Pro Bono

As attorneys, we are first and foremost officers of the court.  This status imposes on us a set of responsibilities that is even higher than our responsibility to the firm and to our clients.  One of those obligations is to provide pro bono legal services to persons and organizations that are unable to afford to pay for them. Pro bono service is also a core value of Van Ness Feldman – a key part of our commitment to public service.  Following the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the District of Columbia Circuit, the firm has directed that each attorney provide no fewer than 50 hours of pro bono service each year.  The firm also applies this requirement to our non-lawyer professionals to utilize their legislative and other professional skills to assist non-profit organizations accomplish their legislative priorities.

Van Ness Feldman undertakes pro bono matters with the same level of commitment and seriousness of purpose that it devotes to representation of other clients.  In particular, the same high standards of professional responsibility and quality of representation apply to our pro bono clients, and all pro bono matters are supervised by a partner, of counsel, or a senior associate.  Associates and other professionals are given full credit for the time they devote to pro bono matters, and dedication to pro bono matters is a factor in compensation decisions for all professionals in the firm.

Rather than selecting one or two areas of law for our pro bono practice, the firm encourages our professionals to bring to the firm pro bono activities that represent issues or concerns in which they may have a personal or professional interest and which reflect the values of the firm.  The result of this flexibility, as described below, is a diverse pro bono practice that represents a variety of deserving clients on a range of compelling issues facing our Nation.

Child Welfare

Van Ness Feldman has a particular interest in the welfare of children who are in the District of Columbia foster care system, and specializes in representing foster parents in adoption proceedings. Through special arrangements with the Office of Corporation Counsel, our attorneys represent the District of Columbia in D.C. Superior Court in litigation to assist families adopt neglected and abused children.  The firm also consults with Child and Family Services, the District of Columbia’s child welfare agency, on the agency’s efforts to keep abused and neglected children out of foster care by providing assistance to extended family members who are willing to take them in.

Political Asylum Cases

Our attorneys assist immigrants seeking protection from persecutionand violence and who are unable to afford legal representation.  In partnership with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., one of the Nation’s largest networks of charitable and grassroots organizations, our attorneys represent asylum seekers before the Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals.   

Non-Profit Organizations

The firm provides legal assistance to a range of non-profit organizations on their articles and bylaws, applications for tax-exempt status, and other corporate governance issues.  Organizations the firm is currently assisting, or has previously assisted, include: several non-profit organizations working in the District of Columbia’s low-income neighborhoods including The Mount Pleasant Community Association; The Petra Foundation, an organization that represents unsung heroes working on social causes throughout the country; The Native American Bar Association; and the Women’s Council on Energy and Environment, an organization promoting the development of women professionals in the energy sector.

Legislation

Given its extensive capability in the legislative arena, Van Ness Feldman also represents pro bono clients on important issues before Congress.  As a living memorial to the late spouse of one of our members, Van Ness Feldman created the Greta Moffatt Memorial Legislative Cancer Research Initiative that advocates for legislative and administrative actions to promote the development of drugs for the treatment of rare forms of cancers.  Also in the health arena, the firm advocated on behalf of two non-profit organizations for passage of an amendment to the 1996 health insurance bill to encourage organ donation.  The amendment provided for the inclusion of organ donation cards and literature on organ and tissue donation with all tax refund mailings in 1997.  The firm also is assisting organizations promote their public policy agendas on such diverse issues as promotion of the humane treatment of animals, financial assistance for a museum in Maine, and the preservation of old lighthouses.

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