Mission & Board of Directors

DC Refers connects qualified lawyers with potential modest-means clients who are seeking reduced fee legal services in the District of Columbia.

DC Refers was created to increase access to justice for persons of modest means in the District of Columbia. Many people in the District of Columbia earn too much to qualify for free legal services from a pro bono lawyer or nonprofit legal aid provider, but do not earn enough to afford to pay the amount that most lawyers charge for legal services. People whose incomes fall between 200-400% of the federal poverty guidelines often have no good options for obtaining legal assistance. We seek to fill that justice gap.

DC Refers is a project of Responsive Law, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization that works to make the legal system more affordable, accessible and accountable.

Board of Directors

Meet the members of our all-volunteer Board of Directors.

Susan D. Bennett

Director of the Community and Economic Development Law Clinic and Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law

Briane Cornish

Legal Tech Consultant

Rhonda Cunningham Holmes

Executive Director, Legal Counsel for the Elderly

Katie Dilks

Director of Programs, Tulsa Community WorkAdvance/Madison Strategies Group

Nancy Drane

Executive Director, D.C. Access to Justice Commission

Andrea Ferster

Law Office of Andrea Ferster; Past President, D.C. Bar

David Greisen

Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, Open Law Library

Sam Halpert

Director of Public Service Initiatives, NALP

Alan Herman

Mediator, Superior Court Multi-Door Program, Former Supervisory Attorney, Legal Counsel for the Elderly (Hotline, Reduced Fee Panel), Former Clerk, D.C. Court of Appeals, Retired U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate

Christina Steinbrecker Jack

Director of Caselaw and Data Operations, Fastcase

Kareine Johnson

Staff Attorney, Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia

Elizabeth Landau

Managing Attorney, Amara Legal Center

Karen Leichtnam

ADR Training Director, Multidoor Dispute Resolution Division, Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Bridget Bailey Lipscomb

Government lawyer

Nancy Lopez

Executive Director, Washington Council of Lawyers

Jennifer Lyman

Senior Assistant for Appeals, D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel

Laura Possessky

Member of the ABA House of Delegates, former President, Women's Bar Association of DC

Avi Sickel

Director of the Family Court Operations Division, Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Annamaria Steward

Past President, D.C. Bar

Karen Evans

Partner, The Cochran Firm

Katie Feiock

Legal Counsel for the Elderly, Hotline Attorney and manager of the Reduced Fee Panel

Alan Morrison

Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest Law, GW Law School

* Employment/organizational affiliation provided solely for identification purposes.