DO YOU HAVE A LAW DEGREE YOU’RE NOT USING? We need you! Now that the kids are back in school, please come to the fall recruitment meeting of the DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP). The DCVLP is an organization using the talents and energy of lawyers who are taking a break from paid legal practice to provide pro bono legal services in the area of family law (including child custody, adoption and domestic violence) to indigent clients in Washington, DC. The recruitment meeting will be held on Thursday, September 18 from 10:30 to noon at the law offices of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP, 5301 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20015 (in Friendship Heights). To RSVP or for more information, please contact Marla Spindel at marlaspindel@cox.net. WHAT IS THE DCVLP? The DCVLP is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that started operations in January of 2008. It was created to help address the civil justice deficit in Washington, DC. Specifically, 90% of the civil legal needs of low-income women, children and families in the District are unmet. The need is especially great in the area of family law. The DCVLP helps to meet these needs by tapping into an unused resource: experienced lawyers who have left full-time legal practice, many to stay home with their families. The DCVLP recruits, trains and supports these lawyers at home, to make it possible for them to handle pro bono cases. How do we do this? First, we provide training in the areas of family law and litigation (although we also have cases which do not require court room skills). Second, we use a team approach to staffing cases, so that each attorney has someone with whom they can consult and collaborate. Third, we provide practical support, including: malpractice insurance, an office (located in Friendship Heights) to meet with clients, mentoring, access to online legal research, reimbursement for some litigation expenses and case-outcome tracking. We also hold monthly brown-bag lunches as a forum for informal discussion and support. For more information about the DCVLP, see our website at www.dcvlp.org.