Who We Are : Staff & Volunteers

Raquel Aguirre, Legal Administrative Assistant
raguirre@legalaiddc.org
Raquel joined Legal Aid as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal in the Family Law Unit in August 2011. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2011 with a B.A. in International Studies. During her sophomore and junior year, Raquel studied abroad in Rabat, Morocco and Havana, Cuba. Before leaving to Cuba, Raquel interned with the Legal Aid Justice Center in Falls Church, Virginia where she assisted with community outreach and clerical duties. At Legal Aid, Raquel provides administrative and paralegal support to the family law attorneys.

Eric Angel, Executive Director
eangel@legalaiddc.org
Eric joined Legal Aid in March 2001.  He served as Legal Director of the organization from March 2001–December 2010, when he was appointed by the Board of Trustees to be Legal Aid’s Executive Director.  Eric is a member of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission, to which he was appointed by the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2011.  Throughout his tenure at Legal Aid, Eric has served on a variety of D.C. Bar and Court committees including the D.C. Bar's Landlord-Tenant Implementation Committee; the D.C. Superior Court's Small Claims Rules Committee; and the D. C. Superior Court’s ad hoc in Forma Pauperis and 9-I Rules Committees.  Eric is a past Co-Chair and Steering Committee Member of the D.C. Bar's Litigation Section.  Currently, Eric serves on the D.C. Bar Foundation's Loan Repayment Assistance Program Advisory Committee and on the Advisory Board of the D.C.'s Community Legal Interpreter Bank.

At the 2010 D.C. Judicial and Bar Conference, Eric was named the co-recipient of the D.C. Bar Foundation's Jerrold Scoutt Prize.  The Prize is awarded annually to an attorney “who has worked for a significant portion of his or her career at a non-profit organization providing direct hands-on legal services to the needy in the District of Columbia; has demonstrated compassionate concern for his or her clients; and has exhibited a high degree of skill on their behalf.”

In addition to his work at Legal Aid, Eric serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching "Public Interest Lawyering" at The George Washington University Law School. 

Before joining Legal Aid, Eric served as an Associate Counsel to President Clinton.  Prior to Eric's two years at the White House Counsel's Office, he served for four years as a Trial Attorney in the Civil Division in the United States Department of Justice handling civil litigation matters in federal district courts around the country.  A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Eric began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Rosanne Avilés, Supervising Attorney
raviles@legalaiddc.org
Rosanne joined Legal Aid in June 2007 as a staff attorney in the housing law unit.  Prior to joining Legal Aid in 2007, Rosanne was a staff attorney at Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, a public interest law and policy center.  Rosanne received her B.A. from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.

Julie Becker, Supervising Attorney
jbecker@legalaiddc.org
Julie joined Legal Aid in September 2000. After graduating from the University of Michigan and Yale Law School, Julie served as a clerk for the Honorable Sonia Sotomayor, then of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She also worked as a summer intern at Legal Aid in 1998 and as a Skadden Fellow from 2000-2002. Julie serves on the D.C. Superior Court Advisory Subcommittee on Landlord-Tenant Rules. She also is active in policy advocacy at the D.C. Council and the D.C. Housing Authority, including drafting and commenting on legislation and administrative rulemaking. In October 2006, Julie received the National Housing Law Project’s Housing Justice Award, given nationally to an advocate for success in “tackling the systemic and often hostile obstacles that stand in the way of safe, decent and affordable housing for low-income and marginalized people.” In July 2009, Julie was named by the National Law Journal as one of Washington’s “Rising Stars” in its article captioned “40 Under 40.”

Meridel Bulle-Vu, Staff Attorney
mbulle@legalaiddc.org
Meridel joined Legal Aid in June 2011 as a Staff Attorney in the Family Law Unit. Prior to working at Legal Aid, Meridel was the recipient of the Georgetown/Howrey Pro Bono Fellowship at Howrey LLP, where she exclusively represented clients in pro bono matters. During law school, Meridel was a student attorney in the Juvenile Justice Clinic, defending juveniles accused of misdemeanors and felonies in the District of Columbia.  Meridel also interned with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Health Law Program, and The Door- Legal Services, and was also a Note and Comment Editor for the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy. Prior to law school, Meridel worked at the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University. Meridel received her A.B. from Princeton University, concentrating in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and her J.D. from Georgetown University. 

Gary Cunningham, Intake Coordinator/Investigator
gcunningham@legalaiddc.org
Gary joined Legal Aid in March of 2003. Prior to working at Legal Aid, Gary worked as a Paralegal and Intake Coordinator/Investigator with the Legal Aid Society of New York. In New York, Gary’s work focused on legal issues affecting prisoners, and he worked directly with inmates at Rikers Island Correctional Facility. As an Intake Coordinator/Investigator at Legal Aid, Gary performs the many tasks involved in managing Legal Aid's intake process including: fielding telephone and written inquiries; maintaining Legal Aid's computerized client database; and compiling monthly intake statistics. Gary also spends time conducting investigations for Legal Aid’s attorneys. As an Intake Coordinator/Investigator at legal Aid, Gary performs the many tasks involved in managing Legal Aid's intake process including: maintaining Legal Aid's computerized client database; compiling statistics, and fielding telephone inquiries. Gary also spends time conducting investigations for Legal Aid's attorneys.

Maggie Donahue, Staff Attorney
mdonahue@legalaiddc.org
Maggie joined Legal Aid in December 2010 as a staff attorney in the Housing Law Unit.  Prior to joining Legal Aid, she worked as a J.D. Fellow at Ayuda, Inc. where she focused on immigration and family law.  During law school, she interned at Ayuda, Inc., CASA de Maryland, the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and the Civil Division of the Public Defender Service of D.C.  She was also a student attorney in the Criminal Justice Clinic and a research assistant fellow for two faculty members.  Prior to law school, Maggie worked at the Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts as an advocate for young people in the foster care and special education systems.  She has also worked as a teacher and community organizer.  Maggie received her B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from Colgate University and her J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law.

Jodi Feldman, Director of Pro Bono and Intake Programs
jfeldman@legalaiddc.org
Jodi joined Legal Aid in December 2004. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Jodi served as Pro Bono Coordinator and Staff Attorney at the Whitman-Walker Clinic Legal Services Program in Washington, DC. Before her tenure at Whitman-Walker, Jodi was an associate at the law firm of Wiley Rein LLP and was an active volunteer attorney with Whitman-Walker, receiving the Outstanding Volunteer Attorney Award for 2001 from the organization. Jodi also worked as a summer intern at Legal Aid in 1995. After graduating from college and before attending law school, Jodi worked as Deputy Press Secretary for United States Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and in public affairs for the American Academy of Pediatrics Department of Government Liaison. Jodi received her B.A. in Psychology from Amherst College and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Drake Hagner, Equal Justice Works Fellow
(Licensed to practice law in Maryland. Practicing law in the District of Columbia under supervision.)
dhagner@legalaiddc.org
Drake joined Legal Aid in September 2011 as an Arnold & Porter sponsored Equal Justice Works fellow in the Public Benefits Unit. Drake’s fellowship project focuses on expanding access to unemployment insurance benefits in the District of Columbia. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Drake clerked for Magistrate Judge Alan Kay of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. During law school, Drake served as Editor in Chief of the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law. She represented clients seeking civil protection orders as a student attorney in the Domestic Violence Clinic, and further co-taught a Constitutional Law class to adult residents of two local addiction treatment facilities through the Street Law clinic. Drake previously interned with the Legal Aid Society, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and University Legal Services. Before law school, Drake lived and worked in New York City, where she worked in non-profit development and strategic planning. She received her B.A. from Vassar College and her J.D. from Georgetown Law.

Beth Mellen Harrison, Supervising Attorney & Director, Court Based Legal Services Project
bharrison@legalaiddc.org
Beth joined Legal Aid in September 2005 as a Staff Attorney in the housing law unit. She also helps to coordinate the Court Based Legal Services office in Landlord Tenant Court. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Beth was the Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr. Appellate Advocacy Fellow with the Public Justice Center in Baltimore, working on state and federal appellate cases involving civil rights and poverty law. She also clerked for Judge Catherine C. Blake in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Beth received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Katherine Hays, Chief Operations Officer
khays@legalaiddc.org
Kathy joined Legal Aid as the Chief Operating Officer in July of 2005. Prior to coming to Legal Aid she was the Office Administrator and Custodian of Records for Riggs Bank N.A. for 13 years. Kathy brings over 20 years of administration/management and personnel experience to Legal Aid. She received her B.S. in Political Science from the University of Colorado in 1986 and her Paralegal Certificate of Completion from the Denver Paralegal Institute in 1988.

Jeannette Henderson, Administrative Assistant
jhenderson@legalaiddc.org
Jeannette has been with Legal Aid since 1989. She graduated from high school in Riverdale, Maryland, and from the Washington School for Secretaries. Before coming to Legal Aid, Jeannette worked for a consulting firm that handled government contracts dealing with data technology. As Legal Aid's sole administrative assistant, she supports the Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer. Jeannette processes all deposits and payments and maintains Legal Aid's donor database.

Shirley Horng, Staff Attorney

shorng@legalaiddc.org
Shirley joined Legal Aid in September 2007 as a staff attorney in the housing law unit. Shirley also works in Legal Aid’s Anacostia office in Southeast D.C. and the Court-based Legal Services office at the Landlord Tenant Court. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Shirley was a law clerk at the Public Defender Service of the District of Columbia, the Texas Civil Rights Project, and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. She also previously served as a student attorney in the Criminal Defense Clinic and Housing Law Clinic. Shirley received her B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin and her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law.

Céline Janelle, Staff Attorney
(Licensed to practice in Illinois. Practicing in the District of Columbia under supervision.)
cjanelle@legalaiddc.org
Céline joined Legal Aid in September 2011 as a staff attorney in the housing unit. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Céline was an AmeriCorps/VISTA outreach coordinator at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. During law school, she interned at the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, and Northwestern’s Juvenile Justice Clinic. Previously, Céline worked as a case manager at a treatment center for survivors of torture. She received her B.A. and J.D. from Northwestern University.

Jack Keeney, Director, Barbara McDowell Appellate Advocacy Project
jkeeney@legalaiddc.org
Jack joined Legal Aid on January 31, 2011 after thirty two and a half years as a litigator at Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells), Washington’s oldest and largest law firm where he had been a partner since 1985. While at the firm, he served for over four and a half years as the partner in charge of its full time pro bono Community Services Department (during his leadership. the firm received the 1991 American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award as best law firm pro bono program in the country); was elected and served as President of the District of Columbia Bar (2004-2005) and a Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates (2003-2005); and received numerous accolades including the 2010 Wiley A. Branton Award, which is the highest honor of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, in recognition of three decades of civil rights leadership and service. He chaired for six years the legal needs subcommittee of the D.C. Bar pro bono program and organized and participated in its first law firm pro bono clinic night. He has been listed for many years in the Washingtonian Magazine’s Top Lawyers in Washington, D.C.; in D.C. Super Lawyers ; and in Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in the World. Born in Washington, D.C., a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (where he captained the debate team) and Harvard Law School (where his team won the Ames moot court championship), Jack clerked for U.S. District Judge Alexander Harvey II in Baltimore before joining Hogan & Hartson. Jack was co-chair of Hogan’s legal ethics committee for over two decades and taught legal ethics for three years as an adjunct faculty instructor at American University’s Washington College of Law. He is a past co-chair of the Adjudication Committee of the ABA Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section. He is the past 2007-2010 chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Election Law, the past 2009-2010 ABA adviser to the Uniform Law Commission Drafting Committee on the 2010 uniform law on military and overseas absentee voters, a past co-chair of the National Lawyers Council of the Democratic National Committee, and past hearing officer for the Standing Committee on Credentials at the 1992 and 1996 Democratic national conventions. He served on the Advisory Committee on Procedures of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2010. He is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Gregg A. Kelley, Director of Development
gkelley@legalaiddc.org
Gregg joined Legal Aid in September 2005, overseeing all aspects of fundraising including foundation relations, donor cultivation and special events. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Gregg was the principal of Philanthropic Advantage, a fundraising consultant business. He was previously the Director of Events at the Human Rights Campaign during the 2004 presidential election, supervising a national events fundraising program for the country’s largest gay and lesbian organization. Before that, Gregg worked as the Director of Special Events for Whitman-Walker Clinic, a regional AIDS service program in Washington. Originally, he started at Whitman-Walker Clinic as the Pro Bono Coordinator of the Legal Services Program. Gregg is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, serving on the board of the Washington DC Metro Chapter, as well as Co-Chairing National Capital Philanthropy Day in 2009 and 2010.

Heather Latino, Supervising Attorney and Director, Consumer Law Unit
(Licensed to practice law in Montana. Practicing law in the District of Columbia under supervision)
Heather joined Legal Aid in November of 2011 as the Supervising Attorney and Director of the Consumer Law Unit. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Heather practiced law in Montana where she was a partner in a small civil litigation firm. Her practice focused on representing individuals with claims related to insurance; unfair trade practices; consumer issues; medical malpractice; and product liability. Heather also devoted a significant portion of her practice to representing children. Heather served on the Board of Directors for the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and was the Chair of their Public Service Committee. Heather received both her B.A. and J.D., with honors, from the University of Montana.   

Jennifer Lavallee, Staff Attorney
jlavalee@legalaiddc.org
Jen joined Legal Aid in October 2009 as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Recovery Fellow to focus on foreclosure prevention work within the Consumer Law Unit. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Jen was an Associate at the law firm of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, where she focused her practice on consumer law issues and also served as a firm coordinator for Legal Aid's Generous Associates Campaign for several years. In addition, Jen has served as an intern for Bread for the City Legal Clinic and the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center. Jen attended The Pennsylvania State University Schreyer Honors college, where she graduated as Student Marshall of the College of communications in 2001. She graduated cum laude from the George Washington University Law School in 2006.

Chinh Q. Le, Legal Director
(Licensed to practice law in New York.  Practicing law in the District of Columbia under supervision.)
cle@legalaiddc.org
Chinh joined Legal Aid in July 2011. Immediately prior to coming to Legal Aid, Chinh was the Director of the Division on Civil Rights in the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General, where he led the state’s enforcement of state and federal civil rights and family leave laws.  Between 2001 and 2006, he served as assistant counsel at NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., the first two years as a Skadden Fellow. Chinh spent the 2008-2009 academic year as a practitioner-in-residence at Seton Hall Law School and an adjunct associate research scholar at Columbia Law School and has also worked as a litigation attorney at Jenner & Block LLP.  He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.  Upon graduation, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Walter K. Stapleton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Chinh is the incoming Co-Chair of the Access to Justice Task Force of the ABA’s Section of Litigation. He is also the author of several publications on civil rights and other poverty law issues, including two book chapters and law review articles that have appeared in the North Carolina Law Review and the Ohio State Law Journal.

Julianna Lee, Senior Staff Attorney
jlee@legalaiddc.org
Julia joined Legal Aid in October 2007 as a staff attorney in the Family Law Unit.  Prior to joining Legal Aid, Julia was a law fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama. There she worked on juvenile justice policy and legal advocacy issues, focusing primarily on mental health services for court-involved youth.  Julia received her B.A. from Wellesley College, an M.A. in modern Korean and Japanese history from Harvard University, and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Jennifer Mezey, Supervising Attorney
jmezey@legalaiddc.org
Jennifer joined Legal Aid in June 2004 and focuses her work on public benefits issues. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Jennifer worked at the Center for Law and Social Policy on childcare and early education policy and the National Women’s Law Center on federal and local child support enforcement and welfare policy. Before attending law school at the University of Michigan , Jennifer worked for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where she participated in the development of the Clinton Administration’s welfare initiative. In addition to her law degree, Jennifer has a Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a B.A. from Oberlin College.

Ashley McDowell, Staff Attorney
(Licensed to practice law in New York. Not practicing law in the District of Columbia.)
amcdowell@legalaiddc.org
Ashley joined Legal Aid in June 2011 as a staff attorney in the Family Law Unit. Prior to joining Legal Aid, she worked as an Assistant Court Attorney to Hon. Ellen Gesmer of the New York County Supreme Court. During law school, she interned at the Khulumani Support Group in Johannesburg, South Africa, and at the Harlem Youth Development Project. She was also a law student intern in the Advocacy for Children and Youth Clinic and Immigration Legal Services Clinic. Ashley received her B.A. in political science from the University of South Carolina and her J.D. from Yale Law School.

Westra Miller, Staff Attorney
wmiller@legalaiddc.org
Westra joined Legal Aid in September 2011 as a Staff Attorney in the Public Benefits Unit. Prior to working at Legal Aid, Westra was a 2010-11 Westwood Fellow at Neighborhood Legal Services Program. In law school, Westra was selected as a Public Interest Law Fellow for her commitment to public interest work. Westra was a student attorney in the Institute for Public Representation clinic, where she worked on civil rights and general public interest cases. Westra also interned with the Legal Aid Society, Poverty & Race Research Action Council, and Legal Counsel for the Elderly. Prior to attending law school, Westra worked as a paralegal at the civil rights law firm Relman, Dane & Colfax as well as at a child welfare agency in New York City. Westra received her A.B. from Princeton University and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Trisha Monroe, Supervising Attorney and Director, DVICSE Project
tmonroe@legalaiddc.org
Trisha joined Legal Aid in May 2006 as a family law staff attorney. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Trisha worked for the Women's Law Center of Maryland (WLC) in the Protection Order Advocacy and Representation Project. At WLC Trisha worked directly with survivors of domestic violence providing advice and court representation. Trisha received her B.A. from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. and her J.D. from the William and Mary School of Law in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Lucy Newton, Supervising Attorney and Director, Community-Based Lawyering Project
lnewton@legalaiddc.org
Lucy joined Legal Aid in June 2006 and has been the Supervising Attorney of the Public Benefits Unit since April 2011.  Prior to that she was a supervisor in Legal Aid's Housing Unit and a staff attorney in its Public Benefits Unit.  Lucy coordinates Legal Aid's community office near the Big Chair in Southeast DC and a medical-legal partnership at the Children's Health Project at THEARC.  Before coming to Legal Aid, Lucy was a staff attorney at the Neighborhood Legal Services Program of D.C. and at the Georgia Legal Services Program. She has also worked on women's health issues at the National Women's Law Center. In 2009, Lucy was elected to serve as a member of the Steering Committee of the Litigation Section of the D.C. Bar and she currently serves as its co-chair. She received her B.A. from Emory University and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Andrew Patterson, Staff Attorney
apatterson@legalaiddc.org
Andrew joined Legal Aid's Public Benefits Unit in June of 2007.  Prior to joining Legal Aid, Andrew worked as a summer intern with CASA of Maryland, Inc.  Prior to attending law school, Andrew served as the Policy and Development Coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and worked for a year as an Americorps volunteer with Latino Memphis, Inc.  Andrew received his B.A. from Rhodes College, and his J.D. from the University of Maryland, School of Law.  Andrew also helps staff Legal Aid's outreach offices in Southeast D.C.

Oluwemimo (Wemi) T. Peters, Staff Attorney
(Licensed to practice law in Virginia. Practicing law in the District of Columbia under supervision.)
wpeters@legalaiddc.org
Wemi joined Legal Aid in November 2011 as a Staff Attorney in the Family Law Unit.Prior to joining Legal Aid, Wemi was a litigation associate at Winston & Strawn LLP.Wemi has volunteered and worked for a variety of organizations that provide pro bono legal services. While in law school, she worked as a family law student attorney for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and after law school, she volunteered as a pro bono attorney representing victims of domestic violence for the Legal Services of Northern Virginia. Wemi received a B.A. in Psychology, a B.S. in Policy & Management and an M.S. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Anna Purinton, Staff Attorney
apurinton@legalaiddc.org
Anna joined Legal Aid in September 2010 as a staff attorney in the housing unit.  Prior to joining Legal Aid, Anna was a litigation fellow with Relman, Dane, & Colfax, a civil rights firm in DC.  During law school, she was a student advocate with the DC Employment Justice Center, the East Bay Community Law Center, and New York University’s Immigrant Rights Clinic and Neighborhood Institutions Clinic.  Anna previously worked as a research analyst with Good Jobs First.  She received her B.A. from Brown University and her J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Rachel Rintelmann, Staff Attorney
rrintelmann@legalaiddc.org
Rachel joined Legal Aid in January 2011 as a staff attorney in the housing unit. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Rachel spent two years as an AmeriCorps Attorney with Legal Aid of Western Ohio. During law school, she was a student attorney with the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Michigan Pediatric Advocacy Clinic. Rachel also received a Michigan Fellowship in Refugee and Asylum Law which she completed with Amnesty International in the Refugee and Migrants’ Rights Division of Amnesty’s International Secretariat in London. Rachel received her B.A. from Butler University and her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Patricia Roulhac, Legal Secretary
proulhac@legalaiddc.org
Patricia has been with Legal Aid since 1988, when she started with Legal Aid's adjunct office at 451 Indiana Avenue, N.W. She is a graduate of Heidelberg High School in Mississippi, and moved to Washington in 1981, where she graduated from the Washington School for Secretaries. Pat worked at the Atlantic Street shelter for families in Southeast D.C. before coming to Legal Aid. As Legal Aid's sole legal secretary, Pat provides administrative support for staff attorneys and the Legal Director, in addition to processing telephone calls to Legal Aid's published number and greeting a monthly average of over 200 walk-in applicants for services, and others.

James vanR. Springer, Volunteer Staff Attorney
jspringer@legalaiddc.org
Jim is a retired partner of Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky LLP, where he handled antitrust and other litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants, with a particular emphasis on appellate practice. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was President of the Law Review. Before joining what was then Dickstein Shapiro & Galligan in 1971, Jim was a law clerk for Chief Judge J. Edward Lumbard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, an associate at Covington & Burling, an Assistant Legal Adviser in the Department of State and a Deputy Solicitor General in the Department of Justice, where he argued ten Supreme Court cases. Jim joined Legal Aid in November 2005, and normally works three days a week.  In June 2007 Jim was named pro bono lawyer of the year by the District of Columbia Bar.

David Steib, Staff Attorney
dsteib@legalaiddc.org
David joined Legal Aid in September 2008 as a Skadden Fellow in the housing unit. His project focuses on bringing legal services to the Spanish-speaking community through direct outreach in the Columbia Heights area. During law school, David interned for several public interest organizations, including our office. In 2007, he was awarded the John J. Curtin, Jr. Fellowship by the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty to intern for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. David also interned with Bread for the City and the Humane Society of the United States. He was a student of the Georgetown Domestic Violence Clinic. David received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Jeremy Strauss, Legal Administrative Assistant
jstrauss@legalaiddc.org
Jeremy joined Legal Aid as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal in the Public Benefits Unit in June 2010. He graduated from Tufts University in 2010 with a double major in Environmental Studies and American Studies. During his senior year at Tufts, Jeremy volunteered as a student advocate at LIFT, a social service organization that assists local community members on housing, employment, and public benefits issues, and interned at the environmental justice nonprofit Alternatives for Community and Environment. At Legal Aid, jeremy provides administrative support and assists the public benefits attorneys with their cases.

Eden Tanenbaum, Development Associate
etanenbaum@legalaiddc.org
Eden joined Legal Aid in May 2011. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Eden served as a casework intern at the Pregnancy Aid Center in College Park and a clinical research assistant intern at Children's National Medical Center. Eden graduated from Brown University in 2010 with a B.A. in American Civilization.

Tianna Terry, Staff Attorney
tterry@legalaiddc.org
Tianna joined Legal Aid in September 2008 as an Arthur Liman Public Interest Fellow in the Family Law Unit.  Her project focuses on reform of the DC child support system.  Before law school, Tianna worked on affordable housing policy issues at the Fannie Mae Foundation as a John Gardner Public Service Fellow.  While in law school, Tianna was very active in clinical programs.  She was a law student intern in the Community and Economic Development Clinic, Landlord-Tenant Clinic, and Community Lawyering Clinic.  She also served as a student supervisor in the Domestic Violence Clinic.  During the summers, Tianna interned with the ACLU of Maryland, Fair Housing Justice Center, and Relman & Dane, a DC-based civil rights law firm.  Tianna received her B.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. from Yale Law School. 

Alice Topping, Legal Administrative Assistant/Intake Coordinator/Investigator
atopping@legalaiddc.org
Alice joined Legal Aid as a Legal Assistant/Intake Coordinator for the Intake and Pro Bono Programs in December 2011. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2011 with a BA in International Relations. Before joining Legal Aid, Alice interned at the Public Defender Service for DC and also interned abroad in Peru working on issues involving child labor and education in the highland communities. While studying at MSU, Alice worked as an Office Assistant at the MSU College of Law and served as a Resident Mentor. At Legal Aid, Alice provides assistance to the Intake and Pro Bono Programs.

Thuy-Tu Tran, Senior Development Associate
ttran@legalaiddc.org
Thuy-Tu joined Legal Aid in December 2011. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2004 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in mass communication. After college, she served as Program Coordinator for the Asian American Journalists Association, and then as Financial Aid Associate for the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Thuy-Tu worked as a Development Officer at the Sibley Memorial Hospital Foundation where she was responsible for grant writing and assisting with special events.

Stephanie Troyer, Supervising Attorney
stroyer@legalaiddc.org
Stephanie joined Legal Aid in July 2010 as a Staff Attorney in the Family Law Unit.  She was previously with Legal Aid from 2007 through 2009.  Prior to joining Legal Aid, Stephanie was an Assistant Public Defender in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Stephanie received an A.B. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Jeannine Winch, Staff Attorney
(Licensed to practice law in D.C. and Maryland)
jwinch@legalaiddc.org
Prior to joining Legal Aid in June 2011, Jeannine worked as a staff attorney at Ayuda where she represented immigrant survivors of domestic violence in civil protection order and related family law and immigration cases. Prior to that, Jeannine served as a law clerk in the Family Court of the District of Columbia Superior Court for Judge Ryan on the domestic relations and juvenile calendars and for Magistrate Judge Rook and Magistrate Judge Albert on abuse and neglect calendars. Jeannine received her law degree in 2007, magna cum laude, from the University of the District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law, previously the Antioch School of Law. Prior to law school, Jeannine worked in Florida as a social worker with children in adoptive and foster care. She has also worked as a Spanish, French, and English (as a second language) teacher. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, in Spanish from the Florida State University.

Wendy Wineholt, Legal Administrative Assistant
wwineholt@legalaiddc.org
Wendy joined Legal Aid as a Legal Assistant/Paralegal in the Housing Unit in July 2011. She graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009 with a BA in Foreign Affairs and Spanish. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Wendy worked as an English teacher in Valencia, Spain and at a community health center in Chicago, which focused on providing high-quality care to Chicago’s underserved population. At Legal Aid, Wendy provides administrative support and assists the housing attorneys with their cases.

Alfonso Wright, Controller
awright@legalaiddc.org
Alfonso joined the Legal Aid Society in June 2010 as the Controller. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Alfonso worked 13 years as the Senior Accountant for American Near East Refugee Aid, a leading provider of health, development, and education programs in the Middle East. Alfonso brings over 15 years of non-profit experience to the position.

Nina Wu, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow
nwu@legalaiddc.org
Nina joined Legal Aid in September 2011 as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellow to focus on issues affecting homeless veterans within the Public Benefits Unit.  Prior to joining Legal Aid, Nina was a Clinical Law Fellow with the HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic at the University of Maryland School of Law, and interned with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Alaska Public Defender Agency.  Prior to attending law school, Nina served as a Programs and Policy Advisor for the governor of Illinois, and worked for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Project Northstar, a tutoring and mentoring program for children experiencing homelessness.  Nina received her B.A. from the University of Chicago and her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law.

LOANED ASSOCIATES

Saad Gul
Steptoe
sgul@legalaidddc.org

Rebecca Baden
Crowell
rbaden@legalaiddc.org

Forrest Deegan
Arnold & Porter
fdeegan@legalaiddc.org

Casandra Tillinghast
Skadden Arps
ctillinghast@legalaiddc.org