Pro Bono Program

Legal Aid integrates pro bono into almost every aspect of our program, significantly expanding our impact and providing legal assistance and representation for hundreds of additional individuals and families in our community each year.

We refer about 250 matters to private practice and government attorneys each year. Cases are screened initially by Legal Aid and then referred to pro bono counsel. Experienced Legal Aid attorneys are available as a resource for volunteers to answer questions, provide sample pleadings, and discuss relevant law and strategy.

Volunteer attorneys from partner law firms also conduct initial interviews with prospective clients in both our Northwest and Southeast locations, work in house as part of our Legal Aid team as law firm Loaned Associates or Volunteer Staff Attorneys, provide Legal Aid with expert outside counsel and ethics guidance, and more.

If you accept a case referred from Legal Aid, you could help make justice real in our community by:

  • Preventing a family from being evicted
  • Securing a tenant’s rights to safe and well-maintained housing
  • Helping a survivor of domestic violence secure a child custody or support order
  • Obtaining benefits and health care for someone who can no longer work due to disability
  • Preserving home ownership for a family facing foreclosure

For more information about our Pro Bono Program and current pro bono opportunities, please send an email to probono@legalaiddc.org.

Pro Bono Attorneys' Experiences

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Jahnisa Tate Loadholt

Solving Real-World Problems: Jahnisa Tate Loadholt

Jahnisa Tate Loadholt jumped right into pro bono work almost immediately after moving to D.C. from Atlanta about two years ago
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Henry Smith

Ready For a Challenge: Henry Smith

Henry Smith began his legal career as a Law Firm Fellow working at Legal Aid for approximately one year before joining Steptoe & Johnson in the fall of 2010
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Stefanie Doebler

A Decade of Pro Bono Service: Stefanie Doebler

Stefanie Doebler, Of Counsel at Covington & Burling, has been involved since day one of Legal Aid’s Medicare Part D Initiative
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