In 2015, we co-sponsored with the D.C. Bar a year-long program series entitled "A Deeper Look into Low Bono" to explore the various models for delivering reduced fee legal services to address the unmet need of moderate income people who do not qualify for pro bono representation but cannot afford to pay market rates to a lawyer to help them. The D.C. Reduced Fee Lawyer and Mediator Referral Service ("DC Refers") was formed in 2016 to move this discussion into action. In February of 2017, DC Refers launched the District of Columbia's first online directory of reduced fee lawyers to serve the legal needs of moderate income individuals.

We are pleased to co-sponsor with the Courts, Lawyers & Administration of Justice Community of the D.C. Bar a panel discussion of low bono programs in our region, including DC Refers. Our panelists will share information about DC Refers, the DC Affordable Law Firm (a low bono law firm for persons of modest means that is staffed by recent graduates of Georgetown University Law Center), Legal Counsel for the Elderly (which manages a low bono network of lawyers to handle probate matters), Civil Justice Inc., (a Maryland-based program that has built and supported a community of affordable lawyers serving moderate-income clients in Maryland), and the DC Tenants' Rights Center (a low bono law firm whose entire practice is devoted to reduced fee representation of tenants). These innovative programs share a vision for creating a supported community of affordable lawyers to serve the needs of modest means individuals who otherwise lack the ability to secure legal representation.

Speakers:

Marc Borbely, Esq., Founder, D.C. Tenants' Rights Center

Katie Dilks, Associate Director, Office of Public Interest and Community Service, Georgetown University Law Center; Director, DC Affordable Law Firm; Steering Committee Member, DC Refers; and Board Member, Washington Council of Lawyers

Joseph Mack, Executive Director, Civil Justice Inc.

Ivy Smithers, Hotline Attorney/Manager of Reduced Fee Panel, Legal Counsel for the Elderly

Andrea Ferster (moderator) D.C. Bar President (term 2013-2014), DC Refers Steering Committee member

Cost: $15 for WCL members, public-interest lawyers, and government lawyers