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    CLICK HERE to view a video about our impact on the organizations and communities we support.

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  • Lawyer

    A lawyer makes a difference in life’s most critical moments. We invest in DC’s legal aid organizations and their attorneys who ensure that DC’s poorest residents have access to quality legal representation.

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    Participate in this year’s Go Casual for Justice. Rally your coworkers and register today!

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  • 77societyupdate Pt 2 1 Final4

    Learn about how you too can become a member of our newly established donor society. Help us continue to improve lives, protect families, and strengthen communities across the District.

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THE DC BAR FOUNDATION

We are committed to the vision that residents of the District have equal access to justice, regardless of income. Our mission is to fund, support, and improve legal representation of low-income District residents through grants to civil legal aid providers, training and technical assistance for legal aid organizations and their attorneys, and loan repayment assistance for legal aid attorneys.

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What We Do

Fund DC legal aid providers since 1978

DCBF awards grants to DC’s civil legal aid community, allowing them to help residents with legal problems affecting their most basic needs
Support public interest lawyers’ work

DCBF helps public interest lawyers pay off their educational debt through our loan repayment assistance program
Sponsor trainings and provide technical assistance

From litigation skills training to peer reviews, DCBF invests in DC’s legal aid providers and their attorneys

Administer the District’s Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) Program

DCBF approves and monitors the interest rates for participating financial institutions, ensuring that the revenue from thousands of pooled bank accounts is available for grants to DC’s civil legal aid community

News

  • DC BAR FOUNDATION INVESTS NEARLY $1.5 MILLION IN HOUSING IN THE DISTRICT

    Today, the DC Bar Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded $1,455,500 to DC organizations that provide free legal assistance to low-income DC residents on housing-related cases. This is in addition to the housing-related grants the Foundation currently funds, bringing the total amount invested in legal assistance for housing-related matters to nearly $5 million in 2018.

  • Young Lawyers Network Leadership Council Calls For Applications

    The DC Bar Foundation seeks applications for new members of its Young Lawyers Network Leadership Council (YLN LC). Applications for two-year terms expiring September 30, 2020 are due by 5:00 p.m. on August 3, 2018. The YLN LC offers younger attorneys an opportunity to further the goal of access to justice in our community by working with the DC Bar Foundation—the leading private funder of civil legal aid for the District’s poor and underserved.

  • Philip Fornaci of Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs to Receive 2018 Scoutt Prize

    The DC Bar Foundation has selected Philip Fornaci as the recipient of the 2018 Jerrold Scoutt Prize. Mr. Fornaci is the Project Director of the DC Prisoners’ Project with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. The Foundation will present the 2018 Jerrold Scoutt Prize during the DC Bar’s Judicial Reception on Thursday, April 19, 2018.

  • ADDITIONAL $7 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR HOUSING-RELATED MATTERS

    Today, the DC Bar Foundation is pleased to announce that it will award an additional $7 million in 2018 to legal aid organizations in DC focused on preserving affordable housing, defending low-income tenants in eviction cases, and assisting low-income DC residents in other housing-related legal issues.

  • MORE THAN $6.7 MILLION AWARDED FOR FREE LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN DC

    The DC Bar Foundation awarded more than $6.7 million to 27 DC legal aid organizations providing free legal assistance to low-income DC residents in a wide array of civil legal issues in 2018.

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