Fish & Richardson has received the Allegiance Award from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), a national pro bono organization, for the firm’s outstanding pro bono commitment to representing unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children. Fish has been working with KIND since 2009 and has contributed over 11,000 pro bono hours to the organization.
“We are very proud of the work we are doing to represent unaccompanied minors seeking legal refuge in the United States. Many of the children in the U.S. immigration system are fleeing horrific violence and persecution in their home countries and would be at great risk if they were forced to return. Yet less than half of such children have an attorney to advocate for them,” said Lawrence Kolodney, Pro Bono Chair at Fish & Richardson, who accepted the award at KIND’s April 17, 2019 gala. “Children without legal representation are five times more likely to be deported back to the dangerous situations they fled, so the stakes are high and the need is great.”
Over the last decade, Fish has helped over 60 children in five cities that KIND serves. Some of Fish’s successes include securing permanent resident status for two children who fled El Salvador when they were 12 years old. Now young adults and allowed to live and work in the U.S. on a permanent basis, the young man plans to be a graphic designer and the young woman is going to school and has a part-time job at a grocery store.
KIND is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing high-quality legal representation for unaccompanied children. KIND’s core mission is to ensure that unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in the U.S. are represented by pro bono attorneys in their deportation proceedings, and to help children reintegrate safely in their home countries if they cannot stay in the U.S.
Fish & Richardson, a premier global intellectual property law firm, is sought-after and trusted by the world’s most innovative brands and influential technology leaders. Fish offers patent prosecution, counseling and litigation and trademark and copyright prosecution, counseling and litigation. Our deep bench of attorneys with first-chair trial experience in every technology makes us the go-to firm for the most technically complex cases. We have an established reputation as a top-tier firm for patent portfolio planning, strategy and prosecution, as well as post-grant proceedings at the PTAB. Fish was established in 1878, and now has more than 400 attorneys and technology specialists in the U.S., Europe and China. Our success is rooted in our creative and inclusive culture, which values the diversity of people, experiences and perspectives. For more information, visit fr.com or follow us at @FishRichardson.