February 2009

	February 2009		Volume 2

	Empowering Clients through Language Access		Pro Bono Profile
	A longtime Legal Aid client received notice from the Income Maintenance Administration (IMA) that his Medicaid benefits were being terminated. Although our client speaks only Spanish and IMA is aware that he does not speak English, the notice was written in English. The District’s Language Access Act requires that he receive notices in Spanish. A few months earlier, our client had received a notice in English that his food stamp benefits were changing. He did not understand the notice and he went to IMA. Since he did not speak English, the guard directed him to a phone to speak with an employee in Spanish. He was told that his benefits would continue. Weeks later, he received a second notice in English that his food stamps were terminated. A Medicaid termination notice came shortly thereafter -- and not long after he was diagnosed with cancer. Our client’s only income is SSI which largely goes towards rent. Having just lost his food stamps, he was extremely worried about what the loss of his healthcare benefits would mean. Unsure of what to do since the IMA office would not communicate with him in Spanish, he came to Legal Aid. His Legal Aid attorney was able to establish that the Medicaid notice had been sent to our client in error. Additionally, we worked with him to ensure that he could access services in Spanish and we helped him file a formal complaint at the Office of Human Rights.		*Randy Brater* Randy is a newly elected partner at Arent Fox LLP who wanted to find a way to give back when he started as an associate at the firm in 2001. Upon joining Arent Fox, he was impressed with the firm’s strong commitment to public service and pro bono work. He was attracted to Arent Fox’s participation in Legal Aid’s volunteer intake program in which attorneys had the opportunity to come to Legal Aid’s office, meet with potential clients, and try to help them with their legal problems, which often involved critical decisions about their home, children, health care, or public benefits. Randy started working as a volunteer and eventually took over as the coordinator of the Legal Aid intake program at Arent Fox. Randy also has served as Arent Fox’s firm coordinator and then a Co-Chair for several years for Legal Aid’s Generous Associates fundraising campaign, helping to organize the campaign throughout the city. “I wanted to get involved and try to make a difference with one organization on several levels," Randy said. "The combination of client intake and fundraising for Legal Aid has been a great fit for me. I litigate for a living, so I find rewarding the chance to use my skills in a different way with Legal Aid.” *Over 24,000 Hours of Pro Bono Service in 2008* Randy provides a remarkable breadth of services to Legal Aid and its clients. He is just one of hundreds of attorneys, paralegals, retired professionals and others who help Legal Aid leverage its resources to serve District of Columbia residents living in poverty. In 2008, volunteers donated over 24,000 hours to Legal Aid, a remarkable amount that helps us make justice a reality each and every day. This contribution of time and talent provided direct representation to clients in more than 250 cases as well as advice and brief assistance in hundreds more.

	The 2008 Leadership Cabinet
	The Leadership Cabinet annually recognizes donors who have made significant contributions to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. Legal Aid raises the majority of its funding through private donations, so the importance of this support cannot be overstated. We are proud to recognize our Leadership Cabinet members for 2008:
	*Platinum Patron* $75,000 & up District of Columbia Bar Foundation Gold Patron $50,000-$74,999
	*Silver Patron* $30,000-$49,999 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Alston & Bird LLP Arent Fox LLP Dickstein Shapiro LLP Hogan & Hartson LLP Mayer Brown LLP Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Williams & Connolly LLP Yale University		*Bronze Patron* $20,000-$29,999 Consumer Health Foundation Dow Lohnes PLLC Jones Day Latham & Watkins LLP McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP O'Melveny & Meyers LLP Eugene & Agnes E. Meyer Foundation Patton Boggs LLP Skadden Fellowship Foundation Steptoe & Johnson LLP United Way Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
	*Patron* $10,000-$19,999
	Arnold & Porter LLP Bingham McCutchen LLP Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP Citi Private Bank Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Crowell & Moring LLP Dechert LLP Deloitte LLP Equal Justice America Equal Justice Works Exxon Mobil Corporation Fannie Mae Foundation Gilbert Oshinsky LLP Philip and Roberta Horton Howrey LLP Ivins, Phillips & Barker Chartered Kelley Drye & Warren LLP		Martin and Arlene Klepper Legal Times LexisNexis Miller & Chevalier Chartered The Morrison & Foerster Foundation Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP Eric Richter Shearman & Sterling LLP Sidley Austin LLP and The Sidley Austin Foundation Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. Sullivan & Cromwell Venable LLP Vinson & Elkins LLP Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Wiley Rein LLP Zuckerman Spaeder LLP
	If you have any questions regarding Legal Aid’s Leadership Cabinet please contact Gregg Kelley, Director of Development, at (202) 661-5964 or gkelley@legalaiddc.org.

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