Susan M. Hoffman Sworn in as D.C. Bar President

Washington – June 14, 2019: Crowell & Moring is pleased to announce that Susan M. “Susie” Hoffman, the firm’s public service partner, took the oath Tuesday to become the D.C. Bar Association’s 48th president. Created in 1972, the organization is the largest unified bar in the United States, with more than 100,000 members in all 50 states and more than 80 countries.

Hoffman has dedicated the bulk of her career to pro bono work. She became the nation’s first pro bono counsel in 1988 when she joined Crowell & Moring. “The position was emblematic of Crowell & Moring itself—an innovation, the result of thinking outside the box,” Hoffman said. In her role as president of the organization, she plans to focus on three areas:

• Promoting pro bono legal services, particularly for low-income individuals in our local courts
• Engaging lawyers to enhance civic education in local schools
• Hosting a 2-day conference to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote  

“The primary reason that I wanted to be your Bar president was to champion pro bono work and improve access to justice for all individuals regardless of income, position or power,” Hoffman told guests attending the organization’s Celebration of Leadership Awards Dinner. “It is often easy for us to navigate through our daily lives in a bubble of affluence where we commute from comfortable neighborhoods to well-appointed offices, without seeing this other side of D.C.” 

Hoffman has held numerous leadership positions with the D.C. Bar, legal services organizations, and other community nonprofits. She is a former two-term member of the D.C. Bar's Board of Governors. She serves on the board of directors for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless and Washington Council of Lawyers and is a founding board chair of the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Advocacy Project. In addition, she has served in leadership roles with the American Bar Association Litigation Section, D.C. Bar Foundation, and Legal Counsel for the Elderly, among others.

Hoffman was elected in May 2018 to serve as the D.C. Bar’s president-elect before assuming the office today. Her plans for the coming year are featured in the cover story of the June issue of The Washington Lawyer.

“We are proud of Susie’s leadership and her bold vision and tireless efforts to improve the lives of people who are economically disadvantaged by ensuring their access to our legal system,” said Philip T. Inglima, chair of the firm. “This honor is a testament to that leadership.”

About Crowell & Moring's Pro Bono Practice

Crowell & Moring's pro bono practice includes a broad range of matters, particularly children's rights/family law, immigration, and criminal justice. The firm also handles countless other types of pro bono matters referred by nonprofit legal services organizations and, on occasion, its own lawyers. More than 20 years ago, Crowell & Moring was the first DC-based firm to elect a full-time public service partner and has twice been honored as D.C. Bar Pro Bono Firm of the Year in Washington, D.C. Today, the firm's lawyers contribute more than 35,000 hours in pro bono legal services annually to low-income and underrepresented individuals and deserving nonprofits.

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 550 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, London, and Brussels.