Washington Lawyer - June 2020 - 16

FEATURE
has, as one of its core duties, the provision of services to people who
cannot otherwise afford our help. In my own career, I have tried to fulfill
this responsibility principally by providing legal services to public interest
organizations that are then freed up to provide hands-on legal services to
our most vulnerable fellow citizens. But the point is that there are many
ways to serve, and the lawyers of the D.C. Bar are among the most
generous and committed providers of services to enhance access to
justice in the country.
What other goals do you intend to pursue as D.C. Bar president?
I would like to build on the leadership of my predecessors by focusing
on practical and innovative ways to provide legal services to our fellow
citizens. At its midyear meeting this past February, the ABA adopted
a resolution to encourage U.S. jurisdictions "to consider innovative
approaches to the access to justice crisis" and, in particular, "regulatory
innovations that have the potential to improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality of civil legal services, while also ensuring necessary
and appropriate protections that best serve clients and the public."
Working with the chief judges of our local courts, I would like to follow
through on the ABA's call to action and explore ways to make meaningful progress in this area.
You are starting your term during an exceptionally challenging time
in Bar history. How is the pandemic and its aftermath going to
shape your year in office?

Vacationing in 2015 in Greece with his wife, Ursula Werner, and daughters,
Julia, Anna, and Emily.

We're living through a global pandemic that has upended all of our lives.
The last few months have changed virtually everything about how we
manage our practices, serve our clients, and protect the interests of our
most vulnerable neighbors. The lucky among us have been able to
practice remotely, replacing in-person meetings with video conference
calls. But in an economy that has suffered losses of historic dimensions,
many have seen their practices disappear altogether. The Bar will play a
crucial role in the year ahead to help lawyers manage their recovery from
this devastating experience, and the Pro Bono Center will face an unprecedented demand for services from low-income clients in need of help
from volunteer lawyers.

on matters that might implicate the First Amendment interests of their
members. We in the D.C. Bar have been subject to a series of referenda
adopted years ago by our members that limit the use of funds collected
from licensing fees to a narrow set of activities related to the regulation of
the profession or the improvement of legal services. So we have adhered
to a long-standing policy of ensuring that our mandatory licensing fees are
not used to fund pro bono activities, to take positions on matters of public
interest, or to advocate outside the specific areas in which our members
have authorized the Bar to speak. But this remains a challenging time for
unified bars, and I expect that walking the line between permissible and
impermissible activities will continue to test us in the year ahead.

More generally, as we recover in the midst of a divisive political culture,
I believe that lawyers have a special role in helping to moderate the
anger and to direct the many disputes that we experience toward a
peaceful resolution under the rule of law. More than anything else, what
gives me hope is that our institutions of government - and most particularly our courts - remain strong, and that lawyers continue to play
an essential part in protecting the interests of the most vulnerable.

What are your interests outside of law?

As we all work to rebuild our lives, our clients will turn to us to help them
navigate the most challenging and important issues they face. So while the
demands may be extraordinary, we lawyers have the ability and responsibility to practice our profession consistent with our most cherished ideals:
to serve those who are most in need, to represent our clients with competence and zeal, and always to comport ourselves consistent with the
highest ethical standards. These times demand nothing less.

My great passion beyond the D.C. Bar, I should say, is theater and, in particular, musical theater. I spent much of my youth and college life performing. But since college, it has largely been a matter of being an
enthusiastic audience member.
My wife is a lawyer and a novelist. We have three daughters. One is a
senior in college. My middle daughter has a master's in public health and
works in Houston for Harris County Public Health. My oldest daughter
is an architect. It's my oldest daughter who was also a singer and a performer, so it was through her that I vicariously was able to enjoy theater
and performing more recently.

What other challenges do you expect to face?

My all-time favorite is the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical
Sunday in the Park With George, with Bernadette Peters and Mandy
Patinkin. But I'm a huge Hamilton fan as well, and I also love Dear Evan
Hansen.

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Janus v. AFSCME,
so-called unified bars (in which membership is required as a condition
of practicing law in the jurisdiction) have been on high alert to ensure that
they spend their licensing fees on the regulation of the profession and not

Tracy Schorn is a regular contributor to Washington Lawyer.

WASHINGTON LAWYER

JUNE 2020

Washington Lawyer - June 2020

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