Arnwine Receives Ollie May Cooper Award
Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, became the 28th recipient of the Washington Bar Association’s Ollie May Cooper Award at a ceremony held on October 19 at the Howard University School of Law.

In accepting the award named for legal pioneer and 1921 Howard Law School graduate Ollie Mae Cooper, Arnwine said her work battling racial inequality has not been driven by accolades.

“I don’t do this work for an award. That’s not what drives me. Not what gets me up in the morning. I don’t do it for the award, but I do do it for the reward.”

Arnwine said that lawyers should always be conscious of how to use the power of their profession to bring justice to those in need.

She described the work that the Lawyers’ Committee has done in ensuring that the votes of African Americans are counted on Election Day and in bringing justice to those still without a home or support after Hurricane Katrina, to those being forced out of their homes by rising rents, to children not receiving an adequate education, and to those facing discrimination in the workplace.

Preceding Arnwine’s award acceptance, F. Michael Higginbotham, the Wilson Elkins Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore and adjunct professor of law at New York University, delivered the association’s 26th Annual Founders’ Lecture.

Higginbotham’s lecture focused on “the ghost of Jim Crow” and the lingering notion of racial superiority perpetuated by laws that create racial isolation and inequality and by the media through negative racial messages. —K.A.

Student Legal Service Provider Presents Lever Awards
Mary Kennedy, counsel at Arnold & Porter LLP, and Elliott Milstein, professor of law at American University, were among the honorees at the Eighth Annual Lever Awards on October 8 at the Renaissance Washington hotel.

The awards were bestowed by D.C. Law Students in Court (LSIC), a legal service provider and two-semester legal clinic for students from five area law schools (Georgetown, Catholic, George Washington, Howard, and American universities) that provides legal assistance, mostly involving civil litigation, to some 7,000 low-income Washington residents every year.

Before the presentation of awards, Georgetown University Law Center professor James Forman Jr. gave the keynote address in which he spoke about the importance of providing quality education in Washington’s public schools.

“I was a public defender for six years, but it took about six minutes for me and my colleagues to see the intimate connection between a failed education system and the tragedy that has become our criminal justice system,” he said.

To combat the problem, Forman suggested that there be an open and honest discussion about race, class, and segregation in the public schools and a collective call for improved conditions.

“Let’s have less people who need PDS [Public Defender Service]. Let’s have less people who need LSIC. And I think the way to start that is through the schools.”

The first honoree of the night was Kennedy, who serves as a trial training counsel at Arnold & Porter. Prior to joining the firm in March, she worked at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, where she started the firm’s litigation mentor program. She also worked at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia for 11 years, representing adults and juveniles.

“I look out here and I see a community of people who understand how important a lawyer can be in the life of an individual person,” she said. “I have a passion for representing those people who cannot afford a lawyer and giving them representation and counsel, and in giving them the attention and the dignity and respect that they deserve.”

Milstein has taught at the American University Washington College of Law since 1972, the year in which he founded the school’s first clinical program. From 1988 to 1993 he served as the school’s dean, and from 1993 to 1994 he served as the university’s interim president. Currently he teaches in the Civil Practice Clinic and assists with a program to train new clinicians at the school.

Upon accepting his award, Milstein said he was delighted to be recognized “for work that has given my life meaning and given me so much pleasure over the years,” and noted that the LSIC’s success has been integral to the creation of similar clinical programs at all D.C. law schools.

The evening’s final honoree was LSIC client Fredy Cruz, who came to the clinic after being sued by his landlord for refusing to pay rent on what he said was an unsafe apartment in serious disrepair.

An LSIC student attorney represented Cruz and his family in numerous court appearances and hearings, arguing that the landlord violated the housing code by being made aware of the apartment’s unsafe conditions and failing to make repairs. A D.C. Superior Court judge ruled in Cruz’s favor, and in April Cruz was awarded $11,770.

The evening ended, as in previous years, with a live auction to raise money for the LSIC. —K.A.

Superior Court Expands E-Filing to Civil II Cases
Pursuant to Administrative Order 06-17, issued in May 2005, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia has begun phasing in electronic filing for Civil II cases.

Though its use is currently voluntary, e-filing will become mandatory for all parties represented by counsel as of February 5, 2007.

To take advantage of this program, each party to a case that is represented by counsel must agree to file and serve all documents electronically; register with the service provider, CaseFileXpress, at www.casefilexpress.com; and e-file a Consent Notice of eFiled Case. A sample copy of this notice is attached to the administrative order.

If a case includes a pro se party, lawyers may still e-file to the court and e-serve one another. However, service on the pro se party must be by hand or mail.

“This is another major step in our efforts to automate court records and processes, to enhance access and make our system more convenient for the public,” said Chief Judge Rufus G. King III. “E-filing saves time and paper; allows easy access to filings for parties, attorneys, judges, and the public; and enables us to process cases more efficiently. We are pleased that the Civil I e-filing pilot project was so successful and that we are now able to expand that to the thousands of Civil II cases filed in the Superior Court each year.”

The implementation of the integrated case management system, CourtView, among the various divisions and courts of the Superior Court was completed earlier this year. The system creates an e-court where dockets and documents are stored electronically. E-filing is an essential component of this system.

This transformation began with the Family Court Act of 2001, calling for improved data and document exchange within the court and among agencies. As the process extended to other areas of the court, 20 systems were eliminated and court data were integrated into the new combined system. The integration process was completed in January 2006.

To view Administrative Order 06-17, along with frequently asked questions about e-filing, visit www.dccourts.gov/
efiling. —J.R.

New Member Benefit Brings Accountability to E-Mail
Through its new partnership with RPost, the D.C. Bar now offers members RPost’s Registered E-mail service, which provides the e-mail sender with legally valid evidence of an entire e-mail transaction in case of dispute involving electronic communication.

Although e-mail is now given the same legal status as paper documents, it can be difficult to prove that e-mail was sent and delivered. RPost’s Registered E-mail service provides proof that e-mail was sent and received, recording the time at which the message was received and validating the contents of the message, including attachments, all without relying on confirmation by the message receiver.

In case of an e-mail-related dispute, the service provides readily available evidence, defensible in court, of what content was sent to whom and precisely when it was received.

Examples of how the legal community uses RPost’s service includes sending required notifications while retaining proof of compliance or notice receipt; maintaining a record of original content of legal opinions and advice sent to clients; recording the back-and-forth in negotiations; and retaining proof of what was originally said in e-mail that has consequence and/or can commit the firm.

For more information about Registered E-mail, contact RPost at 866-468-3315 or info@rpost.com, or visit www.rpost.com/
partners/dcbar. —K.A.

Courts Honor Pro Bono Program’s Spanish Language Clinic
The D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program’s Spanish Language Advice and Referral Clinic received a CORO award from the D.C. courts for outstanding service in promoting outreach and opportunity in the Hispanic community.

The Legal Community Award was presented in a ceremony held at the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse on October 13.

Sponsored by the Hispanic Heritage Commission of the D.C. courts, the CORO (Community Outreach Recognition Opportunity) awards are presented every October in conjunction with the courts’ celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Other recipients included the Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative (Community Agency Award), the Family Court Self-Help Center of the D.C. Superior Court (Community Outreach Award), D.C. Superior Court Judge Laura Cordero (Achievement Recognition Award), and Jorge Nava, a probation officer with the Superior Court’s Juvenile Intake Unit (Allan Klein Special Recognition Award).

D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program Director Maureen Thornton Syracuse expressed her gratitude for the D.C. courts’ praise of the clinic. “We’re used to giving awards, not receiving them,” she said. “It’s an honor to be recognized by the courts.”

Syracuse singled out the Pro Bono Program’s partners in developing and maintaining the Spanish Language Advice and Referral Clinic: Ayuda, the Carlos Rosario International Career Center, the Central American Resource Center, CentroNía (formerly the Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center), and the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia. Their dedication and expertise were crucial to the clinic’s success, she said, noting they “deserve a lot of the credit.”

“We were honored and pleased to receive the award,” said Hispanic Bar Association President Christina Guerola Sarchio, a partner at Howrey LLP. She observed that the presenter, D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Vanessa Ruiz, together with WilmerHale partner Brigida Benitez, was instrumental in the clinic’s creation. “We should be giving the award to her,” joked Sarchio.

The Spanish Language Advice and Referral Clinic, which meets on a quarterly basis, is staffed by Spanish-speaking attorneys and support personnel. Individuals needing legal assistance who speak only Spanish are either given legal advice or directed to the appropriate agency or resources for retaining an attorney.

Sarchio pointed out that both the number of individuals attending the clinic and the number of volunteers have continued to grow and that the clinic might meet more often. “The community would welcome that with open arms,” she said. —J.R.

Catholic University School of Law Inaugurates Legal Service Society
The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law officially launched its Legal Service Society on October 18 with an inspirational lecture on the importance of pro bono work by Rawle Andrews Jr., chair and cofounder of Andrews & Bowe, PLLP.

The lecture, “Pro Bono Service in a Post-Katrina World: Revisiting the Moral Imperative to Be a Difference Maker,” was a fitting start to the student-initiated program, which aims to coordinate pro bono activities within the law school.

“This event symbolizes for us a rededication of our community commitment to the lawyer’s responsibility and professional obligation to help his or her fellow human being through pro bono service,” said Dean Veryl Miles before introducing Andrews.

“There are few things that matter more to me as the dean of this law school than our having a very full and complete understanding of and commitment to pro bono work. . . . We believe that students can only benefit from the coordination and organization that will be offered by the Legal Service Society.”

In his lecture Andrews drew parallels between the Legal Service Society and Noah’s Ark, saying that a new ark of service had been created at the law school, and that students needed to stay with the ship in order for it to succeed.

Andrews said that the question that often arises when considering public service is, How can I make a difference when I’m afraid to be different? to which he answered that Noah was not afraid to be different and to take on an unpopular and difficult mission.

Andrews also warned against de-emphasizing pro bono work.

“If you separate pro bono legal services, my fear is that you’re going to make distinctions. You’re going to say, ‘I’m representing IBM over here and I’m representing Ms. May over here.’ Well, guess who’s going to get the bulk of your time? If you say it’s free or for fee, guess where the effort and energy is going to go?”

Pro bono work, he said, should be defined as “high-quality professional services, just like if you were doing it for IBM and the only distinction is that you’re doing it at no cost to the client. . . . If you are willing to write that 10-page brief for IBM, you’ve got to be willing to write that same 10-page brief for Ms. May.”

Andrews read aloud a letter written by a client’s daughter thanking him on behalf of her mother, whom he represented pro bono through AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly.

“I felt like a lawyer, like a real lawyer for the first time,” he said of first reading the letter. “Can you imagine doing anything for 16 years and not knowing whether or not you should be doing it at all, and if you are, then if you’re doing it to anybody’s satisfaction much less your own?”

That case and others, demanding nearly 800 pro bono hours last year, earned Andrews the D.C. Bar’s 2006 Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award, which he shared with Daniel Collopy, deputy assistant general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board.

Despite the accolades for his pro bono work, Andrews admitted to the assembly that he was no different from most lawyers in that he, too, had a busy schedule and would like to enjoy the financial benefits of practicing law, but that time, even if only sparingly, can and should be made to pursue pro bono work.

“You’ve got to remember that as an attorney we have special gifts, we have special skills, and we’ve got to put them to use,” he said. —K.A.

Disciplinary System Study Report Submitted to Appeals Court
The D.C. Bar Board of Governors has submitted its recommendations on lawyer disciplinary changes to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals for the court’s consideration.

At its meeting on October 10, the board adopted the final report of the D.C. Bar Disciplinary System Study Committee following its review of Rule XI of the D.C. Court of Appeals Rules Governing the D.C. Bar. The committee completed its review earlier this year.

Established in 2003, the committee was charged with studying certain aspects of the disciplinary system in the District of Columbia and recommending changes to Rule XI to ensure that the system remained as efficient, effective, and fair as possible.

The report is available online at www.dcbar.org/inside_the_
bar/structure/ reports. —J.R.

Fenty Keynotes Hispanic Bar’s Awards Ceremony
Days before being elected the District of Columbia’s next mayor, Adrian Fenty spoke about his path from lawyer to D.C. Council member to mayoral candidate at the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s 2006 Equal Justice Awards ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.

Fenty’s keynote address came before the recognition of 23 rising stars of the Hispanic legal community, who were chosen by the bar for their leadership potential.

“I am enthusiastic about a new generation of leaders taking over the leadership of the District of Columbia,” said Fenty. “There are so many young people moving to the city. There’s so much energy . . . so much hope.

“I just want to give all of you the opportunity to be part of what I think is a great movement in the District of Columbia. We’ve only had the opportunity to have a local government for some 30 years. We’re very much a new city, and I think there is an emerging realization that we are going to be a world-class city. . . .

“The future of the District of Columbia is about having a really diverse cabinet, diverse leadership, and making sure that this great population that we have that’s becoming more diverse every year is well represented and governed.”

The November 1 event also honored Roel Campos, a commissioner on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Marian Urquilla, executive director of the Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative; and the D.C. Employment Justice Center.

Campos received the Judge Ricardo M. Urbina Lifetime Achievement Award for his long and distinguished career in business, public service, and private practice.

Before being sworn in as the SEC’s first Latino commissioner in 2002, Campos served as a principal owner of El Dorado Communications, a broadcasting company in Texas, and a federal prosecutor for five years in Los Angeles.

The Hugh A. Johnson, Jr. Award, honoring both an individual and an organization, was presented to Urquilla for her leadership of the Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative, a network of neighborhood organizations and community leaders working to support low-income families in northwest Washington.

In presenting the award to the Employment Justice Center, Hispanic Bar Association President-Elect Linda Estrada said the center “has been instrumental in securing, protecting, and promoting workplace justice in the District of Columbia metropolitan area,” and noted that in 2005 alone it helped 915 low-wage workers with their employment law problems. —K.A.

Sections Seek Candidates for Steering Committees
The 21 sections of the D.C. Bar are seeking candidates for positions on their steering committees. Successful candidates will serve a three-year term beginning July 1.

Steering committee members coordinate programs, projects, publications, and community outreach activities. The committees may develop public statements and submit comments on legislation, court rules, and regulatory reform relating to the section’s area of practice.

For more information concerning the nomination process and a list of vacant positions, visit www.dcbar.org/for_lawyers/
sections/elections or call the Sections Office at 202-626-3463.

The deadline for submitting an interest form and résumé is February 8.

Bar Conducts Judicial Evaluations
The D.C. Bar Judicial Evaluation Committee mailed notices on October 31 announcing this year’s judicial evaluation program.

Notices were sent to 3,490 attorneys who appeared before selected judges within the past 24 months inviting them to participate in the program. Evaluations must be completed by December 31.

The mailed notices contain instructions on how to access the evaluation form online (www.dcbar.org/evaluations). The process is secure and confidential, and participants remain anonymous. Alternatively, attorneys may request a hard copy of the evaluation form.

The Bar’s survey is the primary method of receiving feedback on the performance of judges at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

This year 27 judges will be evaluated. In the D.C. Court of Appeals, they include James A. Belson, Michael W. Farrell, John M. Ferren, John W. Kern III, Frank Q. Nebeker, Theodore R. Newman Jr., and John M. Steadman.

In the D.C. Superior Court, they include Anna Blackburne-Rigsby (now with the D.C. Court of Appeals), Russell F. Canan, Harold L. Cushenberry Jr., Herbert B. Dixon Jr., Frederick D. Dorsey, John R. Hess, Gregory Jackson, John Ramsey Johnson, Richard A. Levie, Bruce S. Mencher, Zinora M. Mitchell-Rankin, Robert E. Morin, Truman A. Morrison III, Thomas J. Motley, John M. Mott, Tim Murphy, Michael L. Rankin, Nan M. Shuker, Robert S. Tignor, and Fred B. Ugast.

Judges are evaluated in their 2nd, 6th, 10th, and 13th years of service. Senior judges are evaluated every other year.

Each evaluated judge receives a copy of his or her survey results, as do the chief judges of their respective courts. Evaluation results of senior judges and of judges in their 6th, 10th, and 13th years of service are also sent to the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure.

Law Firms Partner With Public Interest Organizations Through Pro Bono Graduate Fellowship Program
Like many public interest organizations in Washington, D.C., the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition must carry out a big mission with a small staff, relying heavily on volunteers. With just three full-time attorneys, CAIR works to provide an array of services to the immigrant advocacy community in Washington.

For part of 2006, however, CAIR was able to add one more full-time attorney to its team, thanks to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program’s Graduate Fellowship Program and program participant Sidley Austin LLP.

The Graduate Fellowship Program recruits law firms to allow their incoming associates to work for public interest organizations in the District of Columbia immediately following graduation from law school or completion of a judicial clerkship. Prospective fellows are guided to opportunities that best match their interests and talents.

The participating organizations have diverse practices, including direct representation, legislative advocacy, policy development, and impact litigation.

Since it began in 2002, the program has placed more than 40 incoming associates with more than 20 organizations.

Noah Clements was one such associate. Before joining Sidley in October, Clements spent eight weeks working for CAIR full-time.

In that time Clements had the opportunity to meet with the field director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to try to negotiate the release or deportation of 13 individuals; had his first appearance in court, asking a judge to refrain from hearing an asylum case until a mental evaluation was made; met with two detainees at a Virginia prison who wanted to protest their removal; and attended his first successful credible-fear interview.

In addition to providing incoming associates with valuable professional development, the program offers public interest organizations with much needed legal assistance.

Clements was the first program fellow that CAIR had worked with, and according to its executive director, Deborah Sanders, his contribution proved very helpful.

“There are three lawyers working full-time at CAIR, so having Noah there meant they had a fourth, which can make a big difference. It made us able to serve that many more people,” said Sanders. “We would love to have somebody from the program participate next year.”

Sidley has been involved in the program since its beginning, and has sent 21 incoming associates to serve at public service organizations.

The firm’s participation is beneficial in several ways, said Sidley’s pro bono counsel, Rebecca Troth. For one, it helps the firm recruit new associates because, as Troth explained, “more and more associates are asking about what pro bono opportunities a firm offers.” Moreover, it provides incoming associates with a real-world legal education that allows them to serve and act as lawyers before they join the firm.

Through their work at the public service organizations, program fellows also gain legal expertise in particular areas, which they bring with them when they return to the firm. Clements, for instance, brought not only his knowledge but two asylum cases to Sidley when he left CAIR.

Participating in the program also allows the firm to establish and develop relationships with the public service organizations, as well as to show its commitment to pro bono. Through one fellow’s work the firm can accumulate more than 400 pro bono hours without having to pull an associate off a case.

“We think it’s a great program,” said Troth. “It’s really a win–win situation for everyone involved.”

The D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program is currently recruiting law firms to participate in the Graduate Fellowship Program for 2007. For more information, contact Mark Herzog at 202-737-4700, ext. 206, or mherzog@dcbar.org. —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’s Continuing Legal Education Program.

D.C. Bar members who have been inactive, retired, or voluntarily resigned for five years or more are also 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 automatically suspends individuals who have not attended 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 course is $180 ($190 after January 1). The next course dates are November 7, December 12, and January 9. Advance registration is encouraged.

For more information or to register online, visit www.dcbar.org/mandatorycourse.

Julie Reynolds and Kathryn Alfisi are staff writers with the D.C. Bar. They can be reached by e-mail at jreynolds@dcbar.org and kalfisi@dcbar.org.