Akin Pro Bono

The Institute of International Education (IIE) was founded over 100 years ago to help scholars displaced by the Bolshevik Revolution. After years of supporting persecuted scholars in various parts of the world, in 2002, IIE created the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF). SRF coordinates and funds fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at higher education institutions worldwide. Since partnering with SRF in 2008, Akin pro bono teams have helped more than 50 scholars obtain asylum in the United States. Last week, an Akin team including Dallas International Trade partner Maka Hutson, Washington law clerk Anna Anisimova and litigation attorney Jillie Richards, and Los Angeles litigation attorneys Sina Safvati and Lillian Rand, as well as former Akin attorneys Julie Street and Brett Manisco, celebrated when their longtime SRF client was granted Legal Permanent Residence status. The team also secured derivative asylum for their client’s son which will allow the father and son to finally be reunited after ten long years apart. T.R. taught at the University of Tehran. His work challenged the social and political regime in Iran and advocated for change. With assistance from SRF, T.R. fled to the United States. T.R. is now teaching at a university in the U.S. and continuing his research on methods of promoting democracy within Iran. This type of academic freedom would have been impossible for T.R to pursue in Iran. This pro bono team’s dedication and commitment to T.R.’s asylum case has already affected the trajectory of T.R.’s life and his son’s life, but the impact from supporting SRF clients often goes beyond what we can easily discern. By securing SRF clients’ freedom to pursue scientific, academic and pro-democracy research, the ripple effects of Akin’s work for almost five dozen scholars from around the globe will surely have a widespread, multi-generational impact.  #ProBono #ThisWeekinProBono #Asylum

Akin is proud to be recognized in The American Lawyer’s 2024 Pro Bono Scorecard: National Report for its ongoing pro bono efforts. The firm ranked 13th out of the Am Law 200, its highest ranking to date. Our lawyers spent an average of 98.9 hours on pro bono work with 75% of lawyers having spent at least 20 hours.   We thank our lawyers and business professionals for their commitment to the firm’s pro bono initiatives.   Akin Pro Bono #ProBono #LawFirms

🏡 The Law Corner is delighted to announce a new partnership with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP ⚖️ The prospect of working with Akin in the provision of pro bono services is an important step in widening access to justice, and a powerful example of what can be achieved when partners with shared values come together to address some of the most pressing needs in society. 🌍 Akin is a global law firm that has built a strong culture of innovation and collaboration with a talented and diverse workforce committed to the success of clients and each other. Akin’s global pro bono practice leverages the experience, knowledge and passion of its lawyers to maximize access to justice, community development and the rule of law. 🏡 The Law Corner is particularly grateful to Steven Schulman (partner and global head of pro bono), Richard Hornshaw (partner and head of international disputes) and Ryan Whelan (senior counsel), who were instrumental in establishing this partnership and who will be leading on the Akin side as this next chapter unfolds.

M.H. provided critical services to Western governments promoting democracy in Afghanistan, making him a prime Taliban target. When the Taliban seized power in 2021, M.H. was successfully evacuated to the UK. In the chaos of those days, his wife and children were tragically left behind. Knowing that they would be targeted by the Taliban for M.H.’s support of UK operations in Afghanistan, M.H.’s wife and children first fled to Pakistan, then spent years in Afghanistan constantly moving and hiding from the Taliban. Frantic to be reunited with his wife and children, M.H. filed an application for family reunification with the UK Home Office; his application was refused in August 2023. By referral from Refugee Legal Support, in October 2023 Akin helped M.H. file an appeal of the Home Office’s decision. London litigation counsels Aimee Smart and Suleyman Siddiqui along with trainee solicitors Radu Suciu and Masha Novikova provided crucial support to the family, helping to prepare witness testimonies and gather evidence to challenge the decision. The case was heard in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. The judge was persuaded by the strength of the arguments demonstrating that the continued separation of the family would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences and breach of the family’s human rights under Article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The judge overturned the Home Office’s decision, and we expect the family to be reunited soon. #ProBono #ThisWeekinProBono #Reunification

Akin was named the Pro Bono International Law Firm of the Year at the Women in Business Law Awards in London last week. This award recognizes extraordinary pro bono accomplishments and firm initiatives at law firms in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Akin was recognized for its work with the organizations Not Beyond Redemption, Domestic Abuse Response Alliance, Kids in Need of Defense UK and Women of Impact. While the award highlighted specific efforts that focus on providing free legal advice to incarcerated or formerly incarcerated women, representing domestic abuse survivors in a justice gap, offering free legal help to undocumented children, and supporting women-led enterprises scale, the overall depth and growth of our London pro bono practice positioned Akin for this recognition. Special thank you to our London Pro Bono Committee, everyone who serves as a liaison to our legal services organization partners, and everyone who contributes to our award-winning international pro bono practice. #ProBono #ProBonoFirmoftheYear

N.T.’s grandfather served as a high ranking general in the former Afghan government until he was assassinated by the Taliban. The Taliban targeted N.T.’s family for years. Relentlessly committed to a democratic Afghanistan, N.T.’s father spent his career working within the Afghan government despite the repeated threats to his life. When the Afghan government fell in August 2021, N.T.’s family went into hiding as the Taliban repeatedly searched and ransacked their home looking for any evidence of their whereabouts.  Payne Roberts (DA-COR), Ekaterina Lyashenko (NY-Tax) and Robert Salcido (IR-Health) represented N.T. in his application for asylum in the United States, preparing the form application, declaration, letter brief and country conditions report. Payne represented N.T. at his Asylum Office interview in November 2022 and earlier this month, N.T. was granted asylum. The team will continue working with N.T. to apply for lawful permanent residence in the United States. Knowing that his family can continue to reside safely and legally in the United States has lifted a significant burden on this family that has endured so much.  #ProBono #Asylum

Congratulations to our 35 lawyers featured in the Pro Bono Recognition List 2024! The inaugural list celebrates solicitors working across England and Wales who gave at least 25 hours of their time to pro bono work last year. Find the full list here: https://lnkd.in/exHQsmWj   #ProbonoRecognitionList #ProBono

Tomorrow we will induct John Jacob into the Akin Pro Bono & Public Service Hall of Fame joining a long line of Akin lawyers who went above and beyond in the practice of law and served our communities in extraordinary ways. An Akin lifer, John Jacob is the head of our healthcare practice and a leader of the regulatory group. For years, he was the hiring partner for the DC office, helping to grow our Pro Bono Scholars program. John now chairs our DC Office Pro Bono Committee, and under his leadership the D.C. Bar will honor Akin with the Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award later this month. John has also used his commercial law expertise to advise many pro bono clients on health care issues, from national nonprofits to smaller ones like Pride Center of Staten Island. Profoundly generous with his time and talent, John serves on the boards of the The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, Education Reimagined and the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution. None of this truly captures why John Jacob is this year’s Pro Bono Hall of Fame honoree. The most remarkable thing about John is his ability to make every client feel like his most important client. Whether he is advising a national healthcare system or helping a pro bono client struggling with homelessness, John’s deep sense of respect for others sets a gold standard for the practice of law. Please join us in congratulating John for this well-deserved recognition and induction into the Akin Pro Bono & Public Service Hall of Fame!

Started in 2013, the Diane Streat Award is presented to a business services member who has made substantial contributions to the pro bono practice. Diane Streat worked in our Dallas office for more than 25 years before she passed away in March 2013. Diane Streat spent her life devoted to volunteerism, both inside and outside the firm. The winner of the 2024 Diane Streat award is New York Legal Secretary Jannette Rivera. Jannette has become an indispensable part of pro bono service in the New York office. Through her years of helping attorneys communicate with Spanish-speaking clients, often the victims of domestic or other abuse, Jannette has shown compassion and a clear commitment to helping clients deal with the issues that will most impact their case. Jannette’s patience and her attention to detail make her an incredible asset to our firm and our pro bono practice. For her dedication to our pro bono clients, Jannette Rivera is this year’s recipient of the Diane Streat Award. Please join us in congratulating Jannette for this well-deserved recognition!

This year’s Julia Ghahramani Immigration Advocacy Award goes to a team of litigators from our Dallas office, senior counsel Patrick OBrien, counsel Nicholas Lombardi & associate Jerome Berger. Julia Ghahramani was an Akin New York litigation associate and a passionate immigrant rights advocate. Together with Julia’s family, Akin created this award in 2021 to honor Julia’s memory and to recognize an Akin pro bono attorney or team who, like Julia, served as a zealous advocate for immigrants. Like so many Akin attorneys, Pat O’Brien, Nick Lombardi and Jerry Berger represented an asylum seeker from Afghanistan. But this case was different: when their client fled Afghanistan in 2022 and crossed the US border with Mexico, and asked for asylum, he was charged with illegal entry, jailed, then put into immigration detention in Texas. Unable to speak English fluently but without access to legal counsel, he represented himself at his immigration court trial and lost. The judge then asked if he wanted to waive his right to appeal. Confused and overwhelmed by the question, he eventually said yes. Human Rights First learned about this case and called Akin. In September 2023, Pat O’Brien quickly filed a Fifth Circuit appeal and a motion to stay the client’s trial. Shortly thereafter, the client was granted a new trial before a new immigration judge. Pat, now joined by Nick and Jerry, prepared the client for a new trial. The new trial was held just 10 weeks after Akin learned of the case. With this extraordinary team of attorneys now representing him, our client was granted asylum. Please join us in congratulating Patrick, Nicholas, and Jerome for this well-deserved recognition!