Partnering on Many Fronts
- Sunday, November 08, 2009 |
- Written by Ariana Zuno
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Troutman Sanders is not just working with KIND to help provide pro bono representation to unaccompanied children. The law firm is also helping KIND underscore the lack of representation for unaccompanied refugee children nationwide.
The Washington office of Troutman Sanders, which, as a KIND Partner, has taken five cases, co-hosted a panel with KIND on the critical need for pro bono legal representation of unaccompanied children during National Pro Bono Week, which took place October 25 to 31.
"The panel highlighted the incredible difference a volunteer lawyer can make in the lives of unaccompanied children," says KIND Executive Director Wendy Young. "We are hoping to create a better understanding of this representation crisis." The panelists included the Honorable Rosemary Barkett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Juan P. Osuna, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice; Sarah Hartnett, Deputy Chief, Enforcement Law Division, Department of Homeland Security/Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Andrew I. Schoenholtz, Deputy Director, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Visiting Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center; and Robert E. Juceam, Of Counsel, Fried Frank. Wallace Christensen, Partner, Troutman Sanders, moderated the panel.
Troutman Sanders and KIND will host a similar event in Troutman's Orange County office in early November. KIND Board Member and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sonia Nazario will talk about her work with unaccompanied children and read from her book, Enrique's Journey.
Troutman Sanders collected donations for KIND on its first annual Pro Bono Jeans Day.
The firm was also supportive during KIND's first Board of Directors meeting in June, when a Troutman Sanders partner and associate discussed their experiences with KIND. Partner Wallace Christensen says, "Helping a young child through a bewildering legal process has been immensely rewarding. Hopefully, we are showing him what is best about our country. It reminds me of the reasons why I wanted to become a lawyer many years ago."
"We are grateful to Troutman Sanders for reaching out to others in the legal community and beyond, and helping KIND build a much-needed constituency for unaccompanied children in the United States," Young says.
More Pro Bono Week Events
KIND also participated in the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Fair on October 28, and presented at a Weil Gotshal event on October 27. In New York City, KIND spoke on a panel on October 27 sponsored by Morrison & Foerster about how pro bono lawyers can help unaccompanied children, and attended an "ice cream social" at Nixon Peabody on October 26.
