In Virtual Forum, President-Elect Candidates Pitch Platforms to Lead the Bar

In Virtual Forum, President-Elect Candidates Pitch Platforms to Lead the Bar

May 21, 2026

By Jeremy Conrad

On May 20 the two candidates running for president-elect of the D.C. Bar for the 2026-2027 term presented their credentials and platforms to Bar members at a virtual forum moderated by Early Career Lawyers Community co-chair Eric Tarosky.

The hour-long event included prepared comments by the candidates, Joshua L. Mogil of WilmerHale and Amy L. Bess of Vedder. Mogil and Bess also fielded questions from attendees.

The D.C. Bar president-elect serves for one year before becoming president and then continues in office a third year as immediate past president.

Both Bess and Mogil have background that includes service within the Bar. Bess, managing shareholder for the Washington, D.C., office of Vedder and the firm's regional lead for labor and employment, served two terms on the D.C. Bar Board of Governors and chaired its Pro Bono Committee and cochaired its Strategic Planning Committee. Bess also currently chairs the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure.

Mogil, senior associate in regulatory compliance and enforcement at WilmerHale, is currently treasurer of the D.C. Bar and treasurer and board director of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center. He also serves on the Bar's executive, budget, investment, and development committees.

Responding to a question about how he would improve access to justice if elected, Mogil pointed out that candidates running for D.C. Bar president are also running to be president of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center. "In these times [when the] access to justice gap is so great, and the risk to funding and services is so high, I'm saying I'm running to be the reverse. I am running to be president of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center who happens to be president of the D.C. Bar," Mogil said. He went on to describe his efforts to support the preservation of civil access to justice funding that faces deep cuts in the proposed fiscal year 2027 D.C. government budget.

Bess spoke of her personal commitment to pro bono service, saying that she assists 15 to 20 pro bono clients a year and devotes more than 150 hours of pro bono service annually. "I would use the Bar's powerful voice to expand opportunities for all of our members to commit to providing pro bono legal services within our community in an effort to expand access to justice," she said. Recently, Bess testified in support of the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an organization that would be impacted by budget cuts.

Watch the full recording of the candidate forum here.

The 2026 D.C. Bar elections are now underway. Voting closes on Wednesday, June 3.

Eligible voters should have already received an email link to the general election ballot, as well as to the ballots for their D.C. Bar Communities, from an independent vendor administering the D.C. Bar elections. Eligible voters can also access their ballot via their D.C. Bar member account during the voting period.