Over the past year, DC Bar Foundation has awarded nearly $3.5 million for free legal assistance to low-income DC tenants facing eviction. (More than triple 2017’s awards!) Our longtime grantee DC Law Students in Court (DCLSIC) is among these recipients, awarded $777,000 this year to provide free-same day representation in eviction cases at the DC Superior Court.
DCLSIC’s assertive, comprehensive plan will expand access to justice for residents who may not know they are eligible for free legal assistance in eviction cases. Amplified by funding received from another DCBF grant program, their robust and collaborative litigation and outreach plan will help save affordable housing in DC.
DCLSIC is projected to substantially benefit households led by African-American females located in Wards 5, 7, and 8 with annual incomes below $25,100 for a family of four. They will achieve this goal by:
Increasing the number of eviction-defense attorneys in Landlord-Tenant Court to 12
Offering expanded and Saturday hours at their court-based office for legal advice
Utilizing law students for door knocking and outreach in buildings with rampant eviction, and
Coordinating a formal referral system with Neighborhood Legal Services Program to fill gaps in service.
Learn more about our work to increase representation of low-income tenants in eviction cases and our most recent grantees.
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