About Us
DC Legal Aid is the District’s oldest and largest civil legal services organization. For 90 years, Legal Aid lawyers have helped make justice real in individual and systemic ways in the District.
Pictured: Former client Shanita Womack (c) with her Legal Aid attorneys.
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Contribute your time and talent
Pro Bono Opportunities
By taking a case, volunteer attorneys can make an immediate and lasting impact on the lives of their clients.
Pictured: Former client Gloria Alston (c) with her pro bono attorneys
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June 6 - August 5, 2022
Making Justice Real Campaign
The DC legal community and thousands of donors came together to raise more than $3.3 million during the 2022 Making Justice Real Campaign, our annual effort to fund Legal Aid’s vital work.
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May 4, 2022
Servant of Justice Awards Dinner
The 2022 Servant of Justice Awards Dinner recognized honorees who have demonstrated faithful dedication and remarkable achievement in ensuring that all people have equal and meaningful access to justice.
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Keith's Story of Hope | Housing LawKeith King came home to an eviction notice on his door. Mr. King’s landlord sued him for nonpayment of rent but never notified him of the eviction lawsuit. With Legal Aid’s help, Mr. King got the eviction judgment vacated, finding that his subsidy provider had simply stopped making payments to the landlord. Legal Aid also helped Mr. King find a new apartment closer to friends and family, with a new subsidy provider.
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Leticia's story of hope | Public Benefits LawLeticia Flores receives Personal Care Aide in-home services for 16 hours a day, but her hours were reduced after an assessment despite no change in her condition. With Legal Aid’s help, Ms. Flores challenged the reduction, ultimately getting her hours restored.
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Alvonette's story of Hope | Public Benefits LawAlvonette Grimes fell behind on her mortgage after a debilitating car accident, but her mortgage company denied her application for a loan modification. With Legal Aid’s help, Ms. Grimes was able to get the modification and catch up on her mortgage payments.
The District Must Do Far Better than Mayor Bowser’s Migrant Services and Supports Emergency Act of 2022
Traducción al español al final
For months, the governors of Arizona and Texas have been busing migrants from the southwest border to the District to protest federal immigration policies that limit their ability to turn people away at the border. Just yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott arranged for two buses of migrants to be dropped off outside of Vice President Kamala Harris’s residence in a publicity-seeking act of racism and xenophobia with callous disregard for the migrants’ human rights and dignity.
Making Justice Real Campaign Raises $3.3 Million for DC Legal Aid
For the third-consecutive year, DC’s legal community came together to raise more than $3 million for DC Legal Aid through the Making Justice Real Campaign, setting a new record at $3,305,388. Nearly half of the total was raised in the last week of the two-month drive, which ran from June 6 to August 5.
“It is incredibly humbling for thousands of people from nearly every major law firm in the District to unite behind Legal Aid’s mission,” said Joan McKown, President of Legal Aid’s Board of Trustees and a Partner at Jones Day. “Especially at a time of increasing need for our client community, this is unbelievably good news.”
DC Council Committees Must Approve the Domestic Worker Protections Bill This Fall
Legal Aid is deeply concerned about Chair Mendelson’s recent decision to change the committee referral for the Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (Bill 24-712). As a strong supporter of the Domestic Worker Employment Rights bill, we believe his re-referral could effectively stall the bill’s progress during the final year of Council Period 24. This triple referral causes an unnecessary delay that will hurt essential workers, such as home health aides, to whom we regularly provide direct legal services. Legal Aid urges Business Committee Chairman McDuffie and Government Operations Committee Chairman Robert White to consider and mark up the measure immediately (September or October) when the Council returns from recess so that the Council can pass the bill before the end of the year.
