Law Firms Get Creative, Raise $3.7M for Legal Aid DC

Legal Happenings

Law Firms Get Creative, Raise $3.7M for Legal Aid DC

September 03, 2024

By Jeremy Conrad

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP raised more than $100,000 for Legal Aid DC at its pie-a-partner event.

Each year, the District's legal community pulls out all the stops to raise funds for Legal Aid DC's Making Justice Real Campaign. Thanks to 76 law firms and more than 4,000 individual donors, the campaign generated $3.7 million this year, shattering its previous fundraising record by $250,000.

The campaign, which ran from June 17 to August 2, involved some good-natured competition among firms, many of which held events or competitions to raise funds.

"We greatly appreciate that law firms got creative and competitive with the Making Justice Real Campaign, helping raise funds that ultimately account for about 30 percent of [our] annual funding," said Vikram Swaruup, Legal Aid DC's executive director. "Because of the collective action of D.C.'s legal community, we are able to provide free legal representation to more low-income clients across D.C. than ever before."

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP once again raffled off the opportunity for employees to hurl a dessert at its partners during the firm's pie-a-partner event, contributing more than $100,000 to the cause. Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. held its own pie-hurling event, setting another firm fundraising record of $35,000.

Cooley LLP's fundraising efforts were considerably less messy but equally effective in drawing support for Legal Aid's work. At the firm's Mocktail Madness event, attendees voted for their favorite nonalcoholic concoction through donations. Special counsel Henry Wendel, who cochaired the effort with his colleague Claire Gibbs, partly credited the enthusiasm of Cooley's summer associates for the firm's contribution of more than $108,000.

"We have summer associates for 8 to 12 weeks, depending on how they come to us, and it's important for us to show them all aspects of the firm," Wendel said. "Getting them involved in the project is a lot of fun. We take all of our 'summers,' break them into teams, and each creates a mocktail. Those of us who attend the event give money, which counts as votes toward their favorite mocktail." This year's winning beverage was a sweet and spicy watermelon beverage devised by a trio of summer associates and called "Interwoven" as a play on CEO Rachel Proffitt's theme for the firm.

Establishing itself among the top 10 fundraisers for Legal Aid this year, Cooley surpassed its $68,000 donation in 2023 by a large margin. "This increased investment is a recognition that there may never be a more important time to donate to Legal Aid than today," Wendel said. "There's a lot going on and a lot that Legal Aid's doing. They're upping their game, and we'd like to help them do that."

Latham & Watkins took top fundraising honors, with a firm record of $331,598, followed by Williams & Connolly at $290,144.

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