Following the 72nd annual Red Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C., to seek God’s blessings on all those who work for the administration of justice, the John Carroll Society – which sponsors the liturgy – honored four legal professionals and a law firm for providing pro bono support to the Catholic Charities Legal Network of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.
During a brunch held Oct. 6 at the Capital Hilton, the John Carroll Society presented the 2024 Pro Bono Legal Service Awards to attorneys Thomas J. Kelly, Kathleen Merlo, Denis C. Mitchell and Fabian A. Zetina, and to the law firm Wiley Rein, LLP, all recognized for their volunteer efforts on behalf of the area’s neediest individuals and families.
Deacon Darryl A. Kelley of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Clinton, Maryland, an attorney, was the first permanent deacon in the history of the Red Mass to deliver the homily for the annual liturgy, which drew about 1,000 attendees, many of whom serve as judges, lawyers, diplomats, government officials, law school deans, professors, and students.
In his homily, Deacon Kelley said lawyers have a special calling to touch lives of not just clients of the courts, but the whole of society, including those on the margins and peripheries of one’s own families and communities.
“This is a necessary task if we are to have a good and just society, but our own efforts cannot fully accomplish it,” he said. “Therefore today, we beseech the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom, show us the way forward, and give us the inspirational strength to be faithful to do the right thing always.”
Founded in 1989 as the Archdiocesan Legal Network by Cardinal James Hickey, then the archbishop of Washington, the Catholic Charities Legal Network served 1,789 low-income residents throughout the District of Columbia and Maryland in fiscal year 2023-24. During that time frame, the network’s 600 volunteer attorneys and 45 participating large and small law firms provided more than 3,285 hours of pro bono service valued at more than $2.3 million, an increase of more than 800 hours and more than $500,000 in valuation from the previous year.
At the brunch, Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi, chaplain of the John Carroll Society, delivered welcoming remarks prior to the blessing by Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory. Msgr. Vaghi, Dr. Eileen Moore, president of the John Carroll Society, and Edward A. O’Connell, chair of the 2024 Red Mass Committee, presented the Legal Service Awards.
The following biographical information on the honorees is excerpted from information provided by the John Carroll Society:
Thomas J. Kelly, Esq., has served three terms on Catholic Charities Legal Network’s Advisory Council. He has accepted pro bono civil cases from the Legal Network for representation at his law firm, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. As a member of the Legal Network’s Golf Tournament Committee, he has helped to make this event a success every year through recruiting players and donors. Thanks to Kelly, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath hosted the Legal Network’s Volunteer Spring Reception in 2022 after a three-year hiatus due to COVID.
A trial attorney and former assistant U.S. attorney, Kelly has taken on several pro bono cases each year. In addition to his legal practice and support of the Catholic Charities Legal Network, Kelly has helped to meet the need for civil legal services in other ways. In 1991, he established a free legal clinic that is now part of Bread for the City. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Legal Services Program. Kelly graduated from La Salle College and earned his Juris Doctor degree at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath received the John Carroll Society’s law firm Pro Bono Legal Service Award in 2023 and 2018 (when the law firm was Drinker Biddle & Reath)
Kathleen Merlo, Esq., is a devoted Catholic Charities Legal Network volunteer. She has conducted second-stage client intake since December 2020. She is thorough and compassionate in working with pro bono clients, some of whom have never interacted with an attorney before. Her case descriptions are well written and cover all the salient facts, dates, and issues. She has also handled pro bono record-sealing cases for the Legal Network.
Merlo has been active in supporting the community in other ways as well. She has been a Parenting Coordinator with the Circuit Court of Maryland since September 2022. She has served as a mediator with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, since September 2019. She worked as the Business Development Manager at Don Bosco Christo Rey High School from 2013 to 2017.
Merlo received her bachelor of science degree from Chestnut Hill College. She received a master of arts degree from American University and her Juris Doctor degree from The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. She is a member of the Maryland Bar.
Denis C. Mitchell, Esq., has been a member of Catholic Charities Legal Network’s Advisory Council since October 2022. He has served as co-chairperson of the Legal Network’s Golf Tournament Committee, which raised a record-breaking $138,000 in 2023. Mitchell also has represented pro bono clients through the Legal Network, continuing the tradition of his father and colleague, Gerard Mitchell, also of Stein Mitchell, whom the John Carroll Society recognized with a Pro Bono Legal Service Award in 2018.
A partner at Stein Mitchell, Mitchell focuses his legal practice on medical malpractice and serious personal injury. He earned his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Virginia and his juris doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. Mitchell is fluent in Spanish, having spent a year teaching and studying in the Economics Department at the University of Navarre in Pamplona, Spain. He is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
Fabian A. Zetina, Esq., of Baker Hostetler has been a key volunteer for the Catholic Charities’ Legal Network, especially in outreach to the Spanish-speaking community. He took part in a live broadcast on Radio America in November 2023 and shared on the air in Spanish the services offered by the Catholic Charities Legal Network. As a result, the Legal Network received many telephone calls from Spanish-speaking residents in need of pro bono civil legal services. The Legal Network plans to do a second broadcast on Radio America in 2024. Since 2023, Zetina has conducted second stage intake for potential clients through the Legal Network’s telephone intake line. The program benefits from his ability to communicate with potential clients in Spanish.
An associate attorney at Baker Hostetler, Zetina represents clients throughout Central America and other countries in international arbitration matters. He received a master of Legal Letters degree from Columbia Law School and his law degree from Universidad Francisco Marroquin Law School in Guatemala. He is a member of the District of Columbia and New York bars. He speaks French in addition to Spanish. Baker Hostetler received the John Carroll Society’s law firm Pro Bono Legal Service Award in 2021.
Wiley Rein, LLP, conducts telephone intake for the Catholic Charities’ Legal Network at least three days a month. The firm has conducted thorough consultations with callers, many of whom have never conversed with an attorney in their lives, about their civil legal matters. The Wiley Rein volunteers know how to make our callers feel comfortable in expressing their concerns, such as domestic relations disputes, bankruptcy and consumer fraud matters, tenant disputes, and public entitlements denials. Wiley Rein has accepted complicated landlord/tenant and public entitlement cases from the Legal Network. Many clients would not otherwise have received pro bono legal representation. Wiley Rein has also been a major donor to the Legal Network’s annual golf tournaments.
Stephen J. Obermeier, a partner at Wiley Rein, is an active member of the Legal Network’s Advisory Council. He regularly consults with the Legal Network’s staff about the program’s various pro bono cases. Wiley Rein also received the John Carroll Society’s law firm Pro Bono Legal Service Award in 2020.
Additional upcoming John Carroll Society-sponsored events throughout the year include: Msgr. Vaghi’s First Thursday Fellowship Series – “The Moral Life” – which continues until June 2025 and is held every First Thursday at the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland, beginning with Theological Reflection at 7:15 a.m. in the parish rectory meeting room.
A Fall Retreat, with the theme: “Remain in Christ: The Key to Authentic Renewal,” will take place at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday Nov. 2, 2024. Father Patrick Lewis, the pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Washington, D.C., will serve as retreat director.
On Saturday, Dec. 7, the St. Nicholas Mass and Gift Drive, will be held at The Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland, with a 5 p.m. Mass celebrated by Washington Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, who will also be the homilist. A reception and visit with St. Nick will follow in the parish hall.
On Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, the January Mass and Brunch on the Baptism of Our Lord, will be celebrated at St. Patrick’s Church in Washington, D.C., at 10 a.m. Father Patrick Lewis, the pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish, will be the principal celebrant, and Father Mark Ivany, director of archdiocesan Priest Vocations, will be the homilist. A brunch will follow at the Grand Hyatt, 1000 H Street, Washington, D.C. The brunch speaker is Anita McBride, a member of the John Carroll Society’s Board of Governors.
On March 8, 2025, the John Carroll Society’s Lenten Day of Recollection will be held at the Our Lady of Bethesda Retreat Center, beginning at 8 a.m., with Father Tom Robertson of the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda serving as retreat director.
The 33rd annual Rose Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 30, 2025 at Church of the Little Flower. Cardinal Wilton Gregory will be the principal celebrant and Jesuit Father Myles Sheehan, M.D., will be the homilist. A luncheon will follow in the parish hall with the presentation of the John Carroll Society’s 2025 Pro Bono Health Care Service Awards.
The 39th annual John Carroll Society dinner will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., beginning at 6:30 p.m. with dinner served at 7:30 p.m.
The 73rd annual Red Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025.
For more information, visit the John Carroll Society’s website at www.johncarrollsociety.org.
