Secretary: Amelia French, Esq.

Amelia C. French, Esq., an attorney admitted to the DC bar in July 2017, is a May 2021 graduate of the Taxation LL.M. program at The University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she received the Dean’s Leadership Award. Beginning in March, she secured a position at Levin Papantonio Rafferty P.A. working as a personal injury Staff Attorney. Prior to that, she was the DC Victims of Crime Act Fellow/Staff Attorney at Tzedek DC where she represented low-income DC residents in defensive debt collection matters and was responsible for obtaining a settlement of over $17,000 for one client!

Amelia is committed to serving marginalized communities and the greater public interest. This commitment is exemplified in her decision to obtain her Juris Doctor from The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. In the Community Development Law Clinic (CDC), she represented low-income District of Columbia housing cooperatives in rapidly gentrifying areas. She served as lead counsel in a negotiation against the DC Office of Tax and Revenue to prevent the tax foreclosure and displacement of a housing cooperative client. Her team succeeded in getting an assessment reversal for the client whose residents acquired their home through the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act process. She received the Earl H. Davis Award from the Jack and Lovell Olender Foundation for her demonstrated commitment to public interest law and her exemplary performance in CDC.

Amelia also served as a Volunteer Attorney at DC Volunteer Lawyers Project (DCVLP) and continues to serve as a Volunteer Attorney at Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS). At DCVLP, she represented victims of domestic violence seeking divorces from their abusive spouses and custody of their children from abusive former partners. At MVLS, she represented clients petitioning for expungement of their criminal records, and currently represents clients in estate administration proceedings. Her clients have been individuals excluded from certain jobs and barred from certain educational programs as a result of their criminal records, and descendants of family members who died intestate.

Social action is Amelia’s purpose. As a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she is able to enhance her skills and hone her commitment. She looks forward to joining the Washington Bar Association Young Lawyers Division team and serving as your Secretary.