McAndrews, Held & Malloy Achieves Pro Bono Victory for the Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center

McAndrews, Held & Malloy Achieves Pro Bono Victory for the Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center

02.26.13

McAndrews, Held & Malloy recently announced that the firm succeeded in a pro bono matter by securing asylum for an Iraqi woman and her Egyptian daughter, who fled severe persecution in their home countries and were seeking protection in the United States. 

Since 2009, McAndrews, Held & Malloy has delivered ongoing pro bono legal representation to these clients. The firm prepared the asylum applications and represented the women at both the Asylum Office and before the Chicago Immigration Court. While the firm was prepared for a full trial with expert testimony on country conditions, after extensive pre-trial briefing by the firm, the clients’ asylum claim was accepted by the Immigration Court with minimal questioning. 

Sandra A. Frantzen, a firm shareholder and Vice President of the Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, led the legal team. She was assisted by partner James L. Davis Jr. and associates Jesse Dyer, Justin J. Paul and Rami N. Moussa.

McAndrews, Held & Malloy has provided pro bono services to the Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) for several years, and Frantzen is a long-time NIJC volunteer. The organization is committed to ensuring human rights protections and access to justice for all immigrants, refugees and those who seek asylum. Thanks to the support of pro bono attorneys from the nation’s leading law firms, NIJC provides legal services to more than 10,000 individuals each year. 

“We are so grateful for the extraordinary services provided by McAndrews, Held & Malloy to NIJC,” said Mary Meg McCarthy, NIJC Executive Director. “Far too many immigrants do not have access to highly trained counsel, and the commitment, dedication and leadership of the attorneys to ensure justice truly made a difference in this instance.”