Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
drorick@lccr.com
415 543 9444
Assist LCCR clients through the Asylum Program or Legal Services for Entrepreneurs program
Asylum Program
Provide direct representation to a refugee fleeing persecution through the Lawyers' Committee pro bono Asylum Program. Your work will make a difference!
The Lawyers' Committee interviews refugees who come to us from oppressive conditions in many parts of the world. We provide you with a volunteer interpreter and a pro bono mentor attorney who is expert in immigration or asylum law. An excellent manual for asylum representation is available. A network of experienced volunteers is ready to help you. A new national asylum website, complete with model briefs and training guides is also at your disposal. No experience is necessary.
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Here are the stories of individual refugees for whom we have sought pro bono representation. (We have given them code names to protect confidentiality.)
· Burmese young woman, traumatized by police arrests, interrogation and abuse
Just beginning her university studies, she was caught up in the Democracy movement in 1996 but arrested, as many others were, after taking part in a major political demonstration, an average, politically unsophisticated young student scarred for life by the Burmese police state, whose control over Burmese is all-penetrating. The arrests were aimed at individuals whom the government identified as demonstrators; the police came to the young women's home to take her away, first for a brief interrogation and then for detention, when she found herself in the company of many other students freshly arrested. She was interrogated over a prolonged period, and tortured.
Survivors International reports that the experience has traumatized the young woman so that the small challenges of daily life bring reactions of anger, tears and depression. Her case has been well prepared by her previous volunteer attorney, who has moved from our area. Testimony has begun in Immigration Court. The young woman's merit hearing will continue March 22, 2002.
· Peruvian lesbian, well-known artist, faced outing and threat of slander, persecution
A well-known singer who triumphed artistically but led a double life in her sexual identity faced outing and slander from a hostile, drug-abusing, former lover. The singer fled Peru to avoid the possibility of violence against her that might result from the threatened outing. She must apply affirmatively at the Immigration Service Asylum Office.
Legal Services for Entrepreneurs
In 1997, the Lawyers' Committee formed Legal Services for Entrepreneurs (LSE) to assist low-income individuals who desire to improve their own economic well-being and that of their communities, and to aid businesses that wished to invest directly in disadvantaged neighborhoods. LSE focuses on clients who propose to start or develop for-profit businesses which will enhance the economic infrastructure of their neighborhoods, but who are not experienced in starting or running a venture and have limited access to capital. To date, LSE has assisted more than 175 low-income clients. LSE matches individuals who generally would not have access to specialized legal services with transactional attorneys interested in representing pro bono clients. Currently, there are twenty-one law firms and corporate legal offices participating in LSE, including many major Bay Area law firms and corporations.
Volunteer attorneys interested in volunteering for the Legal Services for Entrepreneurs (LSE) program of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, should contact:
Helen Smolinski
301 Mission Street
Suite 400
San Francisco, California 94105
phone (415) 543-9444
fax (415) 543-0296
email hsmolinski@lccr.com
