meet a pro bono partner
Colleen Mallon, Ashleigh Lynn, and Lily Reynolds
Venable LLP
- Q: Why did you join Tahirih's Pro Bono Network?
- A: Over the years, Tahirih and Venable have built a strong relationship successfully co-counseling clients on asylum matters. When this case came to our attention, we were enthusiastic to work with Tahirih to continue that legacy. This particular case was meaningful to us because it involved advocating for a client who had escaped from a country that would not protect her or her daughter from horrific violations of their human rights.
- Q: Can you share a highlight from a memorable case?
- A: In her home country, our client faced a female genital mutilation/cutting that would have had lasting physical and emotional repercussions. She locked herself in her house day and night to protect herself from the threatened violence. As a result, she was isolated from friends and family and was unable to practice her profession as a skilled physician (a career she had worked very hard to achieve). As a recent asylum grantee, our client and her young daughter have the freedom to live new lives. Our client has reunited with family and friends in the United States, and she has taken and passed the first part of the exam to become a licensed doctor in the United States. She looks forward to reclaiming her profession, where she plans to help women and children get the medical care they need.
- Q: How has your pro bono service impacted you?
- A: Supporting Tahirih's mission of protecting women and girls fleeing violence and oppression in their countries of origin has been nothing short of an inspirational and eye-opening experience. Our pro bono service has given us a new perspective on the phrase "the American Dream." We are grateful to live in a country that offers asylum to protect women and girls from atrocities abroad, and in which we ourselves can live our daily lives without the fear of oppression that so many of Tahirih's clients face – or have faced – on a daily basis. At the same time, it has made us aware of the many other women and children who are not as fortunate. Women and children who desperately need assistance to achieve their humble dream of living a life free from violence and oppression.
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Please join us as a pro bono partner or volunteer today! Your time and talents can truly make a difference.meet more pro bono partners
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Meghan Leibold Lidster
Staff AttorneyRichards Kibbee & OrbeIt has been humbling to work with a client who, despite extreme hardship in her past, has been able to increasingly open up to me. -
Lindsay Wright Brett
Associate AttorneyBaker & McKenzie LLPThe women and children I've worked with over the years inspire me to take on new cases. -
Alicia Balthazar, Deborah Wei, Maria A. Arboleda, & Marta Thompson
Hogan Lovells US LLPRealizing the impact of the case’s outcome not just for our client but for her son, shows how these cases can be completely life changing for a family’s future.
