Legal Happenings
Going the (Reasonably Short) Distance for Justice
September 25, 2025
How far would you go to ensure that all D.C. residents have access to justice? The D.C. Bar Foundation’s DC Walk for Justice 5K on October 23 will challenge participants to undertake a journey in support of a fair and equal civil legal experience for all District residents. The event, now in its second year, seeks to increase community awareness of civil legal need in the District, foster community engagement, and raise funds.
Walk for Justice is modeled on London’s Legal Walk, which draws thousands of participants and raises more than a million dollars annually.
Suzanne Turner, partner and chair of Dechert LLP’s pro bono practice, was working out of the firm’s London office when she participated in the inaugural London Legal Walk a little over 20 years ago. She and her former Dechert colleague, Paul Lee, who now serves as Steptoe LLP’s pro bono partner, plotted the launch of D.C.’s own walk for justice, bringing the concept to the DC Bar Foundation.
“Susie and I have talked about it many, many, many years in a row,” Lee says. “We had a lot of community buy-in. It’s at Nats Park, right in the neighborhoods, not far from Capitol Hill, not far from the courts, so people from the District can see what pro bono legal services are all about, why they are necessary, and where the funds are going.”
The DC Bar Foundation was a natural fit as organizer of the event, given its role in the legal services community. Each year the foundation helps thousands of District residents secure the fundamentals of life, including housing, family stability, personal safety, and financial stability, by funding and supporting nonprofit organizations that provide legal services to financially disenfranchised or otherwise underserved persons in the District.
The inaugural DC Bar Foundation Walk for Justice in 2024 was a great success. More than 40 law firms, 17 legal aid organizations, and six area law schools participated. “It is an amazing show of force by the legal community to support, to fund, to learn about the legal needs of the poor, and to figure out ways to try to raise money to support organizations that work [in] that realm,” Turner says.
Fundraising isn’t the event’s only goal. Those interested in increasing District residents’ ability to access the civil legal system and supporting the organizations working in the civil legal aid space should also join, Turner says. “We encourage everyone to come out. There’s no entry barrier here,” Turner says. “All you have to do is come out and walk. There’s no sign-up fee … Law firms can sponsor and individuals can get people to support them through sponsorship, but there’s no minimum entry barrier to participation.”
Last year, Hogan Lovells US LLP put together the largest team, with 40 registered walkers. This year, the firm holds the position of lead sponsor.
The 2024 walk drew a variety of legal support staff, vendors, law students, and others in the legal community, and organizers hope that the event’s popularity will continue to expand to include a broad cross-section of the city.
The course, a short loop around D.C.’s popular Navy Yard neighborhood, starts and ends at Nationals Park, passing along the Anacostia riverfront. The walk is not particularly onerous. The course is flat, and the late October weather allows for a comfortable stroll. Participants are under no obligation to complete the entire walk.
Adam Pollet, a partner at Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP and DC Bar Foundation board member, participated in the 2024 walk with his wife and two small children, who quickly tired, resulting in a shortened walk for the family. They returned to the assembly point, where food and refreshments were served, and socialized with the other participants.
“It’s really about connecting with other people,” Pollet says. “Whether it’s the folks at my firm — we had a big team of both lawyers and nonlawyers — or people at other firms or other organizations, coming together for a common cause is really positive and everybody was really motivated and excited, and that was just year one. We’re very excited about building on the momentum for this year.”
“What the foundation does is incredibly critical to providing civil legal services to D.C. residents, and I’m not sure enough people know about it,” Pollet adds.
The DC Bar Foundation awards grants, provides training and technical assistance, and fosters collaboration among dozens of legal aid organizations in Washington, D.C. In the past four years, this network has provided legal aid to approximately 130,000 District residents with low incomes. More than half of the grants awarded by the foundation are committed to projects targeting housing insecurity.
Since 1977, the DC Bar Foundation has distributed more than $208 million in grants to legal aid providers in the District. The foundation also provides loan repayment assistance to qualified attorneys working for legal aid organizations.
J. Daryl Byler, director of development and communications at the DC Bar Foundation, says that the organization’s goal to attract 600 walkers and raise $325,000 at this year’s event reflects the early interest expressed by law firms and individual attorneys. As of September 25, the foundation has raised $240,568, with more than 200 walkers registered so far and 37 corporate sponsors.
Kirra Jarratt, chief executive officer of the DC Bar Foundation, says the DC Walk for Justice “is a unique way for the DC Bar Foundation to raise funds and awareness for D.C.’s civil legal aid network, while bringing together folks from all walks of life to connect, learn, and grow in support of a worthy cause.”
“We are honored to host an event that centers [around] access to justice at a time when it is needed more than ever,” Jarratt adds.
Registration and sponsorship information about the DC Walk for Justice 5K can be found here.
