Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024 - 46

THE PRO BONO EFFECT
FLAN: A Lifeline for D.C. Families
By Jeremy Conrad
T
here are many courts in
which litigants are likely to
go unrepresented, but few
involve matters quite as lifealtering
as those determined in
Family Court.
Cases involving custody, child support, parentage,
child abuse, and divorce result in decisions
that will have long-term consequences for those
involved, but there is no right to counsel in civil
proceedings. Consequently, the overwhelming
majority of litigants in D.C. Superior Court's Family
Court cases appear unrepresented.
A 2019 D.C. Access to Justice Commission report
found that 83 percent of plaintiffs and 93 percent
of respondents in divorce, custody, and
miscellaneous cases appear pro se in Family
Court. According to the same report, 97 percent
of respondents in paternity and child support
cases do not have counsel.
The Family Law Assistance Network (FLAN), a
joint project of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, DC
Affordable Law Firm (DCALF), and Legal Aid DC,
was conceived to address this issue. FLAN offers
confidential, free, limited-scope services to qualifying
Family Court litigants. Services include legal
information, legal advice, brief services, and
representation. FLAN launched at the end of
March 2020, during a period in which preexisting
pressures on the court and litigants were exacerbated
by disruptions of the emerging pandemic.
Jenadee
Nanini, D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center managing
attorney of family law and immigration,
says FLAN was structured to lessen the burden
on the litigant and efficiently route clients to immediate
services. " Over the last four years, it has
become evident that FLAN is effective in meeting
the need for rapid availability of legal assistance,
both in and out of the courthouse. To
have somewhere to receive free services, especially
just steps away from the courtroom you
are about to go into, is a vital resource for pro se
litigants, " says Nanini.
46 WASHINGTON LAWYER
* SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024
D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center family law staff attorney Ana Scoular (right) with FLAN volunteer Julia Byrne,
a rising 3L at Georgetown Law.
Since its launch, FLAN has helped more than
3,700 pro se litigants with income of less than
200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
Recently, FLAN has converted to a hybrid model
to maximize its reach to the community, providing
services onsite in courtroom 105 at D.C.
Superior Court from Tuesday through Friday,
and remotely from Monday through Friday
through a central intake center housed at
DCALF.
When the partner organizations' staff attorneys
are at capacity, clients can be referred to volunteer
attorneys for representation through each
organization's pro bono program. For volunteer
attorneys, FLAN gives them the flexibility to
" meet the client where they are, maximize services,
and cut against the access to justice gap, "
Nanini says.
A PLACE TO TURN TO
One thing Nanini loves about the D.C. legal
community is the culture of collaboration.
FLAN organizations work closely with the court,
the Family Court Self-Help Center, judges, community
leaders, and other legal professionals to
constantly improve the court experience for litigants.
Nanini
herself is always looking for ways to improve
FLAN. " My brain is always spinning -
how can we provide free, digestible, and accessible
resources to individuals? There is so much
potential to expand our reach by combining
law and technology, " she says.
One of those improvements is a series of selfhelp
videos about court forms and processes
that the Pro Bono Center developed using AI.
The goal was to provide guidance to litigants
on commonly encountered questions, from
how to ask the court to waive filing fees to
what to expect at your first hearing to navigating
the online child support calculator. The 14
videos are available on the Pro Bono Center's
YouTube page as well as on the court's website,
with a QR code to the video series so that staff
and judges can share it with pro se litigants.
To increase its onsite capacity, FLAN offered legal
experience opportunities this past spring to
law students through volunteer work. " Jenadee
was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University
last semester with Erin Larkin, who became
director of the D.C. Courts' new Access
to Justice Unit in June; they taught a practicum
called 'Helping Pro Se Litigants in Family
Court,' " says Ana Scoular, family law staff attorJati
Lindsay

Washington Lawyer - September/October 2024

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