Honoring our Atlanta Pro Bono Attorneys

As a legal aid attorney, I have dedicated my career to pro bono cases. My cases for unaccompanied minors, however, are among the most compelling cases I handle. Children who travel thousands of miles to the United States to escape abuse and violence are so vulnerable, but so brave. During the years it takes for a child’s case to proceed through the immigration system, I watch my clients work to overcome trauma, to learn English and adapt to a new culture, graduate high school and go on to college and the workforce, and begin to raise their own families. The outcome in just one child’s case has an immeasurable effect on the trajectory of their life, the communities they impact, and their children and families for years to come.

I have had the privilege of working with KIND both as a lawyer representing individual clients and as the pro bono partner of my law firm consulting with other lawyers providing such representation. Representing these unaccompanied minors and in some cases their sponsors has been some of the most meaningful and gratifying pro bono work I have either done or observed. The clients have been uniformly sympathetic, in great need of legal help and very deserving and appreciative of that help. Our immigration system is in many situations harsh toward adult immigrants, but can be much more accommodating for unaccompanied minors, so good results are achievable. But those good results require knowledge of standards, practice, policies and personalities in different courts and agencies. That is where the support and mentorship of KIND is so invaluable. We have worked with several of KIND’s offices and have invariably found the training and support from KIND staff, and their passionate concern for the clients, to be outstanding. I am honored to be recognized by KIND, but the real heroes are KIND’s super staff and the lawyers who take time from busy pay practices to do this pro bono work. Thanks so much to all of you.

What we learned from our first case is that it is important legal work and can be done by lawyers not experts in immigration law if they have the support of KIND. We were inspired to take additional cases.