LISE ADAMS is Pro Bono Counsel for the firm’s D.C. office. Previously, Lise was the Director for Legal Services for Individuals & Families at the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center, where she oversaw legal services to thousands of individuals annually. In this role, she supervised and oversaw all litigation activities, and she worked closely with other stakeholders in the justice system. Prior to working at the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center from 2011–2021, Lise served as the Family Permanency Project (now Families First) Director at the Children’s Law Center in D.C., supervising staff attorneys and training and mentoring pro bono attorneys representing foster parents and relative caregivers in complex custody, adoption, and guardianship proceedings. She served as a University of Virginia School of Law Lewis F. Powell Fellow/Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia from 2003–2005, representing custodial and noncustodial parents living on low incomes in child support matters and advocating for systemic reform of the District’s child support enforcement system.
Lise received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003 where she was awarded the Herbert L. Kramer/Herbert Bangel Community service award, and her B.A. in Government from the College of William & Mary, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1998.
Lise has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Council of Lawyers since 2016, where she co-chairs the Pro Bono & Public Interest Committee. Lise joined the Board of Directors for the D.C. Access to Justice Foundation in January 2023.