Earlier this year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services granted asylum to a pro bono client of two Sullivan & Cromwell volunteer attorneys. The client, Mr. X, was a close relative of an active political opponent to Chad's President, Idriss Deby, as well as the founder and president of an NGO that sought a peaceful resolution to interethnic strife within Chad's school system. As leader of this local organization, Mr. X publicly denounced the violent acts of President Deby's minority ethnic clan in power in Chad, especially those of the President's own relatives. As a result of his familial connections and his activities as President of this NGO, Mr. X was arrested and detained by the Chadian secret police on two separate occasions. While in detention, he was subjected to daily beatings, tortures, and interrogations. After escaping from his second detention, Mr. X fled to the United States in August 2005. By the time he fled, President Deby's men had already kidnapped and incarcerated members of Mr. X's immediate family.

The pro bono matter was referred to Sullivan & Cromwell attorneys Yannick Carapito and Nilla Watkins by the Refugee Assistance Program of the City Bar Justice Center in July 2006. Over the next eight months, Yannick and Nilla, as well as legal assistants Elizabeth Mohan and Genevieve Fare, worked tirelessly to put together a compelling case on behalf of their client. In addition to Mr. X's own 30 page affidavit, they also obtained corroborating affidavits from individuals in the United States, as well as former high-ranking government officials in Chad, no mean feat given the current situation there. As it was obvious that Mr. X was both psychologically and physically traumatized as a result of his experiences, the team also managed to have him examined by a psychologist, internal medicine specialist and neurologist. Based on these expert evaluations, they were able to document their client's serious physical injuries, which included extensive scarring over his entire body, a healed chest compression fracture, and finally, bleeding in his brain as a result of trauma to his head. Finally, they also obtained an expert affidavit from Amnesty International's country specialist for Chad, who found Mr. X's personal history to be credible and entirely consistent with the current human rights climate there.

Since he was granted asylum in February, Mr. X has found a job and is taking intensive English classes. Thanks to the pro bono efforts of the Sullivan & Cromwell team, the client has regained hope of a better future.
According to Yannick Carapito, "the Refugee Assistance Project of the City Bar Justice Center provided invaluable assistance throughout the affirmative asylum application process. Jennifer Kim, the Project's director, advised on general case strategy and helped us prepare the applicant for his interview with the asylum officer." Yannick and Nilla also benefited from the strong support of their firm - Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers regularly provide high quality legal representation to a broad and diverse group of needy individuals and legal, charitable and government organizations. In 2006, Sullivan & Cromwell legal professionals logged over 39,000 pro bono hours, and the firm was the recipient of the American Bar Association Senior Lawyers Division Pro Bono Award and the Helen Keller Global Legacy Award.

Jennifer said of the Sullivan attorneys, "Throughout the course of their representation, it was quite apparent to me that the Sullivan team was totally invested in Mr. X's case. They spent a tremendous amount of time tracking down every possible lead, preparing their papers, and prepping their client. After his interview, they were so worried that it had not gone well and that the client would be referred to immigration court, that the very next day, they sent the asylum officer a five-page, single space letter addressing each and every issue that came up during the interview. And it worked! I still remember the excited message that Nilla left for me when they learned that Mr. X had been granted asylum -- just thinking about it brings a smile to my face."