April 2018 AWA Newsletter Content · 04/04/2018  · recommendation in each contested race to the...

APRIL2018NEWSLETTER_____________________________________________________________________________________

PAST-PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE

LaurenE.Waddell

Ithasbeenanamazing journeyservingastheAWAPresidentoverthelast year. I have enjoyed our events, luncheons, service projects, mentorshipprogramandthecontinuedsupportofwomenattorneysandlawstudentsintheHoustonarea.Thankyou tomywonderful2017-2018AWABoardofDirectors:Julia A. Cook, LaMonica Orr-Love, Shannon Boudreaux, Cecily Martinez, JudgeDebraMayfield, Cristina Solomon, Judge Kristen Hawkins, CharlotteMacVane,AllissaPollard,andAnnaRaimer.ItwastrulyanhonorandpleasuretoworkwitheachofyoutoaccomplishthegoalsoftheAWAthroughthispastyear!

I ampleased to be handing over the reins to our newAWAPresident,Julia A. Cook. I look forward to her leadership this year and the wonderfulaccomplishmentstocomefortheAWA!

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February7,2018JONKROP–MINDFULNESSFORLAWYERS

OnFebruary7th,wehadJonKropfromNewYorkspoketousabout

meditation and how it can reduce stress and improve productivity in ourlives.Weactuallypracticedmeditating inameditationsessionwithJon.Forsomeofus, thiswastheveryfirsttimetoevermeditate.He isanexpert inmediationtraining,and,weweresogratefulthathechosetospendhistimewithussharingthepracticeofmediation!

Thankyou,Jon,forcomingallthewaytoTexastoshareyourexpertise,

weappreciateit!

JUDICIALENDORSEMENTMEETINGFEBRUARY12,2018

OnFebruary12th,theAWAmembersmettovoteonendorsementsforthe judicialcandidates

who had contested primaries in March. The AWA Judicial Screening Committee presented itsrecommendation in each contested race to the membership and then the membershipdiscussedandvotedoneachcontestedrace.

A special thank you and acknowledgement goes out to theAWAJudicialScreeningCommittee:CalliBalwin,BrandiBarron,KristyBlurton, Nicole Deborde, Lacy Johnson, Vivian King, Victoria Mery,and Kate Skagerberg. This is such an important project and wecouldn’tdoitwithoutthescreeningcommittee’sdedication!

PREMIERWOMENINLAWCOCKTAILRECEPTIONFEBRUARY28,2018

OnFebruary28th,thecocktailreceptionforPremierWomeninLawLuncheonHonoreeswasheldat

the home of Anna Rotman. Our members enjoyed honoring the PWIL honorees and law studentscholarshiprecipientswhoattendedtheevent.Wealsoenjoyedbeautiful flowers,wine,anddeliciousappetizersbyMasraff’s.Thankyou,AnnaRotman,forhostingthiseventinyourbeautifulhome!

PREMIERWOMENINLAWLUNCHEON

MARCH28,2018

On March 28th, we celebrated Women’s History at the AWA Foundation’s AnnualLuncheonhonoringPremierWomeninLawattheHyattRegencyHotel.TheAWAFoundationhonoredthefollowingHoustonlawyerswhohavedemonstratedacommitmenttodiversityandinclusion:DebraTsuchiyamaBaker,LindaBrooks,PhyllisRandolphFrye,andCristinaRodriguez.TheAWAFoundationalsohonored the lawstudent scholarship recipients fromtheHouston-area lawschools: JayelleAubreyLozoya,AdiliaMiranda, JoyNnama,SinitaSolis,RuthRivera-Arriaga,andRachaelThompson.

2018PremierWomeninLawHonorees

2018ScholarshipRecipients

The AWA Foundation instituted the Fellowship Program in 2017 and raised enoughmoneytofundtwo,fully-paid,one-yearfellowshipstobefilledbyAWAFscholarshipapplicantsbenefittingtheHoustonVolunteerLawyersandTahirihJusticeCenter.Throughthegenerosityof theHouston legal communityand itsunwaveringcommitment toprobonoservice, in theAWAFoundationsuccessfullyraisedfundsforthree,fully-paid,one-yearfellowshipstobefilledby AWAF scholarship applicants benefitting the Houston Volunteer Lawyers, Tahirih JusticeCenter,KidsinNeedofDefense.Inaddition,thisyearTheAWAFoundationispartneringwiththe Harris County District Attorney’s Office, who has graciously named an AWA FoundationInternshippositioninitsSexCrimesDivision.ThankyoutotheAWAFoundationBoardandtoallofthefantasticdonorswhomadethisfellowshipprogrampossible.

2017-2018TAHIRIJUSTICECENTERAWAFFELLLOWSHIPUPDATEbyJORDYNEMMERT

InAprilof2007,11yearsagothismonth,Iwassittingin my kitchen in San Miguel del Monte, Buenos Aires,Argentina.Iwas17yearsold,livinginArgentinatoteachESLbefore starting college in the fall. Itwas late at night, and Iwaswriting inmy journal, contemplatingmy future. Iwrotethe followingwords: “Iwant to help the fatherless-orphans,prisoners, refugees, immigrants, thosediscriminatedagainst;andwomenwhohavebeenhurt,beatendown,discriminatedagainst.”Littledid Iknowthatoneday Iwouldbegiven the

chanceofa lifetimetoactuallyserveasanattorneyanddoexactlywhat Idreamedofdoingwhilesittinginthatkitchen.

Tahirih is a non-profit legal organization that was founded in 1997 to help supportcourageouswomenandgirls,whoarefleeinggender-basedviolence intheirhomecountries,findlegalreliefhereintheUnitedStates.Thereareofficesin5majorcitiesacrosstheUnitedStates,oneofthembeingHouston.Eachofficeoffersholisticservicestoitsclientsandserviceseekers,includingdirectlegalandsocialservices,policyadvocacy,training,andeducation.Asamember of the legal team, I have participated in screening, assessment, counsel, andrepresentationforavarietyofclientswhoareeligibletoobtainlegalstatusthroughprotectionbased reliefs, such as gender-based asylum for individualswho have suffered persecution intheirhomecountries,ViolenceAgainstWomen’sActPetitionsforbatteredspouses(VAWA),T-visas (for survivors of trafficking), U-visas (for survivors of crimes in the United States), andSpecialImmigrantJuvenileStatus(SIJS)casesforabusedandabandonedchildren.

IbeganmyfellowshipwithTahirihinAugustof2017.MyveryfirstprojectwastowriteanasylumbriefforanunaccompaniedteenagegirlfromHonduraswhowasfleeingpersecutionbasedonhersexualidentity.Itwasmyfirstexposuretothecomplexworldofimmigrationlaw,andIwasamazedathowdifferentitwasfromanythingIhadeverstudiedinlawschool.Soonafter,Iworkedontwomoreasylumbriefsforunaccompaniedminorchildrenwhowerefleeingsexualandphysicalabuseintheirhomecountries.TheseprojectswereallbeforeIevengotthenewsthatIhadpassedthebarexam!

Sincereceivingmylicense,Ihaveworkedonavarietyofcasesacrossthewidespectrumof immigration law.Mostrecently, Idraftedanasylumbriefforawomanwhoenduredmorethan10yearsofabuseatthehandsofherpartnerinHonduras.Ihadtheopportunitynotonlytoassistwiththebrief,butIwasthesecondchairattorneyathermeritshearing.IwillhavethechancetoconductthedirectexaminationofourexpertwitnessatourfinalhearinginJuly.

While at Tahirih, I also attend weekly court screenings that Tahirih and its partnerorganizationsconductatthelocalimmigrationcourt.EveryFridaymorning,probonoattorneysareavailabletomeetwithprose immigrantswhohavecases in immigrationcourtandare inneedofadviceandcounsel.Moreoftenthannot,thesemenandwomenhavemissedacourtdate,usuallyduetolackofnotice,andhaveanopenorderofremoval.BecausealldocumentsfiledwiththecourtarerequiredtobeinEnglish,bilingualattorneysandlegaladvocateshelpthese individuals file“Motions toReopen”so that theycancontinuewith theircaseandoneday,hopefully,haveachancetopleadtheircasebeforeanimmigrationjudge.

At court screenings, Tahirih staff determine if the men and women are eligible toparticipate in Asylumworkshops for individualswhohave fled persecution. Everyworkshopserves between 6-8 pro se families to complete and file their I-589, or their Application forAsylum.WeutilizevolunteerattorneysfromvariousfirmsandlawschoolsaroundHouston,aswellasvolunteerinterpretersanddocumenttranslators.Thismonth,Iwillbecoordinatingthe

workshop. As of right now, we have 9 families signed up to participate, andmore than 23volunteers.

Evenwiththeuniqueandchallengingprojectsintheoffice,I’vebeenabletofurthermylegalcareerthroughvariousCLEsandcommunitypartnerships.IwillbecoordinatingwiththeEqual Justice Works Fellow at Catholic Charities to organize a CLE sometime this spring.Additionally,inFebruaryIbecamelicensedintheSouthernDistrictofTexasfederalcourt.

I am incredibly grateful for the learning experience this fellowship has been, and forwhat Iknow itwill continuetobe.However, Iamevenmoregrateful thatTahirih isa familyfriendlyorganizationthatworkstoensurethatbothclientsandemployeesarewell.Asasinglemom,workingforanorganizationthatvaluesmytimehasbeeninstrumentalinallowingmetogrowasanewattorney,whilestillattendingtomychild’sneeds.

BelowisthepictureItookofthejournalentryfromApril2007.

Itishardtobelievethatonlyfivemonthsremainofthisamazingfellowship.Iknowthatwhatevermynextstepis,Iamleavingthisjobpreparedforanything.

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2017-2018HOUSTONVOLUNTEERLAWYERSAWAFFELLLOWSHIPUPDATEbyNEEHARIKATUMATI

MynameisNeeharikaTumatiandIgraduatedfromUniversityof

Houston Law Center in May 2017. Currently, I am the 2017-2018Association of Women Attorneys Foundation Fellow at HoustonVolunteerLawyerssponsoredbyVinson&Elkins.Priortolawschool,IdidTeach for America and I taught 1st and 2nd grade in HISD and spent anadditionalyearteachingatYESPrepPublicSchools.

ThemissionofHoustonVolunteerLawyers(HVL)istoprovidefreelegalservicestolow-income

individualsandtopromotevolunteerisminthecommunity.HVLcastsawidernetthanother legalaidprogramsbyhelpingtheworkingpoor(upto200%oftheFederalPovertyGuidelines)andpersonswhoarenot legally in thiscountry.ThetypesofcasesHVLtakes include:bankruptcy, family,guardianship,divorce,estateplanning,insurance,tax,socialsecuritydisability,consumer,IDtheft,namechange,taxpreparerfraud,custody,education,landlord-tenantandprobate.

As a Fellow, I focus my work with the Medical-Legal Partnership, HVL has with the Texas

Children'sHospital.Inthisrole,Iadvocateforlow-incomepatientfamiliesonlegalissuesthataffectthehealthofpatientsandtheirfamilies.Imeetwithfamiliesandprovidedirectlegalassistanceandwhennecessarypreparecasesforreferraltoprobonocounsel.

InmytimeatHVL,Ihavehadtheopportunitytohandleawidevarietyoflegalmatters.Ihave

draftedandexecutedestateplanningdocuments,representedaclientinaChapter7Bankruptcycase,draftedandexecutedalternativestoguardianshipsupporteddecision-makingagreements,representedclients innegotiationswith landlords,representedfamilies inguardianshipproceedingsandfamily lawmatters.

TheAWAFfellowshiphasgivenmetheopportunitytodedicatethefirstyearofmylegalpractice

working with and serving marginalized communities who are in need of legal services. In Texas,approximately5.3millionTexansqualify for legalaid.However, there isapproximately, just,one legalaidattorneyforevery9,800Texanswhichmeanslessthan10%oflow-incomeTexansneedsarebeingmet.

HoustonVolunteerLawyerscoreprogramscenterononeguidingprinciple--leveragevolunteers

toprovidemoreclientservicesandIwouldurgeattorneyswithacurrentTexasbarlicensetovolunteeratoneofHVL’s legaladviceclinicsorrepresentclientsprobono.AnattorneycanfindacaseonHVL’sProBonoPortalwhereonecansearchwaitingcases,sortbylawtype,accesslegalresourcesandcontactthe staff attorney mentor assigned to the case. The portal can be accessed at:portal.makejusticehappen.org.IcanbereachedatNeeharika.tumati@hvlp.orgforanyquestions.____________________________________________________________________________________

RENEWYOURMEMBERSHIPS

OurnewmembershipyearbeganApril1,2018,pleaserenewyourmembershipforthisyearbygoingto:www.awahouston.org/membership.