Morgan Lewis Pro Bono Team to Be Honored for Pro Bono Representation of Immigrants in Detention

WASHINGTON—The American Immigration Council will recognize the law firm of Morgan Lewis with its Stephen K. Fischel Distinguished Public Service Award on April 11 at The Capitol View at 400 in Washington, D.C.

The award, which recognizes individuals or organizations who exhibit an outstanding commitment and dedication to America’s heritage as a nation of immigrants and to the struggle for fair and humane immigration policies in the United States, will be presented at the D.C. Immigrant Achievement Awards reception.

“This year we are excited to celebrate the Immigration Justice Campaign—our joint initiative with the American Immigration Lawyers Association to fight for a fair day in court for detained immigrants—and our partners who make the Campaign a success,” said Beth Werlin, executive director of the American Immigration Council. “Morgan Lewis’ pro bono practice and its army of fearless lawyers have been an exceptional partner in this effort. They invested their legal resources and expertise in a powerful way to ensure access to justice for detained immigrants, including families separated at the border. They answered the call—during one of America’s darkest moments—to ensure that separated families were treated with dignity and received a chance to present their claims in court.”

Notably, Carolyn Silane, associate at Morgan Lewis’ New York office, successfully represented an adoptive parent who was separated from his two-year-old son in the early days of family separation and was denied reunification because the government claimed he was “not the father.”

“Morgan Lewis is dedicated to providing those most in need of legal representation with services that would otherwise be out of reach,” said Rachel Strong, senior pro bono counsel at Morgan Lewis. “We have a deep commitment to helping people fleeing persecution in their home countries. Working with the Immigration Justice Campaign, we were able to extend that help to families who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Morgan Lewis’ pro bono practice spans all of their offices across the globe to ensure access to justice for people who otherwise could not afford it. Each year, its lawyers provide pro bono services to more than 1,800 pro bono clients, including economically disadvantaged individuals and families and nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations whose mission is to serve vulnerable individuals and communities.

Morgan Lewis’ pro bono legal services in immigration include helping vulnerable immigrants obtain legal immigration status, which includes providing legal representation to individuals fleeing persecution overseas, undocumented and unaccompanied minors who came to the United States when they were young, immigrant women whose immigration status is dependent on an abusive spouse, and victims of human trafficking and other crimes. The firm’s team of lawyers have also helped many abused, abandoned, or neglected young children to obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status in the United States.

The Council has recognized the achievements of many outstanding immigrants and their advocates. Past honorees include General Colin Powell, Senator Daniel Inouye, the Southern Poverty Law Center, TheDream.Us, and Gerda Weissman Klein.

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For more information, contact:

Maria Frausto, American Immigration Council, at [email protected] or 202-507-7526.