Pro Bono Success Stories

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP

Attorneys at Shulte Roth & Zabel LLP win asylum for Congolese minister’s family and reunite the family’s young children with their parents.

Tamara C. Remy and Kim Hae Shil Morrissey, attorneys at Schulte Roth & Zabel, represented the wife of a Congolese minister. She and her husband had been targeted by the repressive regime in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because of their peaceful opposition activities and their protection of refugees. She fled from the DRC after government soldiers ransacked her house, beat her family, and demanded her whereabouts. She managed to flee with her young daughter, but her two young sons were left behind. In the U.S., she was interviewed by Human Rights First and her case was accepted for pro bono representation. Human Rights First recruited Tamara and Kim to represent her. With frequent meetings and the building of a trusting relationship, Tamara and Kim prepared the application for asylum and supplementary documentation. She was interviewed by an INS officer and was granted asylum. With the help of the Schulte Roth & Zabel volunteer lawyers, she was able to locate her husband, who had also fled to U.S., and her two sons in the DRC. Going beyond the call of duty, a representative from Schulte Roth & Zabel actually flew to Botswana to see that the children were duly processed as asylees and to ensure that the family was reunited. In March 2000, the children arrived safely in the United States. The family, forever grateful to Tamara, Kim, and Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, is forging their life together in the U.S.