The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia has awarded posthumously Barbara McDowell its Servant of Justice Award to be presented by Sally Gordon, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, on April 29, 2014 at Legal Aid’s annual dinner. Jerry Hartman accepted the award for Barbara.

Drinker Biddle obtained significant achievements in exposing the unfair treatment of death row prisoners while collaborating with individuals from the ABA Death Penalty Representation Project and counsel from Mississippi.

The Foundation has awarded six grants for 2014.

The National Immigrant Justice Center, a 2012 Grantee, received support for a case, Cece v. Holder, in the Seventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. On August 9, 2013, the court adopted the National Immigrant Justice Center’s position on the definition of “particular social group” as applied to gender-based asylum claims and in closer accordance with international refugee law.

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, a 2012 Foundation grantee, recently prevailed in a case it brought against the City of Dallas.

On April 2, 2013, Susan Stern, the Deputy Director of Administration at the National Housing Law Project, wrote Jerry Hartman a note sharing an article featured in the Wall Street Journal. The note and article read as follows…

The Public Justice Center, a 2011 Foundation grant recipient, settled a case very favorably that it brought against the State of Maryland

A team of Drinker Biddle & Reath lawyers from the Washington and Philadelphia offices is partnering with a team of lawyers from the National Center for Law and Economic Justice to represent a class of blind and seriously visually impaired individuals.

The Foundation has awarded five grants for 2013.

Responses from a grant applicant survey demonstrate the importance of the Foundation’s grants.

The Foundation received significantly more grant applications in 2013 than in prior years.

The Foundation has retained a consultant to help it with the soliciting of grant applications for 2013.

Rating criteria for evaluating grant applications were developed by the Foundation's Board.

For the first time in history, there's a civil suit against a prosecutor for racial discrimination in jury selection. The Equal Justice Initiative is teaming up with the Barbara McDowell High Impact Pro Bono Initiative on the lawsuit, filed in 2011.

One of our grantees, the National Immigrant Justice Center, after receiving a 2011 grant has had an excellent result.

The Outreach Ministries program at Westmoreland Church where Barbara belonged published the following article in the Church's bulletin about the fund established at the Church in Barbara's honor.

The Foundation received 19 grant applications for its 2012 awards

The Board adopted the Foundation’s first investment policy in 2011.

Jerry Hartman was elected by the Board as President to replace Sarah Gordon.

The Foundation elected three new Directors to its Board: Jeffrey Lamken, Deborah Chiumento, and Sarah Wilson.