Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen and Loewy, LLP recently launched a Fellowship program for one of their attorneys to work full time at the City Bar Justice Center for six month periods. The first Fragomen Fellow, Myriam Jaidi, began her rotation February 28, 2007.

Jaidi gained experience on the collateral immigration consequences of criminal convictions as a staff attorney in The Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division and as a court attorney for judges in the New York City Criminal Court system. Throughout her career, Jaidi has ensured herself a nexus to immigration law by taking on pro bono asylum and domestic violence-related immigration cases, including a CBJC case she volunteered for after attending a CBJC training in 2005. "I have always been drawn to the human rights aspect of immigration law and of international development issues more generally. I am thrilled to now focus more particularly on immigration issues at the Justice Center."

Fragomen, the largest immigration law firm in the United States, has had a long-standing commitment to pro bono service, with attorneys from the firm regularly taking cases and providing advice on immigration issues to domestic violence victims through Sanctuary for Families, and to teens at The Door (a youth organization serving the needs of youths ages 12 to 21), among numerous other projects. Recently, the firm teamed up with the CBJC and the South Queens Boys and Girls Club to provide pro bono assistance through a series of naturalization clinics to lawful permanent residents seeking to apply for citizenship.

Lisa Koenig, a partner at Fragomen and a leading member of the firm's Pro Bono Committee, indicated that "the firm has been looking for a way to take our pro bono participation to the next level. We determined that a rotating fellowship would be one of the best ways to make a meaningful contribution to New York's immigrant community." According to Austin T. Fragomen, Jr., Chairman of the firm's Executive Committee and a member of the CBJC Board of Directors, "this Fellowship is a win-win situation. It broadens Fragomen's pro bono commitment, gives our lawyers the opportunity to develop a range of skills in the demanding arena of human rights advocacy, and provides critical legal assistance to people in need." The expectation is that after a rotation, a lawyer will be uniquely positioned to mentor and encourage other attorneys in pro bono projects.

Lisa Koenig went on to explain, "this Fellowship provides terrific experience for our lawyers. The CBJC cases involve very high stakes with a client's basic human rights hanging in the balance. These cases require lawyers to apply all of their knowledge, creativity, and flexibility at all stages of a client's case."

As a New York City organization, the CBJC serves a population with diverse needs. Asylum and domestic violence-related claims are the principal issues addressed, but those are not always the beginning and the end of the needs of New York's immigrant community. By establishing this Fellowship, the Fragomen firm hopes to service needs that come up in addition to or concurrently with an asylum or domestic violence related claim. Koenig outlined the firm's central mission: "We want to provide an institutional and structural framework necessary for the expansion of services to the immigrant community. We sponsor the Fragomen Fellow as a means of allowing the CBJC to draw on the broad expertise of the firm, not only on legal issues but also on logistical and case processing issues as well."

Jaidi began her rotation aware that as the first person in this position she must place a heavy emphasis on building a strong platform for the future. "It's important that subsequent Fellows have the infrastructure they need to jump right in and continue to strengthen and expand the program." Fragomen partners agree. According to Michael Patrick, who helped to arrange the Fellowship, "the Fragomen firm is proud to be the first Fellowship partner with the City Bar Justice Center. We have high hopes that it will be a model that can be enhanced and replicated for years to come, and will serve as a model for other firms to follow."

According to the Executive Director of the City Bar Justice Center, Maria Imperial, "working day in and day out for an extended period of time is a full immersion and crash course into direct immigrant services. We are looking forward to working with Jaidi, not only on her daily immigration cases, but in creating a firm foundation for future fellows."