Judicial Council - Chairperson's Message

Greetings and welcome to the Judicial Council of the Washington Bar Association web page. The role of the Judicial Council is to ensure the physical, mental and professional well being of its members and offer opportunities to network, mentor and support one another. We invite members of the judiciary to join the Council and become a part of this important organization. We currently have members from all area courts including, but not limited to, U.S. District Court, D.C. Superior Court and D.C. Court of Appeals, and D.C. Federal Administrative Law Judges.

I am honored to serve as this year's chair. And I am proud to announce that this year is dedicated to the pioneering judges and lawyers who faced unimaginable challenges and hardships to blaze a trail that afford us privileges and opportunities that they only dreamed of. For many decades, those early lawyers and judges struggled and fought bigotry, injustice and humiliation to tear down the walls of injustice, ensure a diverse judiciary, and to make it possible for us to utilize our legal training to ensure equal justice for all! This year our focus will be honoring those early judges and lawyers and preserving the rich legacy of the District of Columbia’s minority judiciary. We will be looking back at our past, to preserve it, learn from it, and build on it for our future. We will collect photographs, writings, and memorabilia to begin this process, as well as begin the work to develop the written history. We are fortunate to have in our mist some living legends, judges who in their early years fought to open the doors of bar associations, law firms, government agencies and the courts, and we hope to capture their stories in video and writing. We are reaping the benefits of their sacrifices and so it is only fitting, and it is imperative, that we preserve their stories, and the stories of the many pioneering lawyers and judges of this great community, for our children, community and ourselves.

Three remarkable men founded the WBA Judicial Council: Sr. Judge Paul R. Webber III, Donald Thigpen, Esquire, and Sr. Judge Arthur L. Burnett Sr. We want to thank them for their vision, commitment and hard work in organizing and nurturing this division of the WBA. We will feature each one of them, their work and contributions in the future.

Anita M. Josey-Herring
Chair