Washington Lawyer - July/August 2019 - 28

Yolanda Hawkins-Bautista,
former president of the Women's
Bar Association of the District of
Columbia, addresses the crowd
at the organization's annual
dinner on May 22.

"People really underestimate how far you can go by just showing up and
offering your volunteer services and following through on what you say you're
going to do," says WBADC's Dash, vice president for strategic engagement of
the American Constitution Society. "There's always work to do. There are so
many things to accomplish in a bar. You show up and raise your hand, and it
opens up new opportunities and adds to your life."
The good work of voluntary bars can come in the form of monetary donations
or volunteer hours to aid local charities. In May the Capital Area Muslim Bar
Association hosted its annual Ramadan Day of Service, helping DC Central
Kitchen prepare meals for 80 homeless shelters and transitional homes.
Meanwhile, in 2019 the Women's Bar Foundation distributed donations to
11 nonprofit organizations that serve the D.C. community, including African
Communities Together, Bread for the City, DC KinCare Alliance, the Human
Trafficking Legal Center, and the Network for Victim Recovery of DC.
Voluntary bars are also continuing the tradition of prioritizing pro bono legal
service. For instance, the Washington Council of Lawyers, a voluntary bar that
promotes public interest law, hosts an annual Summer Pro Bono and Public
Interest Forum targeted to summer associates and law students.

Patrice Gilbert Photography

Some voluntary bars' mission goes beyond pro bono work. The WBA, an affiliate
of the National Bar Association, was created to counter institutionalized racism
and segregation. It came into being specifically because the American Bar
Association denied membership to African American lawyers until 1943. Those
roots drive its work today, which is especially critical given the charged climate
around current racial issues.
"Since our beginnings, we have been inextricably linked to issues of race and
equality," says Austin-Hillery. "For the Washington Bar Association, there is a long
history of being a place where African Americans can come to receive opportunities and equal treatment. We have an obligation with our work, activities,
scholarship, and programming to have a relationship with that history."
Sarah Kellogg is a regular contributor to Washington Lawyer.

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Washington Lawyer - July/August 2019

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