|
Welcome to Advancing Justice!
In this issue, you'll find:
- A case in need of immediate support
- A Spotlight on Hogan Lovells' Blair Decker
- Our Volunteers of the Year!
- ...and more!
| |
A Note from Our Executive Director
Friends,
I hope your Thanksgiving was restful and joyous. I know I speak for everyone at Volunteer Legal Advocates when I say we’re deeply grateful for each of you. Your support is unparalleled, and we couldn’t do this essential work without you.
As we continue into the holiday season, we’re also mindful that this time of year can be dangerous for many. Colder weather, communal stress, and growing financial and social pressures often lead to a rise in domestic violence, and we’re seeing that increase right now.
Our team is standing up for survivors and children in court, offering brief legal advice at our free clinics, and connecting clients with the resources they need to stay safe. But even with an extraordinary slate of volunteers, without additional Supervising Attorneys, we can only take on so many cases, and too many survivors and children are left waiting for justice.
As a member of our Volunteer Legal Advocates community, you know better than anyone that having representation can make all the difference for a survivor or child in need. That’s why I’m hoping you’ll consider making a new or increased year-end gift.
Your support will help us bring on more Supervising Attorneys, take more cases, and meet this growing need with the care and urgency survivors deserve.
Please click here to make your year-end gift today.
Thank you for being an essential part of our community.
Warmly,
Sara
---
Sara B. Tennen, Esq., MSW
Executive Director
Volunteer Legal Advocates
| | Upcoming Volunteer Attorney Trainings & Events | | We welcome all current and prospective volunteers to our trainings. Whether you're new to this work or a seasoned litigator, your voice and commitment to justice are vital. For even more opportunities, visit our Online Training Hub for Volunteers! | |
| |
Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Blair Decker
As Pro Bono Counsel at Hogan Lovells and a dedicated member of Volunteer Legal Advocates’ Junior Board, Blair Decker is a steady force in expanding access to justice for survivors and children. She brings both deep expertise and an unwavering commitment to client-centered advocacy.
Learn about her professional path, what drives her dedication to survivors, and the lessons she’s carried forward from more than a decade of pro bono work.
Get to know Blair
| | | | Admitted to the Bar Outside of DC or MD? You’re still covered! If you have active membership in another US state, you may practice in DC under the current Rules of Professional Responsibility and in MD under MD Rule 19-218. | | Use your legal skills to help survivors and children build safe, stable futures. Every Volunteer Legal Advocates pro bono lawyer receives training, resources, and 1:1 support from a Supervising Attorney throughout your case. | | Volunteer at a Legal Clinic | Provide brief legal help to survivors and families in need in community spaces or virtually. Our free weekly walk-in legal clinics are a vital first step for clients seeking safety, stability, and support. Every volunteer receives 1:1 support. | | Immigration Case Available | | All Volunteer Legal Advocates pro bono attorneys are paired with an experienced Supervising Attorney who co-counsels on every case to provide support and backup. | | |
Volunteer to assist in a U-Visa Case
Represent a Spanish-speaking mother of three from El Salvador, who is a victim of crime in the US and qualifies for a U-Visa. Volunteer Legal Advocates assisted the client in filing her petition, with her daughter listed as a derivative on the case. She is now seeking assistance in submitting a supplemental filing, an Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Non-Immigrant, for her derivative U-Visa petition, and a volunteer to monitor their existing U-Visa case. Spanish-speaking volunteers are preferred but not required.
| | Celebrating our 2025 Volunteers of the Year! | | |
Each year, we celebrate several volunteers who have truly gone above and beyond to end the cycle of violence for survivors and children through pro bono legal aid. Please join us in congratulating our honorees!
Sharelle Love, Volunteer of the Year
Hal Brewster, Chase Gordon, & Heather Lamberg, Law Firm Volunteer Team of the Year
Michael Mahaffey, Child Advocacy Program Volunteer of the Year
Joe Bower, Immigration Volunteer of the Year
Lauren Fleming, DC Family Law Volunteer of the Year
Ari Feinstein, DC Civil Protection Order Volunteer of the Year
Trent Sterneck, Appellate Volunteer of the Year
Karen Barker Marcou, Maryland Volunteer of the Year
Hedda Garland, Clinic Volunteer of the Year
| | Kudos to our November Volunteers | | We proudly celebrate the volunteer attorneys whose dedication brings justice and support to survivors. Please join us in thanking our November volunteers! | | |
Baker Botts LLP: Erin Schnappauf
Clifford Chance LLP: Phil Reens, Serena Seaman
Elsouri Law & Consultants PLLC: Hassan Elsouri
Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP: Anna Perina
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP: Katherine St. Romain, Meredith Johnson, Jonathan Picado, Robert Starling, Jonathan Trebble-Greening, Elizabeth Kalanchoe, Mindy Johnson
Greenberg and Traurig LLP: Kassidy Schmitz, Steven Barringer
Hogan Lovells LLP: Nicole Banton
| |  | |
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP: Abigal McDonough
JMIN Intellectual Property Counsel: George Marcou
Latham & Watkins LLP: Jennifer Ferrigno, Natalie Cappuzzo
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP: Lauren Ellison
Price Benowitz LLP: April Cockerham
Reed Smith LLP: Clirae Bourke
Steptoe LLP: Andrew Magloughlin
Unaffiliated: Shari Boscolo, Hedda Garland, Kit Wheatley
| | |
Baker & Hostetler LLP: Kaitlyn Toth
Dechert LLP: Rachel Harney
Department of the Interior: Genette Gaffney
DLA Piper LLP: Aliyyah Muhammad, Hayley Ostrin, Stacey Weber
Hogan Lovells US LLP: Nicole Banton, Blair Decker, John Moore, Deborah Wei
King & Spalding LLP: Janese Duley, Bren Moreno, Sam Newmier
Latham & Watkins LLP: Lauren McGuire
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP: Tina Papagiannopoulos
McDermott, Will & Schulte LLP: Marissa Hill Daley
| | | |
Medtronic: Justin Loffredo
O’Melveny & Meyers LLP: Kimberly Sudakow
Perkins Coie LLP: Jordan Connors, Caroline Mew, Tiara Milner
Pfizer: Karen Day, Melinda Feeney, Liz Montesino
Reed Smith LLP: Alexa Chronister
U.S. House of Representatives: Brenna Culliton
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP: Alexis Cohen, Josh Mogil
Unaffiliated: Jenny Brody, Deniz Ergener, Hedda Garland, David Kanstoroom, Sharelle Love, Daphna Sher
| |
Calling all active volunteers!
It’s time to submit your volunteer hours. Please refer to your original assignment email. If your actual hours differ significantly, please email your updated total to hours@volunteerlegaladvocates.org.
| | | | | |
