FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: J. Daryl Byler
July 6, 2022 byler@dcbarfoundation.org
202.853.9025
[District of Columbia, July 6, 2022] – The District of Columbia Bar Foundation (DCBF) seeks applications for new members of its Young Lawyers Network Leadership Council (YLN LC). Applications for two-year terms starting October 1, 2022, and expiring September 30, 2024, are due by 5:00 PM on Monday, August 15, 2022. For the first time in the Leadership Council’s eleven-year history, membership criteria have been expanded to include attorneys at DCBF grantee organizations, as well as attorneys over the age of 40 who are just beginning their legal careers.
The YLN LC offers attorneys an opportunity to further the goal of access to justice in our community by working with the DC Bar Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to fund, support, and improve legal representation of people who are underserved in the District of Columbia. Members of the YLN LC serve as ambassadors who promote the Foundation’s mission and programs by engaging in regular meetings, grantee site visits, and networking dinners with Foundation leadership. The group is also actively involved in the organization’s fundraising efforts. It hosts an annual event, Avenues to Justice, that provides critical support to DC residents who are underserved and in need of legal representation.
Between April 2021 and September 2021, the DC Bar Foundation commissioned several racial equity assessments to learn more about the Foundation’s internal and external policies and practices to advance racial equity through civil legal aid in the District. Kirra Jarratt, chief executive officer of the DC Bar Foundation shared that, “the audit found that some of the Foundation’s internal policies and practices may inadvertently hinder efforts to advance racial equity in civil legal aid in the District.”
As a result of the racial equity assessments, the staff of Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)-eligible employers and organizations eligible to receive funding from the DC Bar Foundation now qualify for YLN LC membership. Additionally, lawyers over the age of 40 who are just beginning their legal careers will be eligible for YLN LC membership for the first six years after completing law school. All applicants must be members of the District of Columbia Bar in good standing, either live or work in the District of Columbia, committed to carrying out the responsibilities of the YLN LC, and under the age of 40 at the start of their term unless just beginning their legal careers.
Interested applicants should submit a completed application form, résumé, proof of DC Bar membership in good standing, letter of interest, and up to two letters of support that speak to their commitment to advance the District’s civil legal services network by 5:00 PM on Monday, August 15, 2022. Please send all materials to Greer Richey, development and communications specialist, at richey@dcbarfoundation.org. In the subject line, please include “Young Lawyers Network Leadership Council, [Your Full Name].” Additional information about the YLN LC is available on the Foundation’s website at www.dcbarfoundation.org.
About the DC Bar Foundation: For underserved DC residents, we make strategic investments to strengthen and expand our civil legal aid network, address critical needs, and improve our community. As the largest funder of civil legal aid in the District, we are a steadfast community partner committed to protecting access to justice in life’s most pivotal moments.
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