PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008 - (Page 15)

nATIonAL nEWS Assisting Persecuted Refugees Seeking a Safe Haven in the US DLA Piper has a long history of providing assistance to individuals seeking political asylum in our country to escape persecution — including torture and death — in their homelands. ESCAPInG A HoSTILE REGIME DLA Piper successfully represented Ms. P., an 18-yearold woman who fled Haiti after her father, who had been agent-in-charge of security for two United States Ambassadors to Haiti, was targeted by the Lavalas, supporters of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Following Aristide’s departure from Haiti, Lavalas gangs hunted down and kidnapped, raped and often killed those they perceived to be anti-Aristide or pro-US. Ms. P. received numerous death threats and narrowly escaped attacks on the streets of Port-au-Prince; finally, she fled to the US. During the pendency of her asylum application, from March 2007 until her hearing in August 2007, Ms. P. was detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center, a minimum security prison. Following the court’s grant of asylum, Ms. P. moved to Queens, New York, where she lives with a friend and is starting her new life. The DLA Piper team consisted of Anthony Gill and Todd Marcus, with assistance from Rachel Gupta and Kenyouth Ernandez (all New York). Anthony says, “A lawyer’s involvement in the asylum process is critical because an asylum seeker often has no understanding of how the US justice system works. A lawyer is needed to not only guide applicants through the procedural aspects of a case, but to convince asylum seekers that they can trust the court. Many asylum seekers come from countries with corrupt judicial officials, where access to the judicial system effectively does not exist. To the courts, an asylum seeker’s hesitancy to cooperate can be viewed not as a result of their past experience with corrupt judicial systems, but as an indication they are not telling the truth and do not meet the standards of asylum. Without a lawyer, an otherwise deserving asylum application may be denied.” He adds, “Everyone involved in an asylum case has the opportunity to make a tremendous difference in someone’s life. Often asylum seekers face physical abuse, torture or even death if returned to their country of origin. There are few other opportunities any lawyer will have in their career to literally save someone’s life.” FAMILy TARGETED FoR SUPPoRTInG PoLITICAL CAMPAIGn Kristin Barrett, along with Michael Carlson (both Philadelphia), assisted Mr. and Mrs. B., who fled to the US from Liberia, in obtaining asylum. The clients’ family had been targeted after they supported a family member’s political campaign. The clients were repeatedly threatened with death and were attacked in their home; one of their family members was killed, another was raped and Mr. B. was kidnapped, held for a week and tortured. Soon thereafter, Mr. B. left for the United States. Following an asylum hearing and post-hearing briefing, the immigration judge granted asylum to Mr. and Mrs. B. “Many of the refugees whom I met in connection with this work lived in constant fear of whether they would be abducted, tortured or killed,” Kristin says. “Many of them endured brutal acts of violence and lost many of their family members. The asylum work in which I participated helped me realize how fortunate I am to live in a country where our basic human rights are protected.” DEMoCRACy ADvoCATE IMPRISonED AnD ToRTURED DLA Piper won a significant pro bono victory for a native of Myanmar (Burma) fighting a forced return to his homeland on the grounds that if he were sent back, he would be persecuted and tortured. Before fleeing to the US in 2000, our client, a democracy advocate, had on multiple occasions been imprisoned, beaten and tortured by the ruling junta. When the client came to the US, he retained paid counsel, who, the client discovered years later, did not timely file his petition for asylum. In 2006, SUMMER 2008 | 15

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008

PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008 Contents A Firm Response to a Natural Disaster Protecting Our Electorate National News An Interview with Sandy Gohn Mapping Impact FourThought Signature Project Update New Perimeter Launches Addis Ababa Law School Project Awards and Recognition What Our Clients Say About Us

PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008

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