Raising the Bar in DC

A Funding Campaign for D.C. Civil Legal Services

Planning to join the 2026 Leadership Circle? The reporting form will be posted here in January 2027.

Looking for More Information about the Raising the Bar in DC Campaign? Read more about the Campaign below

Congratulations to the 2025 Leadership Circle

The 2025 Leadership Circle donated $5.83 million during 2025 to local legal services organizations that serve Washington D.C. residents in critical legal areas. This invaluable private sector support expands access to justice in the District of Columbia, and Leadership Circle firms set the standard for law firm charitable at benchmark levels and serve as a model for other peer firms. Our profound thanks for your continued support of legal services in the District of Columbia.

District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission logo

Leadership Circle 2025

Platinum Level Donors

  • Brown & Peisch PLLC
  • Henrikson Law PLLC
  • Jones Day
  • Kaiser PLLC
  • Katz Banks Kumin LLP
  • Klein Hornig LLP
  • Kropf Moseley Schmitt PLLC
  • Law Office of Cecily E. Baskir, LLC
  • Law Offices of Andrew Marks PLLC
  • Law Offices of Gary N. Horlick
  • Mayer Brown LLP
  • Perkins Coie
  • Sidley Austin LLP
  • Steptoe LLP
  • The Morrison & Foerster Foundation
  • Zuckerman Spaeder LLP

Gold Level Donors

  • Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
  • ArentFox Schiff LLP
  • Arnold & Porter
  • Crowell & Moring LLP
  • DLA Piper LLP (US)
  • Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP
  • Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
  • Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
  • Seyfarth Shaw LLP
  • Venable LLP

Silver Level Donors

  • Beveridge & Diamond PC
  • Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
  • Covington & Burling LLP
  • Epstein Becker & Green, PC
  • Kirkland & Ellis LLP
  • Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Sponsored by the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission
dcaccesstojustice.org/raising-the-bar

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is the Raising the Bar Campaign?

Raising the Bar in D.C. is a funding campaign launched in December 2010 by the D.C. Access to Justice Commission, with the endorsement of the D.C. Bar Foundation and the D.C. Bar.

D.C. law firms are among the nation’s most generous supporters of legal services through both pro bono work and financial contributions. Still, the local legal services network is chronically underfunded. As a result, many low-income residents must face the legal system alone, often when their homes, livelihoods, or families are at stake. This justice gap has widened amid ongoing economic uncertainty.

The Campaign encourages and recognizes firms for their financial contributions made to the District’s civil legal services providers. The components of the Campaign are:

  • Giving benchmarks: Firms are asked to give a percentage of their D.C. office revenue at one of three levels: Platinum (0.11%), Gold (0.09%), or Silver (0.075%).
  • Accessible to firms of all sizes: Because benchmarks scale with revenue, every tier is equally achievable for firms of any size, and solo practitioners are encouraged to participate.
  • Qualifying financial contributions: Cash donations, donated attorney’s fees, and sponsored fellowships all count toward the benchmarks.
  • Local focus: Only gifts to qualified D.C.-based organizations whose core mission is serving low-income or underserved residents qualify, reflecting lawyers’ unique obligation to ensure equal access to justice in the communities where they practice.
  • Confidential self-reporting: Firms self-report their total giving, organizations donated to, and qualifying level. Firms do not need to disclose their total revenue, calculation methods, or amounts given to specific organizations. These reports go through a third-party and are kept confidential, with the Commission receiving the list of qualifying firms and aggregate information about total giving.
  • Recognition: The Commission publicly recognizes qualifying firms each year through social media and media outreach.

The campaign has had a measurable impact. It began with an eight-firm Leadership Circle and has grown to include as many as 48 firms. More about the history of the Campaign, including past Leadership Circle firms, can be found here: Participating Firms

Additional Information about the Raising the Bar Campaign: 

  • For more detailed information about the history of the Raising the Bar Campaign, as well as technical questions about calculations and qualifying contributions, see our Frequently Asked Questions.

New to the campaign? New firms join each year. Prospective and returning firms should reach out to Commission Staff Attorney Diana Sisson (diana.sisson@dcaccesstojustice.org) if they would like further information.