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Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

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Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Dismantling Injustice / Pursuing Lasting Change We do not respond to requests for assistance via Facebook.

We work to create legal, economic, and social equity through litigation, client and public education and public policy advocacy. Workers' Rights / Housing Justice / Disability Rights / Education Justice / Prisoners' Rights / Police Misconduct / Immigrants' Rights

For more information, please see our website: www.washlaw.org

To request legal assistance, please go to our website and fill out our intake form: https://www.washlaw.org/who-we-serve/get-legal-help/.

06/17/2026

Juneteenth is the United States’ second Independence Day, a time of celebrating freedom while acknowledging the devastating history of slavery.

This Juneteenth, we know all too well that nothing can be taken for granted – that the racial justice wins of yesteryear can be lost in an instant, that the fight for freedom and equality has to be waged by each and every generation.

All of us at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs remain intent on making the promise of Juneteenth real for Black communities today.

As we commemorate Juneteenth, please consider making a gift to support this vital work: https://hubs.la/Q04lkpYj0

06/15/2026

This Pride Month, roughly a quarter-million LGBTQ+ people will be behind bars.

Transgender people face disproportionately high rates of incarceration and, once incarcerated, often experience violence, abuse, and discrimination at the hands of those charged with their care.

In 2025, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee and Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP filed lawsuits against the federal government on behalf of three transgender women who allege they were physically and sexually abused while incarcerated at USP Coleman II, a federal penitentiary in Florida.

The lawsuits allege that correctional officers singled the women out for harassment and abuse, while prison leadership failed to intervene despite knowing that mistreatment of transgender women was occurring.

As federal protections for incarcerated transgender people continue to be rolled back, these cases seek accountability for past abuses and justice for those who were harmed.

The federal government has answered the complaints, and the cases are now moving through discovery, with trials expected in 2027.

Support our work: https://hubs.la/Q04ldj-w0

06/12/2026

Ella Dawson is the Development Associate at Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. She supports fundraising, cultivates donor relations, processes gifts, and manages donor databases.

A graduate of Gettysburg College with a B.A. in business, Ella previously interned at Campaign Legal Center, assisting in donor engagement and fundraising efforts to protect voting rights and to advance democracy.

Support our work: https://hubs.la/Q04l84BV0

06/10/2026

On May 21, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs was honored to receive the 2026 Justice Potter Stewart Award from the Council for Court Excellence.

We are deeply grateful to CCE for this recognition, and to the staff, volunteers, pro bono partners, community allies, supporters, and clients who make our civil rights work possible.

Accepting the award on behalf of WLC, Executive Director Joanne Lin reflected on the urgency of this moment:

“The rule of law lives on... so long as we fight!”

Thank you to all of you for standing with us in the fight for justice.

Support our work: https://hubs.la/Q04kQMg_0

Photos courtesy of CCE and Jose Argueto

06/09/2026

Our coalition is growing.

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, along with Democracy Forward and Gilbert LLP, have amended the complaint in our lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security's abandonment of longstanding protections for houses of worship. The number of churches represented is now more than 7,000.

The new DHS policy change has had a chilling effect at churches across the country.

“Congregations, whose faith requires them to welcome all with open hearts, have been forced to lock their doors and train staff on how to handle potential immigration raids,” said Madeleine Gates, associate counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. “There is no justification for the government to put people of faith in these impossible situations. Decades of history show that immigration enforcement can be accomplished without raiding churches.”

Watch our video about the Sensitive Locations case: https://hubs.la/Q04kzcGt0

Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q04kB6bB0

Support our work: https://hubs.la/Q04kzcWm0

06/03/2026

Last week, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights presented the 2026 Wiley A. Branton Award to the Alumni of the DOJ Civil Rights Division.

For nearly 70 years, career public servants in the Civil Rights Division have worked — often without recognition — to enforce our nation’s civil rights laws and protect equal justice under law across administrations of both parties.

At a moment when the Division has faced unprecedented departures and immense pressure, we were proud to recognize the extraordinary lawyers and staff who have continued to stand up for the mission of civil rights enforcement and the rule of law.

The award was presented by Peter Keisler and Loretta Lynch and accepted on behalf of the alumni by Kathleen Wolfe.

Their legacy — and their commitment to justice — endures.

Support our work: https://hubs.la/Q04jVdpk0

06/02/2026

Happy Pride Month from the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs!

As we celebrate Pride, we reaffirm that civil rights means equality and justice for ALL. We are proud to support our LGBTQ+ staff and partners and the greater LGBTQ+ community.

05/29/2026

Thank you to our incredible community for an extraordinary show of support at the 2026 Wiley A. Branton Awards Luncheon. Together, we raised a record-breaking $1,625,000 to power the civil rights work of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights.

We were proud to honor:
• Alumni of the DOJ Civil Rights Division — Wiley A. Branton Award
• We Are CASA — Alfred McKenzie Award
• Patagonia — Corporate Citizen Leader Award
• Outstanding Pro Bono Achievement honorees:
– Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
– Covington & Burling LLP (Two Teams)
– Crowell & Moring LLP
– Gilbert LLP (Two Teams)

At a time when civil rights protections and immigrants’ rights are being challenged across the country, coming together in support of justice, equity, and accountability matters more than ever.

Your support makes this work possible — and the need continues. Help us continue fighting for justice and equality across our communities: https://hubs.la/Q04jnYl90

Thank you for standing with us.

05/28/2026

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee, the ACLU of the District of Columbia and a coalition of DC-based civil rights and legal service organizations have filed an amicus brief in support of the city’s lawsuit challenging the use of National Guard troops for domestic policing in Washington, DC.

“DC residents deserve meaningful democratic control over and accountability from the people who enforce the laws in our city,” said Madeleine Gates, Associate Counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee. “The use of state militia troops for policing denies District residents a voice in community safety. The district court correctly recognized that this deployment is outside the President’s authority to order, and we urge the DC Circuit to affirm that ruling.”

Read more: https://hubs.ly/Q04jc6b30

Support our work: https://hubs.ly/Q04jcp3l0

05/21/2026

Alexis Gorfine, a Covington & Burling associate, is a member of the Anti-Corruption and White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Groups. Fluent in Spanish, Alexis supports the needs of clients with operations in Latin America.

Since September 2025, Alexis has played an instrumental role in the pro bono team challenging the ICE policy of conducting unlawful immigration arrests without a warrant or probable cause in the District of Columbia. In December 2025 a federal court blocked IICE from continuing to carry out unlawful immigration arrests in DC, while the case proceeds. According to the Washington Post, ICE arrests in DC totaled 1400 between August and November 2025. Following the court order, ICE arrests plummeted to 100 between December 2025 and March 10, 2026

The lawsuit was brought by We Are CASA and four community members. The plaintiffs are represented by Covington, WLC, ACLU DC, ACLU, Amica, and National Immigration Project. Alexis and her Covington colleagues will be honored for outstanding pro bono achievement at our May 27 Wiley Branton luncheon

Alexis shares, “Thanks to the courage of those who have shared stories of them or a loved one being unjustly detained, we have been able to start holding ICE to account for their illegal policy of arresting DC residents without warrants and without probable cause. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to work on this important case with committed and passionate co-counsel from the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and other organizations.”

Support our work: https://hubs.la/Q04hrjz00

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700 14th Street NW, Suite 400
Washington D.C., DC
20005

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9am - 5:30pm
Friday	9am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+12023191000

Website

https://www.washlaw.org/

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