dinner.—K.A.
Congress Cuts Nationwide Funding for Legal Services
On November 17 Congress voted to slash funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) by $56 million. The organization is the single largest provider of civil legal aid for low–income Americans.
“The 18 percent reduction in basic field funding is requiring many programs to lay off lawyers and staff and is causing some programs in rural areas to close offices. This reduction comes on top of a huge decline in [Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts] funding nationwide and, in many places, on top of cuts in state appropriations,” said James J. Sandman, president of LSC. “At the same time, the demand for legal services has increased dramatically as a result of the economy, with the number of individuals living in poverty now at an all–time high.”
For some states, the LSC–funded program might be the only program it has to provide access to justice for its poorer population, helping them navigate the legal system for urgent issues such as child custody, foreclosures, and domestic violence. In the District of Columbia, the Neighborhood Legal Services Program will be affected by the federal cuts.
To help alleviate the funding reductions and expand support for pro bono services, LSC created a nationwide Pro Bono Task Force to study how the organization can use resources from the private bar to improve service delivery in urban and rural areas. Among the top focuses will be leveraging technology to aid the underserved population, including providing information and court forms online.
“Pro bono resources are only a supplement to and not a substitute for a robust network of well–funded legal services programs,” Sandman added. “We have to increase private contributions from all sources to narrow the gap between the crushing demands and the limited resources available to legal aid programs today.”
LSC distributes about 95 percent of its total funding to 136 independent nonprofit legal aid programs with more than 900 offices that provide legal assistance to low–income individuals and families throughout the nation.—T.L.
Bar Sections Announce Steering Committee Openings
The D.C. Bar sections are seeking members interested in steering committee positions for all of the Bar’s sections. Members wishing to be considered should submit a Candidate Interest Form and résumé to the Sections Office by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, February 2. All section members have been notified by e–mail or postal mail about the availability of Candidate Interest Forms, which can be found online at www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/sections/sections_
elections/index.cfm.
Nearly all steering committee vacancies are for three–year terms. Each section has two, three, or four available positions. A list of vacancies can be found at www.dcbar.org/
for_lawyers/sections/section_elections/vacancies.cfm.
The sections’ nominating committees will review all Candidate Interest Forms to find the best qualified, diverse candidates. Two to three candidates will be nominated for each position. Previous leadership experience with voluntary bar associations or with the Bar’s sections is highly desirable.
The elections will take place in the spring of 2012, and the results will be announced in June. The winning candidates will assume their new steering committee roles on July 1.
For more information about the elections, visit www.dcbar.org
/for_lawyers/sections/sections_elections.
Georgetown Law Receives Pro Bono Award
The Georgetown University Law Center Appellate Litigation Clinic received a pro bono award from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. in December in recognition of its “invaluable contributions made to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Pro Bono Project and to the vulnerable populations that the project serves.”
“Over the past decade, the Georgetown Law Appellate Litigation Clinic has provided us with exceptional work on their cases with unparalleled dedication, energy, and skill. Their commitment is a contributing factor to how we are here today celebrating our 10th anniversary,” said Lauren Sullivan, advocacy attorney for the BIA Pro Bono Project.
The pro bono award was established in 2004 and is presented annually to individuals, law firms, and law schools that provide pro bono legal representation to indigent immigrants before the BIA.
Georgetown’s clinic has represented dozens of detained immigrants in the past several years and has trained numerous students and fellows who continue to volunteer with the BIA Pro Bono Project after they graduate.
The Appellate Litigation Clinic is one of Georgetown Law’s 14 clinical programs. Students in the programs handle civil and criminal appeals involving issues such as civil rights, habeas corpus, and immigration. They are exposed to litigation in several different courts, including the federal circuits, the BIA, and the courts in the District of Columbia.—K.A.
Bar Members Must Complete Practice Course
New members of the District of Columbia Bar are reminded that they have 12 months from the date of admission to complete the required course on District of Columbia practice offered by the D.C. Bar Continuing Legal Education Program.
D.C. Bar members who have been inactive, retired, or voluntarily resigned for five years or more also are required to complete the course if they are seeking to switch or be reinstated to active member status. In addition, members who have been suspended for five years or more for nonpayment of dues or late fees are required to take the course to be reinstated.
New members who do not complete the mandatory course requirement within 12 months of admission receive a noncompliance notice and a final 60–day window in which to comply. After that date, the Bar administratively suspends individuals who have not completed the course and forwards their names to the clerks of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and to the Office of Bar Counsel.
Suspensions become a permanent part of members’ records. To be reinstated, one must complete the course and pay a $50 fee.
The preregistration fee is $219; the onsite fee is $279. Upcoming dates for 2012 are February 7, March 10, April 10, May 12, June 5, and July 14. Advanced registration is encouraged.
For more information or to register online, visit www.dcbar.org/mandatorycourse.Top Jewish Lawyers Receive Accolades for Accomplishments
On December 7 notable members of the legal community trekked through the pouring rain to celebrate attorney Jack H. Olender and Judge Thomas Buergenthal. Both were honored with the Pursuit of Justice Award, given out each year by the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (AAJLJ).
“Both men have pursued justice all their lives, whether it was through teaching or in the courts,” said outgoing AAJLJ president Stephen Greenwald of the honorees’ tremendous accomplishments throughout their careers.
Robert L. Weinberg, a retired founding partner at Williams & Connolly LLP, presented the award to Olender, recognizing the latter’s continued dedication to improving the community, fighting day in and day out for justice. Weinberg noted that Olender has worked on more than 200 cases that produced an award of more than $1 million. He focuses specifically on medical malpractice as president of Jack H. Olender and Associates, P.C. In addition, he and his wife, Lovell, founded the Olender Foundation to counter poverty and violence and to promote opportunity and equal justice. Olender has served as president of both the Bar Association of the District of Columbia and the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
In accepting the award, Olender cited the influence his parents had on his desire to ensure that those who were injured received the justice they deserve. “I accept the award in honor of my parents who came to the promised land of America and taught me to perform mitzvot [commandments],” Olender said.
Ralph Steinhardt, professor of law and international affairs at The George Washington University, introduced Buergenthal, who spoke about his time as a child of the Holocaust. Those horrific experiences drove him to pursue a lifelong career in human rights, while the memories continually strengthen his resolve to fight some of the world’s injustices.
Currently, Buergenthal is judge and president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, playing an integral role in ending the practice of disappearances in Honduras. When not in the courts, he is in the classroom, teaching students at George Washington as professor emeritus of comparative law and jurisprudence. Buergenthal has also served as the American judge on the International Court of Justice and coauthored the first international human rights law textbook in the United States.
The evening ended with a performance by cantor Moshe Taube. This year, the event was held at the Women’s National Democratic Club. Former recipients of the award include Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Martin Mendelsohn, Peter J. Neufeld, Barry C. Scheck, and Robert Weinberg, among many others.—T.L.
Bar Welcomes New Members at Annual Reception
On December 5 the D.C. Bar Board of Governors and the D.C. Bar Membership Committee hosted a reception welcoming new attorneys who recently have joined the Bar.
Approximately 90 guests (76 of which were new members) attended the reception, where they had the opportunity to network and meet with Bar leaders, including Bar President Darrell G. Mottley.
“Welcome to the Bar family, 96,000 lawyers strong; we’re about 8 percent of the total attorneys in the United States, which is a massive number,” Mottley said in his welcoming remarks. “A lot of our lawyers are members of other bars, so we think of ourselves as a national bar as well as a local bar,” he added.
Mottley then talked about the opportunities available for members through the Bar’s Continuing Legal Education, Sections, and Pro Bono programs.
Supporters of the reception, which was held at the D.C. Bar headquarters, included AHP, Avis Car Rental, Budget, Carr Workplaces, D.C. Bar Magazine Subscriptions, Fastcase, Framing Success, GEICO, Office Depot, Samson Paper Company, The Sports Club/LA, UPS, and USI Affinity.—K.A.
Panel Offers Different Voices to Access to Justice Problems
On January 5 Monika Varma, executive director of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program, was among an eclectic mix of voices serving as panelists at the Association of American Law Schools’ annual meeting. The discussion centered on ways to tackle the growing problem of access to justice for the poor.
To think that one panel could encompass most crevices of the issue would be impossible, noted moderator Susan Carle, a professor of law at American University Washington College of Law. Instead, the discussion drew four speakers with very different professional backgrounds to offer their perspectives.
First up was Amy Bach, author of Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court, which won the 2010 RFK Book Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. Bach immediately went into storytelling mode, animatedly capturing some of the book’s stories of the systemic failures of the court systems to which all players—from judges to the defendants—are blind.
She spoke about a prosecutor who helped 48 people he hadn’t met until that day plead guilty in a day in one of Georgia’s rural courthouses. He later went on to one of the best public defender offices in the state, helping countless people and proving that with a better court system, people will change to meet the expectations of that system.
“How can we change the systemic issues?” she asked, offering a possible solution to alleviate the problem. Bach spoke about a justice index system she and a group of people in New York are working on to compare how different courts are functioning. “Monitoring and measuring is how we intervene to give citizens power so they can see the problems.”
Kenneth Starr, president of Baylor University in Texas and former U.S. solicitor general, spoke about representing unpopular defendants. “Nothing in my legal work has given me as much satisfaction as representing people on death row,” he said. If society were to impose the “ultimate sanction,” Starr said he believes these defendants deserve an attorney who would go the extra mile to ensure legal guilt.
Offering a modern–day solution to narrowing the access to justice gap was Ron Staudt, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law. He suggested that every law school should implement an “Apps 4 Justice Clinic,” which would teach students how to build different Web-based applications that help deliver civil legal services to the poor. By observing and interacting with possible court clients, students can create guided interviews that help self–represented litigants navigate the legal system to find the correct forms and information they need to prepare for their cases.
Rounding out the panel was Varma, who, prior to joining the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program, was a director of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights. Varma explored the different faces of access to justice problems both internationally and in the District. She compared her experiences abroad in Chad and Mexico with her time in the District, stating that internationally, the problem is often building the actual justice system itself. Locally, however, the goal should be focused on increasing access to justice, whether it be creating an affinity for pro bono work as early as law school in courses not typically covering social injustices or transforming the culture in a large law firm.
“People, even in the most broken systems, have a deep faith in the legal system and put their life on the line on that faith,” Varma said. She later continued, “I think we in D.C., in the U.S., have incredible resources, but with that comes incredible responsibility to keep the justice system working in this country.”—T.L.
Guantánamo Bay Pro Bono Lawyers Garner 2011 Gribbon Award
Zuckerman Spaeder LLP partners William J. Murphy and John J. Connolly received the 2011 Daniel M. Gribbon Pro Bono Advocacy Award from the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services of the Judicial Conference of the District of Columbia Circuit. The duo was recognized at a reception held on December 6 recognizing pro bono representation of Guantánamo Bay detainees.
Murphy and Connolly represented detainee Dr. Ayman Saeed Batarfi from 2005 to 2010. The attorneys, along with their associate Daniel P. Moylan, expended 5,000 hours on protracted proceedings, including hundreds of hours to secure evidence from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Batarfi was released from Guantánamo.
The award was presented by Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who spoke about the Guantánamo cases brought before the court.
“It was June 12, 2008, I remember the day well. I had been chief judge just a little over a month when the Supreme Court decided to bless our court with all of the Guantánamo Bay detainees who were challenging their imprisonment in federal court. The Court said it was confident that we would move with all deliberate speed and would not give us any guidance because it was sure we could figure it all out,” he told the audience. “When we began, we had 200 pending cases and 600 detainees. To describe this docket as overwhelming would really be an understatement. But sheer volume of cases wasn’t the only reason we needed the legal community to step in to provide pro bono representation. The issues to be addressed in these cases are complicated and are of the utmost importance under the Constitution of the United States and our guarantee of due process; it’s the very foundation of our judicial system, which protects us all even in time of fear and uncertainty.”
In addition to Murphy and Connolly, the reception honored the work of more than 500 other lawyers who contributed pro bono representation to detainees seeking release from detention in habeas corpus proceedings. During the past several years, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has presided over hundreds of these cases, becoming a sizable portion of the court’s docket.
More information about the Guantánamo Bay cases is available at www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/guantanamo.—K.A.
South Asian Bar Association Announces Election Results
The South Asian Bar Association (SABA–DC) of Washington, D.C., elected new members to its 2012 executive board.
A. J. Dhaliwal, a regulatory attorney at BuckleySandler LLP who assists clients in the financial services industry, was elected president. In that capacity, Dhaliwal will head the organization’s board of directors.
During his term, Dhaliwal will focus on promoting the benefits of SABA–DC membership, including networking and professional development opportunities with the American Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar. He also plans to help lead the organization as it works to ensure that South Asian people are able to obtain legal services when their civil or human rights are violated.
SABA–DC members elected Kavitha J. Babu, a trial attorney with the civil division of the U.S. Department of Justice, as executive vice president.
Other members of the board include: Jaya Saxena, vice president of programming; Milan Dalal, vice president of communications; Shuchi Batra, vice president of finance, Hardeep Grover, newsletter editor–in–chief; and Aarti Shah, secretary.
General directors are Puneet Arora, Ajay Gohil, Vamsi Kakarla, Rashi Mittal, Neal Shah, and Moh Sharma.—T.L.
AU Kicks Off Law School’s 2012 Founders’ Celebration
From January 12 to May 25 American University Washington College of Law will host its annual Founders’ Celebration, honoring the university’s founding mothers, Ellen Spencer Mussey and Emma Gillett.
This year, the five–month–long celebration will consist of 87 events, from seminars to panel discussions about current issues facing the legal profession. Legal experts will cover a range of topics, including international trade, labor rights, military justice reform, domestic violence, privacy issues, climate change, and the global economy.
Students, alumni, judges, and members of the community are welcome to attend. Many of the programs offered can be used to receive continuing legal education credits for legal professionals.
The Founders’ Celebration kicked off on January 12 with an information fair for first–year law students to learn about the different programs at the Washington College of Law. The first panel discussion took place on January 20. In an all–day forum, “Transparency in the Obama Administration—A Third–Year Assessment,” experts evaluated the Executive Branch, looking at both the highlights and lowlights of government transparency efforts during President Obama’s first term.
Last year, the celebration drew 7,000 attendees and featured 86 programs and nearly 650 speakers. More than 1,000 diverse organizations also were represented during the celebration, including governmental departments, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, U.S. and foreign law schools, law firms, and embassies.
The event was created to honor Mussey and Gillett, who established the Washington College of Law in 1896, becoming the first law school in the nation founded by women.
For more information, visit www.wcl.american.edu/secle
/founders/2012.—T.L.
Nominations Sought for Justice Potter Stewart Award
The Council for Court Excellence (CCE) is accepting nominations for its 16th Annual Justice Potter Stewart Award, which is presented annually to members of the local and federal justice system who exemplify the very best in the administration of justice.
To be considered, nominees must live or work in the Washington metropolitan area, and should be an individual or group whose contributions to the administration of justice, the legal system, or the administrative aspects of government in the District have been significant and sustained.
The CCE anticipates presenting two Justice Potter Stewart Awards this year, one of which may be given to an “unsung hero” who has worked with little or no public acclaim. Current CCE board members or sitting judges are not eligible.
The award(s) will be presented at the CCE’s annual Justice Potter Stewart Dinner on May 10 at the Organization of American States, 17th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
Nominations must be sent by February 8 either in hard copy form to the Council for Court Excellence, 1111 14th Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005, or online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5VDXSZB.
The CCE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic organization that works to improve the administration of justice in the local and federal courts and related agencies nationwide and in the Washington metropolitan area.—K.A.
Early Bird Registration Ongoing for ASIL Meeting
Online registration is open for the American Society of International Law’s (ASIL) 106th annual meeting on March 28 to 31 at The Fairmont, 2401 M Street NW.
The annual meeting brings together more than 1,200 practitioners, academics, and students each year to debate the latest developments in their field. This year’s meeting will look at how international law responds to complexity and address such questions as which problems is international law particularly well–suited to solve, which seem to defy its regulation, and what tools does international law have to manage this complexity.
For more information and to register, visit www.asil.org. For assistance, contact Tia Pickeral, ASIL’s conference registration manager, at tpickeral@courtesyassoc.com or at 202-367-2383.—K.A.
When Lawyers Take Action, Many Hands Make Light Work
On December 10 more than 10,000 volunteers walked quietly through Arlington Cemetery, perching wreaths decorated with red bows against the rows of white marble gravestones as part of Wreaths Across America Day. Coming out to help adorn the 75,000 graves and to honor veterans’ service were 40 individuals from DLA Piper LLP, including staff, attorneys, and clients.
“We were honored to have the opportunity to participate in the mission of Wreaths Across America and pay our respects to veterans at Arlington National Cemetery,” said Jay Epstien, a partner at DLA Piper. “The wreath–laying ceremonies organized by Wreaths Across America signify the importance of remembering our fallen heroes, honoring those who serve and teaching children about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families to preserve our freedoms.”
Wreaths Across America was just one of dozens of volunteer projects performed by the legal community during the holiday season. From organizing clothing drives to manning soup kitchens, attorneys found numerous ways to help those in need.
The Drive to Help
There were clothing drives, toy drives, and food drives. At Hogan Lovells, attorneys organized a donation drive on behalf of Calvary Women’s Services, which offers housing and services to homeless women to help them get back on their feet. Attorneys and legal staff assembled more than 70 Thanksgiving baskets brimming with food so that the women living at the shelter could enjoy a traditional holiday meal.
Hogan Lovells also joined more than 130 law firms and organizations to collect clothing, blankets, and individual financial donations for Gifts for the Homeless. The nonprofit is a particularly unique organization to the legal community because it is voluntarily run by lawyers, legal staff, and other professionals. One hundred percent of donations made go directly to the shelters because District–area firms absorb the overhead.
This year the organization collected more than 4,000 bags of used clothing, consisting of gloves, hats, sweaters, coats, boots, and pants. With the help of nearly 400 volunteers, those bags were distributed to 63 local homeless shelters.
Sponsoring Families
For the past 20 years, Miller & Chevalier Chartered has worked with the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program, providing gifts to children who are under 12 and live in the District. Without their participation and the participation of others, families in need chosen by the Salvation Army would not be able to afford Christmas.
Led by member Patricia Sweeney and secretary Monique de Grace, the office originally planned to sponsor 100 children. Within a few weeks, stacks of toys and clothing filled the firm’s atrium, while additional money was donated to buy more gifts. People even rolled in bicycles or helped assemble them in the area the firm called the “bicycle annex.” The employees were so generous that the firm was able to sponsor an additional 20 children with all the gifts that accrued in the office.
“Over the years, we have been told by many participating members of the Miller & Chevalier ‘family’ that this program has become a high point of their holiday season. It certainly is for me,” Sweeney said. “It really warms the heart to see the gifts we provide. The program truly puts you in touch with the spirit of the season.”
DLA Piper’s personal project throughout the holidays was adopting 18 families from the Children’s Law Center and Neval Thomas Elementary School, a public school in the District. Money was raised to purchase, wrap, and deliver gifts to families who are without a home this year or are in need of help. Each family was presented with clothing, toys, and gift cards to grocery stores. The project was part of the firm’s overall national pro bono signature project, Advancing Education’s Promise, which aims to improve the quality of education from childhood to college by providing opportunities for attorneys to become involved with local schools and other education programs.
A Year of Giving
While the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s is often called the “season of giving” because of an increase in charitable work, many District law firms strive to create a year–round culture of giving back to the community through programs such as DLA Piper’s Advancing Education’s Promise.
At Hogan Lovells, attorneys in its offices around the world participate in Touch, which promotes focused engagement with the community. Each office works with a local charity, finding different activities to raise money and support its mission. Earlier in 2011, employees in the Washington, D.C., office nominated more than 30 nonprofits to be the firm’s Touch charity. A committee chose six organizations from the list. To encourage active participation by all, the office held an open house in May where representatives from each charity set up tables and spoke to employees about their cause.
After a voting process, the firm chose So Others Might Eat (SOME), which provides food, clothing, medical care, job training, and housing to the disadvantaged population in the District.
Since May, employees have helped with lunch service and clean–up at SOME, serving more than 300 people during a typical meal.
To date, the most popular event to benefit SOME has been the Wii bowling tournament held on August 5. There were 33 teams of attorneys and staff, each paying an entry fee and raising supporting donations. The one–day event raised approximately $20,000—$10,000 in individual donations and $10,000 in firm matching funds.
“[Giving back] is something a lot of firms do,” said Stephen Propst, partner at Hogan Lovells. “It’s the recognition that we, as lawyers, are very privileged. To some extent, we have an obligation, but also have an interest in giving back to the community. It is both a benefit to the community and a benefit to us as a way of getting to know the people and businesses and communities that we work in and with.”—T.L.
Reach D.C. Bar staff writers Kathryn Alfisi and Thai Phi Le at kalfisi@dcbar.org and tle@dcbar.org, respectively.
