Celebration of Leadership Highlights Bar’s Year of Triumphs and Trials
July 31, 2020
Geoffrey M. Klineberg, partner at Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C., is sworn in as 49th president of the D.C. Bar by D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby.
More than 400 people tuned in on Thursday, July 30, to the D.C. Bar’s first virtual Celebration of Leadership featuring the formal swearing in of Geoffrey M. Klineberg as the Bar’s 49th president and the presentation of awards to outstanding members of the Bar and the legal community.
The virtual celebration was also attended by D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, who presided over Klineberg’s oath taking.
After approval of the D.C. Bar’s 2019 business meeting minutes and its financial report, former D.C. Bar president Susan M. Hoffman welcomed the Bar’s newly elected leaders and delivered her final remarks as Bar president before passing the gavel of leadership to Klineberg.
Hoffman, public service partner at Crowell & Moring, said her tenure was both rewarding and challenging in part because of the pandemic. “On March 11, when Mayor Bowser declared a public health emergency, I thought that my bar year would come to a screeching halt and that my initiatives had come to a standstill. But not for long,” Hoffman said. “The members of our Bar and the D.C. Bar staff demonstrated resilience and creativity in continuing the programming and work for the D.C. Bar. They worked with our communities to revamp CLE and other programs to virtual formats, increased counseling and other mental health support to our members, and most significantly, retooled our pro bono efforts to meet the needs of our low-income neighbors at a social distance.”
“We are facing major challenges in the year ahead from the impact of the pandemic on our profession, on our economy, on our personal lives, and the imperatives to address the racial inequities in our justice system and in our society overall,” Hoffman continued. “As lawyers, we play a critical role in ensuring that our justice system, including law enforcement, is fair and equitable.”
A playful moment behind the scenes as Susan Hoffman and Geoffrey Klineberg prepare for the ceremonial passing of the gavel of leadership while socially distancing.
Passing the Gavel
Prior to Klineberg taking his oath as Bar president, Judge Pamela A. Harris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit introduced him with the familiarity of a law school classmate, tracking the course of his progress within the legal profession, which has included service on the D.C. Bar Legal Ethics Committee and the Pro Bono Task Force.
“That’s one of the through lines of Geoff’s remarkable career, a steadfast commitment to public service and to law in the public interest, but there’s another through line as well, equally important, which is that Geoff loves being a lawyer,” Judge Harris said.
Klineberg’s acceptance speech captured the urgency of the crisis and called upon the legal community to rise to the challenge. He also spoke of the potential of technology to advance access to justice and outlined plans to develop an effective appellate pro bono program.
Klineberg vowed to build on the work of his predecessors Esther Lim and Hoffman, and expressed his own commitment to continue to provide Bar members with the resources they need to help them weather the coronavirus pandemic. He also underscored the critical need for pro bono legal services in the aftermath of the crisis.
“Looking ahead, we will need to prepare for the inevitable crush of demand for pro bono legal services as our courts gradually increase the types and numbers of cases that they will hear,” Klineberg said. “The need for legal services in such areas as landlord-tenant, domestic relations, and benefits and appeals will likely grow beyond anything we’ve seen before. The Pro Bono Center’s advice and referral clinics have operated remotely since March. But once they open again for in-person services, there will likely be a huge demand as people need legal help in sorting out their lives.”
Recognizing Contributions
The Celebration of Leadership also acknowledged the particularly meaningful contributions of Bar members to the community.
Douglas N. Letter, general counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives, received the Beatrice Rosenberg Award for Excellence in Government Service for his work in Congress and his 40-year career with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Appellate Staff. Letter argued more than 200 cases in the courts of appeals and Supreme Court, setting precedent in cases involving fundamental legal questions on a broad array of topics. Following eight years as the leader of the Civil Division’s appellate staff, Letter was hand-picked for the position of general counsel to the House of Representatives.
His acceptance speech recalled a storied family history of service to the nation, including numerous veterans of foreign wars and public servants. “For me, public service has been a calling,” he said. He also recalled many esteemed colleagues who had been recipients of the award and shared recollections of Rosenberg’s continued impact on government service.
Katherine Shelley Broderick, professor and dean emeritus of the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, was honored with the Justice Thurgood Marshall Award for her extraordinary commitment and initiative in pursuing equal justice and opportunity for all Americans.
Broderick is a founder of the D.C. Consortium of Legal Service Providers, chairs the District Task Force on Jails & Justice, and has served on the board of numerous organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation’s Capital and DC Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. “Receiving this award, named for Justice Thurgood Marshall, means the world to me,” Broderick said.
She recounted an exchange in which an ABA inspector remarked upon her intensity. “I didn’t lift that up off the grass; I learned that from the great lawyers with whom I’ve gotten to work. They taught me about passion and intensity, and they taught me how to think strategically and work collaboratively and to never give up on a righteous cause or a client in need.”
The D.C. Bar also presented the Frederick B. Abramson Award to the Law Student Community podcast “Let’s Brief It.” The South Asian Bar Association of Washington, D.C. and the D.C. Bar International Law Community were honored as Voluntary Bar Association of the Year and Community of the Year, respectively.
The firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP is this year’s recipient of the Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award for its efforts representing low-income D.C. residents in debt-collection and other consumer protection matters, as well as expanding its participation in the Pro Bono Center’s Nonprofit and Small Business Legal Assistance Programs, the Advice & Referral Clinic, and the Landlord Tenant Resource Center.
The Laura N. Rinaldi Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award was bestowed upon Stephanie Hales of Sidley Austin LLP for her many efforts on behalf of D.C.’s poorest residents, notably spending hundreds of hours serving on the boards of local nonprofits.
This year’s Celebration of Leadership was presented with the support of Alert Communications, Clio, and Thomson Reuters, as well as the many host committee members who helped ensure the event could take place regardless of the restrictions in place on account of the novel coronavirus.
Check out our behind-the-scenes photos taken during the staging of the Bar’s first virtual Celebration of Leadership.
