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Attorney Gita Sankano is asking lawyers and legal professionals to put their skills to use through pro bono and volunteer work connected to affordable housing.
A skills gap that volunteers can fill
Washington, D.C., Sep 14, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — Affordable housing finance involves a lot of paperwork most people never see: loan documents, use agreements, closing packages, tax credit filings. Nonprofits and community groups working on housing often do not have the budget for that kind of legal help.
Gita Sankano, an attorney whose work has centered on affordable housing finance, says this is exactly where legal volunteers can make a difference. “You do not need to be a housing law specialist to help,” she says. “You need to be willing to read a document carefully and explain it in plain language to someone who needs that.”
Where the need shows up
Sankano points to a few common gaps she has seen over the course of her career:
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Community groups that need someone to review a lease or a use agreement before they sign it.
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First-time homebuyers who do not have anyone to explain closing documents to them.
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Small nonprofits trying to understand financing terms tied to public funding sources.
None of these require a courtroom. They require time and attention.
What she is asking legal professionals to do
Sankano is encouraging attorneys, paralegals, and law students to look for volunteer opportunities tied to housing, even informally.
“Start with what you already know,” she says. “If you work in real estate, offer to review a document for a local nonprofit. If you work in contracts, help someone understand what they are signing. You do not have to change practice areas to help.”
She also points to law schools and bar associations as a starting point. “Most bar associations have pro bono committees. Most law schools have clinics. Those are the easiest doors to walk through if you do not know where to start.”
Why she frames this as a professional habit, not a program
Sankano is careful to describe this as a habit worth building into a legal career, not a formal initiative she runs. “This is not about signing up for one big thing,” she says. “It is about looking for small, regular ways to use what you already know.”
She points to her own education as part of why she thinks this way. During law school, she served as Associate Symposium Editor for the Business & Technology Law Journal and as a Staff Editor for a housing law digest, work that required reading dense material and making it useful to others. “That kind of work teaches you that legal knowledge is only valuable if you can hand it to someone who needs it,” she says.
A starting point, not a full plan
Sankano is not laying out a formal curriculum. Her message is simpler: legal professionals with time to give should look at housing as one place that need is real and ongoing.
“You do not need permission to start,” she says. “You need an hour and a document someone needs help reading.”
About Gita Sankano
Gita Sankano is an attorney based in Washington, D.C. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration from CUNY John Jay College, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. Her legal career has centered on affordable housing finance, including work with mortgage banking clients and lenders operating under Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA insurance programs.
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