Join us at the DC Center on for a reading with Elizabeth Schwartz and Martha Ertman as we explore not only marriage, but also the many formal and informal contracts that shape our lives and our families. Our moderator for the evening will be local attorney Michele Zavos.

Elizabeth Schwartz is the author of Before I Do: A Legal Guide to Marriage, Gay and Otherwise (The New Press, 2016). She has been practicing law since 1997 and is a nationally recognized advocate for the legal rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. While her firm equally works with straight and gay clients in matters of family law, estate planning and probate, she has been at the forefront of providing crucial legal protections for LGBT families.

Martha Ertman is author of Love's Promises: How Formal and Informal Contracts Shape All Kinds of Families (Beacon Press, 2015). She is the Carole & Hanan Sibel Research Professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. She teaches Contracts, Commercial Law and Contract Drafting courses and writes about the role of contracts and mini-contracts she calls "deals" in family relationships.

The DC Center is located at 2000 14th Street NW, Suite 105. The DC Center is convenient to the U Street Metro and is a wheel-chair accessible space. If you require other accommodations, please e-mail supportdesk@thedccenter.org