As we approach Thanksgiving, we pause to give thanks to the many people who support our civil rights and racial justice work — Associate Trustees, board members, donors, and, of course, our staff.
Thank you for making our work possible and for striving together for a more free and just city, capital, and country.
Together for Justice,
Joanne Lin
Executive Director
Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Our very own Kaitlin Banner has been selected as a 2025 Justice Impact honoree by the Washington Council of Lawyers! She will be honored at a Dec. 4 awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.
For the past seven years, Kaitlin has been a vital leader at Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. As deputy legal director, Kaitlin has led our work advancing disability rights and education justice. In 2025, she has been our lead counsel in a lawsuit defending constitutional birthright citizenship for infants born on U.S. soil.
With seemingly endless reserves of energy, patience, and optimism, Kaitlin has worked collaboratively on pro bono civil rights cases with Covington & Burling LLP, Ropes & Gray LLP, Nixon Peabody LLP, Terris, Pravlik & Millian, LLP, Jones Day, Arnold & Porter, Relman Colfax PLLC, and McDermott Will & Schulte. She has represented the Virginia State Conference of NAACP, DC Council of the Blind, Arc of the United States, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, and countless students and parents across the greater Washington, D.C. region, fighting for education justice.
Kaitlin is a testament to the very best of public interest law and what we should all aspire to!
Corey Rogoff is an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP, where he focuses on securities and commercial litigation. In addition to his work in private practice, Corey maintains an active pro bono portfolio with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC).
As part of the Proskauer team, Corey helped represent more than 100 tenants in litigation challenging horrific living conditions in a Washington, D.C. apartment building. For their dedication and impact, the team was honored at WLC’s 2025 Wiley Branton Awards Luncheon for Outstanding Pro Bono Achievement.
Beyond his fair housing work, Corey serves as one of Proskauer’s Associate Trustees. Reflecting on his experience, he shared:
“Working with WLC has been a great experience. The WLC staff attorneys provide such great support to pro bono attorneys so that all of us can better support our neighbors and community in Washington, D.C.”
Corey earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and his law degree from Columbia Law School.
Matt Nicely, a WLC board member, is a partner in the International Trade practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where he co-leads the firm’s trade remedy litigation practice and advises clients on market access and tariff risk issues, most notably with respect to critical renewable energy inputs. A leader in his field, Matt teaches as an adjunct professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, of which he is also an alumnus.
Throughout his career, Matt has assisted pro bono clients in achieving justice and obtaining government benefits through local courts and federal administrative agencies of all kinds. His pro bono cases have covered immigration, social security, and landlord-tenant matters, among others. Matt is the latest among a long list of Akin attorneys who have served on the WLC board, provided general counsel services to the organization, helped to lead key initiatives, and assisted a host of WLC-sponsored pro bono clients.
“I’ve been a fan of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs since I moved to Washington to go to law school over 35 years ago. I’m honored to join the board of an organization with such a storied history of fighting the most important battles facing our community and nation.”
Phyllis and Marc Fleischaker have been stalwart supporters of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) for over 50 years. Most recently, they hosted an Oct. 2025 soiree at their Washington, D.C. home to support our work to protect our immigrant neighbors, to defend D.C., and to safeguard civil rights protections for all.
Marc spent his entire legal career with ArentFox Schiff, joining the firm in 1971 and serving as firm Chairman from 1997 to 2010. He has been actively engaged with founding, growing, and sustaining WLC for the past 57 years. A founding WLC board member, Marc served on the board of directors for decades and chaired the board for two terms. Marc was honored with the 2006 Wiley Branton award — WLC’s highest award given in recognition of lifetime achievement for outstanding contributions in civil rights. Marc co-counseled six major civil rights cases with WLC, including class-action race discrimination lawsuits involving the General Accounting Office and Library of Congress, a pattern and practice case challenging redlining practices in the homeowners’ insurance industry, and a lawsuit on behalf of thousands of women farmers challenging denials of equal access to U.S. Department of Agriculture loans.
“We have been committed to the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs for over 50 years. Their work to protect low-income communities in the greater Washington, D.C. region has been, and continues to be, extraordinary. Their work has never been more important than it is now.”
Angela Schlagel joined the Washington Lawyers’ Committee in February 2025. As an Event Associate, she supports fundraising and donor engagement efforts through event strategy, logistics management, and sponsorship development.
Angela graduated with a B.S. In Psychology from James Madison University. Prior to joining the Committee, she worked as an Admissions Associate on the Visits and Events team for the George Washington University. Throughout her college career, she interned for the U.S. State Department at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, and worked as a manager for her university’s performing arts center.
Coming Down the Pike
So Many Ways to Stand With Us!
Your support powers the Washington Lawyers’ Committee’s work across the region—from living rooms to courtrooms. This fall, we're gathering with our community to share how your contributions are driving real change: protecting students in Shenandoah County, defending D.C.’s autonomy, and fighting for civil rights across the region.
Nov. 15: House Party — 16th Street Heights (NW DC) Dec. 2: Giving Tuesday
Dec. 11: Shenandoah County School Board trial starts
Board Co-Chairs Joseph Davis (Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP) Avis Buchanan (retired)
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs works to create legal, economic, and social equity for low-income marginalized communities in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, and across the country. We partner with individuals and communities facing discrimination and with the legal community to achieve justice. We bring strategic litigation to advance fair housing, disability rights, education equity, workers’ rights, immigrant justice, women’s rights, and criminal legal system reform.
