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Meagher Emanuel Presentation at Princeton University
Partner Scott Bovino of Meagher Emanuel presented "The Promise and Perils of Non-Disclosure Agreements" to attendees at a workshop at the Princeton Materials Institute. The presentation was followed by a roundtable discussion. Downloads of the presentation are available here:
Presentation Slides
NDA Checklist
Recording of the presentation
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2020 NALP Form and Diversity Statement
Meagher Emanuel is proud to adhere to the principles and standards set by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). To learn more about the firm's demographics, diversity and inclusion practices, compensation, hiring contacts, and other valuable information, please download our 2020 NALP form here.
Guided by the principle that our clients are best served when we build a diversity of perspectives into the solutions that we offer, we are committed to recruiting, retaining, and promoting a diverse team of lawyers, legal professionals, and support staff, as well as fostering a culture of inclusion.
While we remain a small office with limited recruiting capacity, we have spent the last few years actively seeking out new talents among women, minorities and other underrepresented groups. Accordingly, our last two recruits have been women: first, our Head of Pro Bono (2019), and more recently, a new Partner (2020). We intend to keep making efforts to achieve greater diversity in all aspects of firm life in the coming years.
We also support diversity-promoting organizations and actively seek opportunities to collaborate with them to strengthen our diversity efforts, particularly by volunteering our services via our growing pro bono program. When deciding whether to take on new pro bono matters, we specifically prioritize individuals who face impediments because of their race, ethnicity, socio-economic background, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Since launching our pro bono practice in 2019, 100% of our pro bono clients have been people of color. We look forward to expanding our efforts in the future to continue to serve underrepresented communities.
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Inès Zamouri Joins Kids In Need of Defense Newark Advisory Committee
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) has invited Inès Zamouri, Head of Pro Bono, to join their Inaugural Newark Advisory Committee. Inès has been working in collaboration with KIND since February 2019. In 2020, the organization named her as a recipient of the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year award in recognition of her work for unaccompanied immigrant children.
The Advisory Committee consists of "thoughtful community leaders and supporters of KIND's mission that no child should face immigration court alone," said Wendy Young, President of KIND. "The responsibilities of the Advisory Committee members are to contribute expertise and thinking to the current and future work of KIND's Newark office, to be available for periodic calls and meetings with KIND seeking your advice, to support KIND's outreach and fundraising to the extent possible, and to lend your name in championing our cause."
"We are very grateful for the incredible work you have done on behalf of unaccompanied immigrant children in removal proceedings and would greatly appreciate having your input and advice as KIND continues to advance its program in Newark," Young said about Inès. "You [will] be a terrific ambassador for our shared concern for providing access to justice for children alone."
As a member of the Newark Advisory Committee, Inès' first agenda will be to work with KIND's policy team to conduct outreach designed to maximize support from Members of Congress for legislation ensuring legal representation of unaccompanied children.
More information about the firm's pro bono program is available here.
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Tom Meagher and Inès Zamouri Recognized as 2020 "Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year" by Kids In Need of Defense
Tom Meagher, Managing Partner, and Inès Zamouri, Head of Pro Bono, have been named among Kids in Need of Defense's (KIND) Newark 2020 Pro Bono Attorneys for their work providing vital legal services to refugee and immigrant children who come alone to the United States in search of safety. The award recognizes volunteers who go above and beyond to help these children make their case for U.S. protection.
"KIND's volunteers are these children's lifeline, providing legal assistance, interpretation, and other crucial support, as well as simply being a trusted and caring adult in the child's life. These children have been through so much in their young lives, many fleeing violence and other danger, and KIND's volunteers stand with them to help them access the protection they so need and deserve," said KIND President Wendy Young.
In a press release highlighting the recognitions, KIND praised Tom and Inès for their efficiency and tenacity. "Moving with incredible speed, [Tom and Inès] successfully obtained a family court order within four months of taking on representation [of a young woman from Nigeria]. They swiftly filed simultaneous applications for SIJS and adjustment of status with USCIS, and notwithstanding delays caused by COVID-19, their client obtained her green card in less than a year and half from the start of their representation." In a separate case, and "despite increased difficulty in obtaining asylum in gang and family-based claims, Tom and Inès skillfully obtained asylum for their young client [from Honduras] within only a few months of their first meeting. Their commitment to exceptional representation combined with their personal connection to their clients makes them deserving of particular recognition."
More information about the firm's pro bono program is available here.
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Chris Pattillo Promoted To Partner
Meagher Emanuel Laks Goldberg & Liao, LLP is delighted to announce the promotion of Chris Pattillo to Partner, effective September 1, 2020.
Chris joined the firm over seven years ago while he was a student at Drexel University School of Law and became an Associate of the firm in 2014. "Chris is an outstanding lawyer," said Tom Meagher, Managing Partner. "He is a great example of our commitment to building a law firm that is top tier in its professional excellence and dedication to clients. We are so lucky to have him."
After earning both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic University, Chris spent twelve years in industry, working as an engineer for Procter & Gamble and as a Manager, Sun Care R&D for Energizer Holdings/Playtex Manufacturing.
Chris then went on to go to law school and externed for United States District Judge Sue L. Robinson and United States Magistrate Judge Christopher L. Burke, both of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
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Briana Bergen Joins As New Partner
Meagher Emanuel Laks Goldberg & Liao, LLP is pleased to welcome Briana Bergen as a new Partner of the firm. She brings over 25 years of intellectual property experience, having focused her practice on patent portfolio strategy and management, patent application prosecution, intellectual property due diligence, patent licensing, and biopharmaceutical patent and regulatory exclusivity projections.
"We are delighted to welcome Briana," said Tom Meagher, Managing Partner of the firm. "Her background in life sciences, biotech and pharmaceutical intellectual property matters will be an outstanding addition to the firm."
Prior to joining Meagher Emanuel, she was Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel (Patents) at Bristol Myers Squibb, Senior Counsel for Roche, and an associate with Kenyon & Kenyon.
Briana has a B.S. from Muhlenberg College with honors including Phi Beta Kappa, an M.S. in Genetics/Molecular Biology from the University of Connecticut, and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut and registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
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Young Pro Bono Client Gets Approved For Legal Permanent Residency
Inès Zamouri, Head of Pro Bono, and Tom Meagher, Managing Partner, have won a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) case on behalf of a young pro bono client referred to the firm by Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).
Born in Nigeria, the client, "Adele," needed protection in the U.S. because she had been abandoned, abused, and neglected by both of her parents. Adele's mother left her father, an alcoholic who abused her, and married a man who had three other wives. They rejected Adele. Adele and her mother eventually left the household and lived on their own. Adele's father never tried to contact her. Adele's mother took Adele to the United States when she was 16. She enrolled Adele in school, but then returned to Nigeria, leaving Adele to fend for herself in the U.S.
Adele moved into a room in a shared house. She began working several jobs on top of school to pay for her rent, food, and other expenses. She was completely alone with no support. After about a year, Adele confided in her school counselor about the struggles she faced. Moved by her circumstances, her counselor invited her to live with her, and she has been caring for her since. Adele needed to obtain legal status in the U.S. so she could stay with her new family.
SIJS is a form of humanitarian immigration relief available to eligible children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by a parent or legal guardian. It is available to children within and outside the child welfare system and opens a path to lawful permanent residence, and eventually U.S. citizenship.
Inès and Tom prepared the client for a hearing before the state family court and advocated for her during the proceedings, which resulted in the court's granting of an order making the predicate findings required for SIJS. The team then drafted a brief in support of the application for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and submitted it to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, resulting in the approval of her SIJS application. Finally, Inès prepared a "green card" application (lawful permanent residence) on behalf of the client, which was accepted within a few weeks. Adele will become eligible for U.S. citizenship in five years.
KIND and its partners represent unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in their deportation proceedings, ensuring no child appears in court alone.
More information about the firm's pro bono program is available here.
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Inès Zamouri Honored By Kids In Need of Defense as "Pro Bono Attorney of the Month"
Inès Zamouri, Head of Pro Bono, was honored by Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) as "Pro Bono Attorney of the Month" for her work on behalf of immigrant youths seeking authorization to stay in the United States.
KIND is the leading national organization advocating for the rights of unaccompanied migrant and refugee children in the U.S. In 2008, KIND was founded by the Microsoft Corporation and UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie to address the gap in legal services for unaccompanied minors. Through strategic partnerships, KIND provides pro bono legal representation for refugee and migrant children across the country. Inès has represented multiple children through KIND since 2019.
Click here for Inès' interview with KIND.
More information about the firm's pro bono program is available here.
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Inès Zamouri and Tom Meagher Win Asylum Case for Young Pro Bono Client
Inès Zamouri, Head of Pro Bono, and Tom Meagher, Managing Partner, have won an asylum case on behalf of a young pro bono client referred to the firm by Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).
Born in a small town in Honduras, the client, "Osmar," had come to the U.S. to escape gang violence and persecution. Osmar's father, who had been abusive to his mother for many years, abandoned the family when Osmar was only three months old. Osmar's mother was left on her own to care for and support her six children --- which quickly became very difficult as the father had been the main breadwinner. When Osmar was 9 years old, she decided to go to the U.S. to better provide for her family. The children stayed in Honduras, the older siblings responsible for taking care of the younger siblings.
Shortly thereafter, members of the Mara 18 gang broke into the children's home and began to harass them. One of the gang members repeatedly sexually assaulted Osmar's sister inside their home, while Osmar and his brother were there. When Osmar and his brother tried to defend her, other gang members attacked and beat them with a machete, a whip, a metal bat, and rocks. Osmar and his brother still have scars from these wounds. The gang members told Osmar and his siblings that they would be killed if they ever reported the gang to the police. The violence escalated until finally a relative was able to take Osmar with her to the U.S. A few months ago, Osmar's mother learned that her cousin had been killed by the gang after a dispute. Oscar and his family knew they could not return to Honduras.
Inès and Tom drafted a brief in support of the application for asylum, prepared the client for an interview with the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services' Newark Asylum Office, and advocated for him during the proceedings, resulting in the approval of his request for asylum.
KIND and its partners represent unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in their deportation proceedings, ensuring no child appears in court alone.
More information about the firm's pro bono program is available here.
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