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  Archived News


December 4, 2009 -
LSIC hosted our Staff, Alumni, & Friends Annual Holiday Party and Recognition Ceremony for Former Executive Director Mary C. Brittingham at LSIC offices. The event was a huge success with a turnout of over 100 people. Click here for pictures.  

November 21, 2009 - LSIC participated in the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon

Fannie Mae HTH2009


October 30, 2009
- LSIC Announces New Interim Executive Director

October 29, 2009 - Mini Walkathon - LSIC partnered with Garfield Elementary School, DC again this year. At the school LSIC staff gave an educational presentation on homelessness and participated in the school's mini-walk. Over 200 students and staff from Garfield participated in the mini-walk program and activities.

October 21, 2009 - 2nd Alumni & Friends Happy Hour - Nearly 40 alumni, former and current staff and friends of LSIC joined us at our second happy hour at Bar Louie on October 21. Please check back here or on our Facebook page for more happy hours and alumni events scheduled throughout the year.

October 2009 - In the October issue of Washington Lawyer magazine, our former Executive Director, Mary Brittingham, addresses the impact the recession and the economy has had on LSIC, including our decision not to have a Lever Dinner this year. To read the full article, please follow this link (scroll down to the 5th article in the Off Beat section).

September 2009
- LSIC Board of Directors Announces Departure of Executive Director, Mary C. Brittingham


June 19, 2009 -

The first of many alumni happy hours to come was held at the local watering hole, Fado's Irish Pub on Friday, June 19th, 2009. Please stay tuned to our website for future events!

Best of CFP 09-10 June 2009

DCLSIC Featured in Catalogue for Philanthropy

The Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington recently announced that D.C. Law Students in Court Program, INc. has been chosen by reviewers for the 2009-10 Catalogue. We were selected from a field of nearly 200 organizations. The Catalogue calls D.C. Law Students in Court Program, Inc. "one of the best small non-profits in Washington, D.C. region.

May 2009 - DCLSIC now has a facebook presence. Get connected to LSIC alumni and friends here.


October 17, 2008

New home for LSIC!

After a decade at our 7th Street location, we packed up our bags, our files and moved across the street. Come by to visit us at our new offices right underneath the Chinatown archway!


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Celebrating 40 Years

On Friday, October 3, 2008 D.C. Law Students in Court will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary at the 10th Annual Lever Awards Dinner at the JW Marriott Hotel.  Click here for more details.

Press Release September 8, 2008


July 1, 2008

D.C. Law Students in Court Welcomes New Executive Director

The D.C. Law Students in Court Program (LSIC), one of the city's oldest, biggest, and best-respected legal-service providers, has announced that Mary Clark Brittingham has agreed to serve as its Executive Director.  A veteran clinician at Georgetown and George Washington Universities, an alumna of both AYUDA and the Legal Aid Society, and a former President of AYUDA's board, Ms. Brittingham brings a wealth of experience to the position.

"We're thrilled to have Ms. Brittingham lead Law Students in Court.  She brings the perfect combination of experience, commitment and energy to our Executive Director position," said Nancy Cantalupo, Chair of LSIC's board.  Ms. Brittingham agrees: "I'm honored to have the chance to contribute to a storied organization, and I look forward to both continuing and expanding LSIC's work bringing law students to court to engage in real-world litigation for our city's neediest."

D.C. Law Students in Court, now in its 40th Anniversary Year, is an independent legal clinic in which law students from American, Catholic, George Washington, and Georgetown University provide legal assistance to low-income residents of the District of Columbia.  Each year, LSIC trains top law students to represent real people, in real cases, in the courts of Washington.  In doing so, LSIC works to fight the consequences of poverty, to prevent homelessness, and to alleviate inequalities in the justice system.


2007

D.C. Law Students Presents 2007 Lever Awards
The D.C. Law Students in Court Program, Inc. (LSIC) presented the Lever Awards on October 4, 2007.  The event was written up in the Washington Lawyer by D.C. Bar staff writer Kathryn Alfisi.  Click here for the article, the sixth item on the page.  There is also a list of the past honorees, and photos from the event.

D.C. Law Students Increases Legal Services to the Poor
D.C. City Council appropriation grant expands access to justice to low-income clients

D.C. Law Students In Court Program, Inc. (LSIC) has expanded its emergency legal services to low income Washingtonians facing eviction proceedings in Landlord-Tenant Court thanks to an $85,800 grant from the D.C. Bar Foundation-administered special $2.89 million appropriation by the D.C. City Council.  Grants were made in April to Law Students in Court and 14 other organizations to increase legal assistance to the poor. 

Ann Marie Hay, Executive Director of LSIC, noted “We are deeply grateful to the D.C. Bar Foundation and the City Council for expanding the ability of legal services groups to provide low-income people with competent counsel.  We are using our grant for an additional attorney to serve as “Attorney of the Day” at Landlord-Tenant Court.  Thousands of low-income Washington residents face a personal crisis each year because of housing problem.  The combination of reduced affordable housing stock, increased housing costs and gentrification, and decreased public funding for housing has been a disaster for the poor who are frequently living in poor conditions and are afraid of losing their homes, however substandard they may be.  We helped more than 6,000 people last year, and eighty-five percent of LSIC’s Civil Division’s intake involved requests for help with housing matters; most retained cases involve defense of eviction actions in the Landlord and Tenant Court.  Looking forward, we are glad that the Council will renew the appropriation in the next budget cycle to continue to provide opportunities for access to justice.” 

Jenifer E. Foster, JD, MSW, who started in January 2008 will serve as the Attorney of the Day. She has several years experience working in a legal services environment and social services setting.

The Court Based Legal Services Project is a collaborative effort with Bread for the City, Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, and Neighborhood Legal Services.  Law Students In Court is grateful to efforts of the D.C. Bar Foundation, D.C. Access to Justice Commission, and D.C. City Council for making this funding available to respond to the need of legal services for low-income persons.


2006

D.C. Law Students Presents 2006 Lever Awards
The D.C. Law Students in Court Program, Inc. (LSIC) presented the Lever Awards on October 5, 2006.  The event was written up in the Washington Lawyer by D.C. Bar staff writer Kathryn Alfisi.  Click here for the article, the second item on the page.  There is also a list of the past honorees, and photos from the event.


2005

D.C. Law Students Receives $2.4 Million Contribution
The D.C. Law Students in Court Program, Inc. (LSIC) received a contribution of $2.4 million from a cy pres award resulting from a court settlement.

The settlement, paid by Comcast, was a result of the class action lawsuit Robert H. Bassin & Sherl Weems v. District Cablevision. The $2.4 million comes from unclaimed damages by class members. At the urging of the plaintiffs’ counsel, Philip Friedman, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia ordered that the money go to protect consumer interests, which was one of the main goals of the litigation against Comcast for charging predatory late fees.  Friedman recommended that the court award the excess funds to four D.C. pro bono legal programs representing people of the District:  Law Students in Court, the Georgetown University Law Center Clinical Program, clinical programs at the George Washington University’s School of Law, and Legal Counsel for the Elderly.  Almost $10 million in support will be generated for the four clinics.

LSIC comprises law students from American University, the Catholic University of America, George Washington University, Georgetown University, and Howard University who help run one of the oldest legal clinical programs in the District.  The clinic helps defend low-income individuals in juvenile and misdemeanor criminal cases, as well as assists people with small claims and landlord–tenant matters.

“This award will help ensure the future of the program by inaugurating the program’s first endowment,” said Ann Marie Hay, executive director of LSIC.  “It will also particularly contribute to our work helping the District’s most vulnerable consumers.  We are grateful to Philip Friedman for proposing Law Students in Court as a recipient and to the Superior Court for approving the recommendation.”

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