The recession continues to have an enormous impact on lawyers and legal services providers. As we have worked to navigate the tumultuous financial waters, frantic paddling has become the order of the day. Now that the crisis has gone on for several months, and it seems to have eased in some ways, we all are striving to return some measure of stability and calm to our personal and professional lives.

But for the clients served by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program and other legal services providers in our community, stability was never an option. Our clients’ lives have always been filled with uncertainty and daily struggles to secure housing, earn a living wage, and raise healthy families. For these members of our community, there was no safety net when the downturn swept the nation. And while many of us may feel the storm lifting, our clients will be reeling from the recession for a long time to come.

The downturn hit our vulnerable neighbors unflinchingly. Many suddenly found themselves without housing, perhaps because a landlord had been foreclosed on and (illegally) ordered tenants to vacate. As layoffs swept across every sector, our clients scrambled for jobs while their living wage became a poverty wage. Without the health care once provided by an employer, families faced mountains of medical debt. Our clients had so much at stake, and the recession tipped their already delicate balance.

As we saw the first signs of a rapid increase in community need, the Pro Bono Program reached out to our colleagues among legal services providers and other organizations in the District to share resources and partner in presenting services to our clients in crisis. Our donors are stepping up, our volunteers are pitching in, and our staff is working harder than ever to bring legal services to those who need them the most right now. You will read about some of these efforts in this newsletter.

As advocates for equal justice, our efforts are needed now more than ever to help our community. Our legal training has provided us with skills and expertise that can actually save lives and rescue families from the brink of poverty and homelessness. As our country slowly recovers from the economic crisis, we must reach out to neighbors who need our help. If you can volunteer, please join us for a clinic providing free legal guidance to walk-in clients. If you can donate, please give generously to the Pro Bono Program or another local legal services provider. Together, we provide a service that aims to preserve a great American treasure: equal justice for all.

Maureen Thornton Syracuse
Director, D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program

September 2009