The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia was saddened to learn of the passing of Judge James Robertson on September 7, 2019. Judge Robertson was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 1994 and served as a federal judge for 15 years.

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Robertson was a partner at the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. While at Wilmer, Judge Robertson served on Legal Aid’s Board of Trustees from 1978 to 1980 and co-chaired the 2nd Annual Servant of Justice Awards Dinner in 1991. He presented the Servant of Justice Award to Augustus Palmer of Howard University in 1991.

Judge Robertson served as chief counsel for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s litigation offices in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1969 to 1970. He later served as the Committee’s national director in Washington from 1970 to 1972, and as president of the Southern Africa Legal Services and Legal Education Project between 1989 and 1994.

Legal Aid commemorates Judge Robertson’s life, work and contributions to Legal Aid and our client community. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends, and loved ones.