- D.C. Access to Justice Commission
- Judicial Reception
- Brown Bag Lunch on Actual Innocence Claims
- Youth Law Fair 2009
- Training for Legal Services Attorneys
- Steering Committee
Litigation Section Provides Support to D.C. Access to Justice Commission
Every year that it is financially able to do so, the Litigation Section considers donating to a public organization or project that provides litigation related assistance to low-income District of Columbia residents or benefits the cause of equal access to justice for low income District of Columbia residents. This year, the Litigation Section is proud to have provided financial support to the D.C. Access to Justice Commission.
The goal of the Access to Justice Commission is to assure that D.C. residents who need a lawyer to protect their rights in civil cases can get one. In its recently-issued report, Justice for All? An Examination of the Civil Legal Needs of the District of Columbia’s Low-Income Community, the Access to Justice Commission finds that the demand for civil legal services by low-income residents in the District of Columbia continues to vastly exceed the supply.
Noting the devastating consequences of not having access to legal help, Access to Justice Commission Chair Peter Edelman has noted: “When people are already at the edge, a lawyer can make all the difference. The help of a lawyer can enable poor people to keep their families together, hold onto their home or apartment, fight back against an unscrupulous lender or merchant, protect themselves and their children against an abusive spouse or partner, or gain redress against a dishonest employer.”
The current members of the Access to Justice Commission are: Professor
Muneer I. Ahmad; Rawle Andrews, Jr.; Dean Katherine S. Broderick; Judge
Stephanie Duncan-Peters; Professor Peter B. Edelman; Joanne Doddy Fort;
Patricia Mullahy Fugere; Nathalie F.P. Gilfoyle; Maria S. Gomez; Su Sie
Ju; Andrew H. Marks; Shirley Massey; Stephen J. Pollak; Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo;
Judge Inez Smith Reid; Judge Vanessa Ruiz; and Jonathan M. Smith.
Back to Top
Litigation Section Hosts Judicial Reception
On October 21, 2008, the Litigation Section, along with the D.C. Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, hosted the Twenty–Third Annual Judicial Reception. For the first time, the event was held at the Mayflower Hotel. Music was provided by the Jazz Barristers. The reception was one of the most successful in recent years with over 135 persons in attendance.
The Litigation Section was honored to have the following four chief judges
as speakers: The Honorable Royce C. Lamberth, Chief Judge, U.S. District
Court for the District of Columbia; The Honorable Lee F. Satterfield,
Chief Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; The Honorable
David B. Sentelle, Chief Judge, U.S. Court of the Appeals for the District
of Columbia Circuit; and The Honorable Eric T. Washington, Chief Judge,
District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Theresa Coetzee, Co-Chair Litigation
Section Steering Committee, served as moderator for the evening.
Back to Top
Upcoming Brown Bag Lunch on Actual Innocence Claims
On January 15, 2009, the Litigation Section, in conjunction with the Criminal Law and Individual Rights Section, will host a brown bag lunch program entitled: "Litigating Actual Innocence Claims: Strategic and Investigative Challenges." The program will be moderated by Litigation Section Co-Chair Theresa Coetzee. Speakers include: Shawn Armbrust (Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project), Robert Okun (U.S. Department of Justice), Barry J. Pollack (Miller Chevalier) and Seth Rosenthal (Venable LLP).
The speakers will share their experiences (from both the defense and prosecution view) litigating actual innocence cases. Speakers will address the challenges such cases present, including the investigative, legal and strategic obstacles. Speakers will also discuss different types of actual innocence cases, including those cases based solely on false DNA evidence and those based solely on false testimonial evidence at trial. Panelists, most especially Ms. Armbrust, will discuss opportunities for members of the bar to represent prisoners seeking to challenge their convictions on the basis of actual innocence.
The program will be held at Arnold & Porter LLP, 555 Twelfth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 from 12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Cost is $15.00 for Section members and subscribers, government and nonprofit employees and students, $25.00 for non-Section members. Please visit the D.C. Bar Web site to register for this event.
Youth Law Fair 2009 - Tenth Anniversary
The Youth Law Fair, a premier community service event of the Litigation Section, is celebrating its 10th Anniversary on Saturday, March 7, 2009, at the H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse in Washington D.C.! The Youth Law Fair is an annual community outreach event targeted at teens in D.C. high schools. This award–winning event is sponsored by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and our own Litigation Section, and is co-sponsored by various other sections of the Bar.
Our goals for the Youth Law Fair include:
Teach D.C. area youth about their rights and responsibilities and the justice system.
Encourage D.C. area youth to form and voice opinions about important legal and social issues.
Empower the minds of D.C. area youth to believe that they are capable of pursing legal careers through the use of role models.
The topic for this year is “OMG!!! Can U Say That?? IDK...,” and will focus on how teens communicate through music, Internet use, and text messaging in order to spread not just information but also rumors, gossip, violent acts, and to solicit gang affiliation. This free, full-day educational event at the D.C. Courts brings students, lawyers, judges and educators together to explore issues facing students in the D.C. area. The event includes exhibits and tours of courtrooms, judges’ chambers and holding cells led by Superior Court judges. It also includes mock trials, a quiz, free lunch and door prizes. Parents are welcome to accompany their children.We are requesting your help in publicizing this important event so that we can reach teenagers and parents who might attend this event and benefit from the educational programs and services displayed. If you have any questions about the Youth Law Fair, please contact the Sections Office at (202) 626-3463 or e–mail the Sections office. You can also visit the D.C. Bar Youth Law Fair page.
Litigation Section Helps Fund Training for Legal Services Attorneys
The Litigation Section continued its highly successful program of defraying the costs of legal services attorneys attending Litigation Section-sponsored CLE Trainings. This past year, 23 legal services attorneys took advantage of the program. Under the program, the Litigation Section pays 80% of the fees for poverty lawyers to attend these valuable trainings. The Litigation Section intends to continue this program this year. If you have any questions, please contact the CLE Director, Lalla Shishkevish at 202-626-3485.
Likewise, in June, the Litigation Section offered substantial scholarships
for legal services attorneys to attend the “Intensive Trial Skills”
NITA training offered by the Georgetown University School of Law, which,
in turn, substantially cut its rate to allow these attorneys to attend
this valuable training. A record number of legal services attorneys
were able to attend, including attorneys from Ayuda, the Children’s
Law Center, D.C. Law Students in Court, Legal Counsel for the Elderly,
the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, WEAVE, and University
Legal Services. The NITA training culminated in two days of “real”
trials held at the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia.
Back to Top
D.C.
Bar Litigation Steering Committee |
|
| Theresa Adams Coatzee, Cochair |
Mary L. Smith, Cochair Tyco International (US) |
| Bruce Spiva Spiva & Hartnett LLP |
Moxila A. Upadhyaya Venable LLP |
| David D. Fauvre Arnold & Porter LLP |
Charles Lemley Wiley Rein LLP |
| David T. Ralston, Jr. Foley & Lardner LLP |
Eric Angel Legal Aid Society of D.C. |
| Lorelie Masters Jenner & Block LLP |
|
