Kristen Brenchley

Associate

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Q: Why did you join Tahirih’s Pro Bono Network?: A: I was offered an opportunity to work on my client's case at my last firm, without knowing much about the asylum process. When my group left that firm, my co-counsel and I made sure that our client knew that we wanted to continue working on her case. Now, I feel so fortunate that I was given such an amazing and meaningful opportunity to help my client flee violence in her country and hopefully find a path to remain in the US for her and, in the future, her children.
Q: Share a highlight from a pro bono case with Tahirih.: A: Unfortunately my client's asylum claim, like many other asylum claims, has suffered significant delays throughout the process. But, my client's strength, resolve and perseverance is a great source of inspiration to me and drives me to be a better, more conscientious person and advocate.
Q: How has your pro bono service impacted you?: A: Working with Tahirih and my client has given me the ability to see the intersection of the law and individual lives--something my primary practice does not often afford me. It has given me perspective on the significance, impact and need for regulatory and statutory changes, because I can see the effects at the human level. It has also given me an up-close view of how women are treated in other places in the world and the indifference and neglect that many women face when they turn to their government for protection.

Meghan Leibold Lidster

Staff Attorney

Richards Kibbee & Orbe

It 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 Attorney

Baker & McKenzie LLP

The 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 LLP

Realizing 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.

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