Fish & Richardson has received the Allegiance Award from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), a national pro bono organization, for the firm’s outstanding pro bono commitment to representing unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children. Fish has been working with KIND since 2009 and has contributed over 11,000 pro bono hours to the organization.
“We are very proud of the work we are doing to represent unaccompanied minors seeking legal refuge in the United States. Many of the children in the U.S. immigration system are fleeing horrific violence and persecution in their home countries and would be at great risk if they were forced to return. Yet less than half of such children have an attorney to advocate for them,” said Lawrence Kolodney, Pro Bono Chair at Fish & Richardson, who accepted the award at KIND’s April 17, 2019 gala. “Children without legal representation are five times more likely to be deported back to the dangerous situations they fled, so the stakes are high and the need is great.”
Over the last decade, Fish has helped over 60 children in five cities that KIND serves. Some of Fish’s successes include securing permanent resident status for two children who fled El Salvador when they were 12 years old. Now young adults and allowed to live and work in the U.S. on a permanent basis, the young man plans to be a graphic designer and the young woman is going to school and has a part-time job at a grocery store.
KIND is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing high-quality legal representation for unaccompanied children. KIND’s core mission is to ensure that unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in the U.S. are represented by pro bono attorneys in their deportation proceedings, and to help children reintegrate safely in their home countries if they cannot stay in the U.S.