CONTENTS MAY 2017 | VOLUME 31, NO. 9 05 YOUR VOICE 48 ATTORNEY BRIEFS 06 FROM OUR PRESIDENT 50 ASK THE ETHICS EXPERTS 08 OUR MEMBERSHIP 52 TAKING THE STAND 1 0 CAREER & PROFESSIONAL 54 COMMUNITY & CONNECTIONS DEVELOPMENT 12 PRACTICE MANAGEMENT 56 LAST WORD 14 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 16 GOVERNMENT & GAVEL 18 FEATURE From Power Attorney to Power Advocate: Raising a Special Needs Child, Finding a New Career Path 22 FEATURE Difficult Clients: What to Do and When to Let Go 26 PROFILE Meet Rebecca Troth: New D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center Executive Director 37 PROFILE 2017-18 D.C. Bar Elections Candidates 40 MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 42 GLOBAL & DOMESTIC DIFFICULT CLIENTS OUTLOOK 44 WORTH READING See Feature page 22 & MEDIA BYTES 46 PARTNERS' PERSPECTIVE Nationwide, more than 80 law firm mergers or acquisitions were announced during 2016. ON THE COVER: Heather Sachs, from power lawyer to power advocate, feature page 18. Cover photo: Courtesy of Heather Sachs Photo this page: Kontrec/E+/Getty Images 2 WASHINGTON LAWYER * MAY 2017 *http://www.dcbar.org