2006 Frankel Award Winner

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, New York
and Washington, DC
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP has represented over 100 refugees and their families in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC through Human Rights First’s pro bono asylum legal representation program.  The firm, which has been working with Human Rights First for over fifteen years, has helped secure protection for refugees who have fled persecution and torture in places like Colombia, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Iran, China, and Sierra Leone.  The firm has also worked with asylum seekers detained at immigration jails in New York and New Jersey.  Skadden has never hesitated to take on complex asylum cases, including cases that have required appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the federal circuit courts.  The firm also contributes to the growth of our program by hosting our spring Asylum Law Training at their offices in New York each year.  Steven Kolleeny, Special Counsel, has played a leading role in overseeing the firm’s pro bono asylum representation work in New York and New Jersey.  Donald Salzman, Pro Bono Counsel at the firm, has provided critical support to attorneys handling asylum cases in Washington, DC.