Supporting Our Communities

Disability Rights

D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center Advocacy & Justice Clinic

Washington, D.C.

In partnership with the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center’s Advocacy & Justice Clinic (Advocacy & Justice Clinic), a Sidley team represented a client diagnosed with numerous mental health conditions who had been denied disability benefits on multiple occasions. The Sidley team obtained a remand and fully favorable decision before the Social Security Administration that led to an award of Social Security benefits and significant backpay.

Protecting the Rights of People with Speech Disabilities

Washington, D.C.

In June 2024, Sidley secured an important pro bono victory for CommunicationFIRST, a nonprofit advocacy organization that works to further the rights of people with speech-related disabilities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit agreed with the position and reasoning urged in Sidley’s amicus brief for CommunicationFIRST and reversed a district court decision granting summary judgment to a school district on a claim brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by a non-speaking student seeking the right to use a letterboard to communicate in school. The decision established an important precedent regarding the interaction between the ADA and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that will assist students with disabilities seeking equal treatment. Sidley represented CommunicationFIRST in this case, Jennifer Binder LePape v. Lower Merion School District.

Disability Rights Maryland

Washington, D.C.

Sidley is providing pro bono support and serving as co-counsel with Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) in connection with a fair housing lawsuit against the Housing Authority of Prince George’s County (HAPGC) that previously resolved with a settlement agreement. The lawsuit alleged widespread disability-based discrimination in the administration and operation of HAPGC’s Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs, with claims alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. Sidley’s work in this matter has included advocacy with DRM in seeking to enforce the terms of the settlement agreement and to ensure HAPGC’s compliance with its obligations under the settlement agreement.

DRM is a nonprofit organization that is Maryland’s designated Protection & Advocacy agency. DRM is federally mandated to advance the civil rights of people with disabilities and provides free legal services to Marylanders of any age with all types of disabilities. Sidley has worked with DRM for many years on multiple pro bono matters to protect and advance the civil rights of Marylanders living with disabilities.

Welfare Benefit Appeals

London

Under our Welfare Benefit Appeals project, lawyers in Sidley’s London office assist individuals with disabilities to challenge wrongful decisions made by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in respect of entitlement to benefits. In 2024, we accepted nearly 30 new referrals from our partner organization, Richmond AID, and represented over 20 clients before the First-tier Tribunal, with a success rate of 95%.

Clients suffered from a variety of health conditions, including PTSD, depression, schizophrenia, heart conditions, and severe mobility issues. Our volunteers also had to navigate an increasingly complex landscape within the Tribunal system, with delays of up to a year becoming the norm, which cause clients a significant deal of distress.

Family Law

Washington, D.C.

A Sidley team reunited a Spanish-speaking father with his young autistic child after 10 months apart, navigating complex issues of divorce, alimony, child support, and custody. The team secured a favorable settlement, including regular visitation, alternating holidays, and phone calls. This case was also referred by the Advocacy & Justice Clinic.

Not Beyond Redemption

London

In partnership with specialist charities Not Beyond Redemption (NBR) and the Free Family Representation and Advocacy Project, our London office provides family law advice, representation, and support to mothers in prison and litigants. Sidley’s work with NBR was recently recognized at the LexisNexis Legal Awards.

In 2024, Sidley contributed nearly 900 hours working with NBR to assist over 20 mothers either in or recently released from prison.

Two such volunteers represented a mother during proceedings that lasted over two years and involved numerous court hearings. When the team first took on the matter, the mother had no contact with her child. Now, a final order is in place that enables her to have video calls and letterbox contact with her child, and also makes provision for the level of contact to increase following the mother’s release from prison.

Free Family Representation and Advocacy Project

London

Lawyers in our London office act as pro bono advocates for litigants in person in the family court, representing individuals in proceedings relating to child arrangements.

In 2024, Sidley volunteers attended seven clinics, representing 16 litigants in person at the Central Family Court and conducting advocacy in 13 of those cases.

A Sidley team represented a father seeking to reestablish contact with his young child. The father was permitted only to send his child — whom he had not seen for a number of years — an infrequent gift and receive a photo of his child in return. Sidley persuaded the court to order a report, which would detail how the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) could help reintroduce the father into the child’s life, and obtained the Court’s permission for the father to send letters to his child.

Tenants’ Rights

D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center

Sidley’s Washington, D.C. office has represented many Washington, D.C. tenants as part of a referral program from the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center.

In one such case, Sidley secured a victory for a veteran who faced eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent. As a result of Sidley’s advocacy, the tenant was able to settle the case on favorable terms, which resulted in the landlord waiving the existing civil judgment for unpaid rent and agreeing to seal the record of the proceedings. The client has since secured new housing.

In another case, Sidley secured a victory for a victim of identity theft whose name and Social Security number were fraudulently used to rent multiple apartments in the District of Columbia. The client, who has never been a resident of the District of Columbia, was incorrectly named as a defendant in seven eviction proceedings related to the fraudulent leases, and the public record of these cases made it difficult for her to secure new housing. Sidley filed motions to seal the eviction proceedings, which were granted by the D.C. Superior Court.

In another case, Sidley successfully represented a family who faced eviction for nonpayment of rent. Sidley was able to have the landlord’s claims against the family dismissed, and as part of counterclaims raised by the family, was able to secure a settlement agreement from the landlord that resulted in significant repairs to the apartment, including remediation of a severe rodent infestation.

Sidley represented two families who were facing eviction and the loss of their housing choice vouchers for alleged nonpayment of rent and tenancy violations. In both cases, Sidley filed motions to dismiss based on defects in the landlords’ complaints, after which the landlords agreed to dismiss the cases with prejudice, thus allowing the families to remain in their apartments and retain their housing vouchers.

Landlord Tenant Resource Center

Sidley’s D.C. office partnered with the Association of American Medical Colleges to staff the Landlord Tenant Resource Center, a monthly clinic run by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center. Sidley lawyers provide free legal information to pro se tenants and small landlords facing housing disputes in Washington, D.C.

Housing Right to Counsel Project

Since the inception of the D.C. Housing Right to Counsel Project (RTC Project), Sidley has expanded access to the direct representation of clients in subsidized and other affordable housing who are facing eviction proceedings. Sidley was the first firm to begin taking pro bono cases through the RTC Project nine years ago and received the Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award in 2018 for their continued commitment. In two RTC matters in 2024, Sidley lawyers achieved favorable results for D.C. residents facing eviction and loss of their housing choice vouchers due to alleged tenancy violations, leading to the dismissal of both of their cases with prejudice at the initial hearings.

Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses

Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop

Free Minds is a D.C.-based nonprofit that serves incarcerated and formerly incarcerated Washington, D.C. residents who have endured over-policed, deeply disinvested neighborhoods, and were denied equitable access to education, employment, and financial opportunities. They work with members throughout their incarceration and reentry to build their learning skills; foster social capital and self-efficacy; and connect members to opportunities for career advancement. For incarcerated members, they run book clubs and writing workshops in the D.C. jail and juvenile detention center, and long-distance, correspondence-based programming for D.C. residents in the federal prison system.

Since 2023, Sidley has worked with Free Minds in their corporate governance review in order to advance their mission of building leadership among incarcerated and formerly incarcerated Free Minds members.

“By working with us to develop an organizational structure that honors the lived-experiences of Free Minds members, Sidley has taken part in creating a pathway where our members have access to becoming thriving leaders both within our organization and the broader community. … Through our close work with Sidley, we have witnessed their passion and commitment to advancing equitable opportunities for individuals who have endured systemic injustices.”
— Tara Libert, Co-founder and Executive Director, Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop

Dallas Expunction Expo

Sidley has participated in the Dallas County Expunction Expo for the past two years. This year, the firm accepted 26 cases from the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office. While the District Attorney’s Office notes that typically, only 60% of expunction applicants are responsive to contact, we successfully engaged 88% of our clients and filed all 23 expunction petitions, helping our clients overcome barriers to employment and housing opportunities. This number was even higher than last year’s rate of 83% in engaging clients.

Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Clinic

In coordination with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS), Sidley runs a legal clinic through which it conducts monthly intake interviews with prospective clients and provides pro bono legal services to dozens of Chicago-area clients. As part of its work through the CVLS clinic, Sidley has represented clients in a variety of legal proceedings, most recently advocating for clients in numerous successful guardianship and adoption proceedings in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.