Paulette Chapman Running for President of the Washington DC Bar Association

By Peter DePaolis
Attorney

Washington, D.C. personal injury lawyer Paulette Chapman has been nominated to run for President Elect of the District of Columbia Bar. Ms. Chapman is a partner at Koonz, McKenney, Johnson & DePaolis and an honors graduate of George Washington University Law School. She is currently serving her second term on the DC Bar Board of Governors and has served on the Bar’s Budget, Executive, Nominations and Screening Committees.

Ms. Chapman has an extensive history of leadership experience. Her list of qualifications for DC Bar President Elect includes the following:

  • President of the Women’s Bar Association (WBA) of the District of Columbia
  • President of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia
  • Chair of the Women’s Bar Association Foundation Grants Committee
  • Served as WBA President-Elect when it helped establish the Family Court Self-Help Center Pilot Project
  • Co-Chair the Development Committee for the DC Bar Pro Bono Program’s 2009 President’s Reception

Ms. Chapman has managed the full range of key bar association functions from programming, fundraising, membership development and serving diverse practitioners. She has led major fundraising campaigns to benefit legal services providers.

One of Ms. Chapman’s goals is to enhance the relationships among the DC Bar, its Sections and the voluntary bar associations. “Expanding the Bar’s services and programs for lawyers in transition and those starting or building a law practice is crucial. The Bar also needs to develop technology-based resources in recognition that lawyers require multiple ways to communicate about the law, jobs and their professional lives,” Ms. Chapman commented.

For many years, Paulette has co-instructed the Bar’s CLE program on jury selection and taught NITA’s trial skills programs. She serves on the D.C. Trial Lawyers Board of Governors and is Secretary of The Barristers.

Ms. Chapman is an experienced Washington, D.C. personal injury attorney, and she has represented plaintiffs in personal injury cases since 1988.

About the Author
Peter DePaolis joined the firm in 1980 and has since represented a large number of individuals involved in automobile collisions, truck accidents, bus crashes, defective products, and medical malpractice cases. A significant portion of Mr. DePaolis’ practice is devoted to working on behalf of people suffering from asbestosis, mesothelioma, and other asbestos-related cancers. He has led his firm’s fight against the asbestos industry and has recovered over $30 million in damages for asbestos victims and their families.