Overview
(August 25, 2020, Washington, DC) — Steptoe has raised a record-breaking $81,037 for the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia's 2020 Making Justice Real Campaign – enough money to fund a Legal Aid attorney for an entire year. Steptoe came in eighth out of 77 law firms in Washington, and fourth in the firm's size category.
"Steptoe had a great campaign," stated Rob Pergament, director of development for the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. "Particularly under the circumstances [of the COVID-19 pandemic], it was remarkable."
The Making Justice Real Campaign brings together thousands of people to support the mission of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia: to make justice real, in individual and systemic ways, for people in poverty in DC. The Making Justice Real Campaign is the next evolution of the Generous Associates Campaign, which has raised millions for free legal assistance in DC since 1990.
Steptoe's campaign was led by associates Zorba Leslie, Galen Kast, Dan Aldrich, Lisa Southerland, and Troy Shephard, along with Steptoe partner Leah Quadrino, who serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Legal Aid Society.
"Their leadership inspired us to reach new heights in our collective support of Legal Aid and its clients," said Steptoe pro bono counsel Paul Lee. "At a time when all are facing difficult circumstances, we are very grateful you have remembered Legal Aid's vulnerable clients and our neighbors in their time of need. The trajectories of many lives will change because of it."
For nearly 40 years, Steptoe maintained a loaned associate program at Legal Aid. In 2019, Steptoe announced a new Housing Law Fellowship in conjunction with Legal Aid to expand the agency's Housing Law Unit, which works to prevent evictions, address dangerous housing conditions, and preserve affordable housing in the District.
Public service at Steptoe is an integral part of the firm's history, ethos, and operations. Steptoe is a charter signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge, and was one of the first law firms to establish a position for a lawyer with full-time responsibility overseeing the firm's pro bono program. In 2019, the firm donated more than 25-thousand hours of pro bono service, and was the named the recipient of the Washington Council of Lawyers' 2019 Law Firm Award.
About Steptoe
In more than 100 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
