Pro Bono & Community Service
At Baach Robinson & Lewis we take seriously our professional and personal obligations to serve the public. We are proud of the work we have done to represent people who cannot afford legal representation and organizations pursuing issues of social significance.
The firm has an active pro bono practice concentrating on civil rights and human rights litigation. For example, we represent a number of individuals who have been subjected to mistreatment and indefinite detention at the U.S. facility in Guantanamo, Cuba and other U.S.-controlled facilities. We also represented individuals and advocacy groups in cases alleging that a mortgage lender targeted African-Americans for predatory loans, that a national restaurant chain discriminated in the provision of services to African Americans, and that a major toy retailer adopted a policy of refusing to accept checks at its stores in predominantly African-American neighborhoods. In addition, firm lawyers have handled complex asylum matters, represented immigrants in domestic violence and family law cases, and assisted low income, Spanish-speaking residents in understanding their legal rights.
Firm lawyers serve in leadership capacities with organizations devoted to public service. Lawyers serve on the boards of Capital Area Immigrants Rights Project, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Committee for Court Excellence, the District of Columbia Bar Foundation, the Federal Judicial Center Foundation, Global Rights, International Senior Lawyer Project, International Association of Women Judges, the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
Our commitment to public service extends beyond providing pro bono legal services. Baach Robinson & Lewis associates have played a leading role in the Annual Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia fundraising effort. Martin Baach is a past chair of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility. A number of firm lawyers have served as adjunct professors at Washington-area law schools.
The firm has been recognized for its work. One of the firm's lawyers received the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Pro Bono Lawyer Award. The firm has twice been recognized by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs for its civil rights litigation and was awarded the 2007 Frederick Douglass Award from the Southern Center for Human Rights in recognition of efforts on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.