When the economy began to falter last year, funding for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless was hit hard. In response, a small army of prominent lawyers from the area quietly orchestrated an intense fundraising campaign within the legal community. In six weeks, the group cut the nonprofit organization's budget gap in half by collecting donations from more than 330 lawyers.

"There's so many nonprofits out there going through devastating times," says Washington partner Jamie Gorelick in an article that recently ran in the Washington Post. "What made this unique was the coming together of this town's legal community to see this one organization through the hard times."

To generate interest, lawyers involved with the Legal Clinic emphasized the nonprofit’s mission of filing housing appeals for people on the streets, filing disability claims for those struggling with mental illness and advocating for policy changes that would positively effect the city’s homeless.

“'We initiated this fundraising, inviting other firms in town to a breakfast where this effort was launched,” says Gorelick. “WilmerHale lawyers proved to be the most generous among the firms, showing their commitment to our community. I am proud of my colleagues."

To read more about the efforts of WilmerHale lawyers and other attorneys in DC, please click here.