DC Volunteer Lawyers Project is thrilled to welcome new Equal Justice Works Fellow, Madison Glennie, to our team!

Maddie, whose fellowship is sponsored by DLA Piper LLP (US) and Verizon Foundation, will create a medical-legal partnership co-located at Children’s National Primary Care in Columbia Heights and AIDS Healthcare Foundation. This partnership will serve low-income survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based violence in immigration, protection order, and family law cases.

Maddie will conduct legal intakes on site and provide survivors with direct legal representation. She will also train health care providers to spot potential signs of violence and identify immigration issues to refer to her clinic. “Access to legal services can drastically impact a survivor’s life—I am dedicated to creating this medical-legal partnership to aid D.C.’s survivors,” says Maddie of the rationale behind her project.

Every day in Washington, D.C., survivors of gender-based violence go without needed legal services. 88% of petitioners in the D.C. Superior Court Domestic Violence Division lack legal representation. Survivors may fear seeking protection orders or a divorce without representation due to concerns about retaliation or losing custody of their children. We are incredibly grateful to have Maddie join our team of dedicated attorneys who are addressing these issues and increasing access to legal services for vulnerable individuals in DC who need them most.