Wiley Rein’s Theodore Howard Named to Two Key Pro Bono Committees

July 17, 2015

Wiley Rein Pro Bono Partner Theodore A. Howard has been named to two prominent committees that have national impact in the pro bono field. Mr. Howard will serve three-year terms for both appointments.

This month, he was appointed by the Honorable Merrick B. Garland, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services of the District of Columbia Circuit Judicial Conference. The 12-member committee, which spearheads and manages pro bono initiatives within the D.C. Circuit, “continues to distinguish itself by the high quality service it provides the bench and bar,” Chief Judge Garland, who also serves as presiding officer of the conference, said in a July 9 letter to Mr. Howard. Members of the panel are responsible for reviewing and reporting to the Judicial Conference on issues facing pro se litigants in the federal court system. The committee also works cooperatively with organizations in the D.C. Bar to meet the legal needs of the community through programs and increased pro bono work.

Mr. Howard also was appointed to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants. The committee examines issues of great importance to the legal profession, the bar, and the public. It addresses challenges relating to the delivery of civil legal services to the poor and criminal defense services to indigent persons accused of crimes, and works to improve indigent criminal defense systems nationwide.

“I am extremely gratified and honored to receive these two appointments, and to have the opportunity, for myself and on behalf of the Firm, to contribute to important discussions concerning how best to maximize society’s provision of vital legal services to those most seriously in need,” said Mr. Howard.

Appointed as Wiley Rein’s first full-time Pro Bono Partner in May 2014, Mr. Howard last month received the prestigious Wiley A. Branton Award from the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) for his exceptional, impactful pro bono accomplishments and for his leadership of the WLC, including as a member and former co-chair of its Board of Directors.