The roster of countries and social issues covered by the asylum cases handled by Morgan Lewis’ Philadelphia office over the past several years reads like the international section of a newspaper: Iraqi translator facing retribution for assisting U.S. forces; Indian man beaten for suspicion of homosexual tendencies; husband and wife from western Africa tortured in prison and subjected to female genital mutilation, respectively. Each client is seeking legal status in the United States based on a set of very specific requirements set out by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Each case presents unique issues, including a need to master the current country conditions, the most recent case law on the protected group status under which the client is applying for asylum and a gentle handling of clients who have often been exposed to psychologically and physically damaging conditions in their home countries.
Even for the most experienced asylum attorneys, each case presents a daunting array of complex facts and legal issues. However, many of the attorneys taking asylum cases through Morgan Lewis’ pro bono asylum practice are newcomers to asylum law, generally, and unfamiliar with their client’s country of origin, specifically. Despite these challenges, our lawyers have helped more than 15 individuals gain legal status in the past few years. As discussed below, our success in these matters has been aided by the methods that our pro bono practice has developed to staff and manage these challenging cases.
