DC Affordable Law Firm welcomes Co-Legal Director
We are pleased to share our client, DC Affordable Law Firm (DCALF), has appointed Mónica Palacio as Co-Legal Director. She began her new role in April 2026.
In her new role, Palacio will direct DCALF’s 26-person legal team alongside Co-Legal Director, Lauren Birzon Harriman, with a particular focus on guiding the firm’s immigration legal practice, strategic partnerships, and community outreach, strengthening legal program operations, and contributing to DCALF’s systemic policy and advocacy initiatives.
With more than 25 years of experience in civil rights, legal services, and nonprofit leadership, Palacio is a seasoned lawyer, advocate, and government executive who has devoted her career to public service in the District of Columbia. She is an expert in DC and federal policy and compliance, and as the former Director of the DC Office of Human Rights – the city’s civil rights enforcement agency – Palacio was responsible for leading civil rights investigations to ensure DC residents can access services they need. Palacio earned her JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
“I am very excited to join DC Affordable Law Firm,” said Palacio. “I have long admired the organization’s equity-centered, community-rooted approach to legal services, and I look forward to partnering with the team – particularly at this moment in time – to expand access to justice for all DC residents.”
Palacio’s placement results from an extensive national search led by Good Insight, an award-winning, Washington, DC-based executive search firm with an executive focus on nonprofits, associations, and foundations. Erin Lau led the search on behalf of Good Insight.
About Mónica Palacio
Mónica is a civil rights lawyer who has worked both in the public and non-profit sectors for almost three decades on access to justice for all communities. She began her career at Georgetown Law School, teaching Street Law and defending young people through the Juvenile Justice Clinic. This work inspired Mónica to design and lead youth violence prevention programs with several local and national non-profit organizations such as Public Allies and the National Crime Prevention Council. More recently, Mónica served as Director of the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights (OHR), the agency charged with enforcement of numerous local and federal anti-discrimination statutes. During her tenure, agency staff and funding more than doubled to ensure more effective case resolution in the areas of employment, housing and access to public accommodations. Mónica has extensive experience in organizational strategy, change management and
executive coaching. Mónica has been a proud resident of the District of Columbia for over thirty years and is
a graduate of Fordham University and the Georgetown Law Center.
About DC Affordable Law Firm
Founded in 2015, DC Affordable Law Firm delivers accessible justice to modest-income DC residents who do not qualify for traditional sources of free civil legal services and cannot afford standard representation. Our innovative programming expands access to justice by empowering community members with unmet legal needs while also launching the careers of public interest lawyers committed to accessible justice. Through our dignified no-cost and low-cost representation options, DCALF bridges the gap in legal services, changes DC’s legal landscape, and makes accessible justice a reality. Learn more at dcaffordablelaw.org.