Arnold & Porter partner Dan Cantor, chair of the firm's Pro Bono Committee, was named the "2021 Laura N. Rinaldi Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year" by the District of Colombia Bar Association. The award is annually presented to a lawyer who has demonstrated "excellence, achievement, and commitment to providing legal services to the District of Columbia's low-income and/or disadvantaged individuals and/or organizations serving such individuals."
This year, the DC Bar commended Cantor for his "career commitment to pro bono work and recent remarkable efforts relating to pandemic relief." Since the onset of the pandemic, Cantor has acted as a leader for several life-changing initiatives. He conceived of a national program offering pro bono assistance to restaurant workers who lost jobs or had hours reduced following business closures in the wake of COVID-19 and subsequently expanded the program to assist workers in numerous additional industries in response to evolving pandemic-related needs. More than 800 individuals have received assistance through the program, composed of a team of more than 100 Arnold & Porter lawyers across eight offices. Cantor has personally assisted more than 20 unemployed workers, including successfully litigating 5 appeals to overturn the denial of benefits. In conjunction with the firm's efforts to assist unemployed workers, he also organized an effort to help small businesses obtain pandemic-related assistance.
In addition to his leadership, Cantor was also highlighted by the DC bar for his personal representation of clients in an array of cases relating to wrongful eviction, benefits denial, and housing condition violations impacting low-income and elderly tenants. Cantor's continued work defending DC-area seniors with limited means from eviction and homelessness was also applauded in a profile by the Washington Council of Lawyers in 2020.