Missouri Lawyers Media has announced that 2020 Pro Bono Award has been awarded to Danielle M. Atchison
Ms. Atchison Leads the Pro Bono Program at Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm Providing Free Services To Immigrant Survivors of Violent Crimes
In addition to being an outstanding business immigration lawyer at Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm, Ms. Atchison provides direct services to pro bono clients that could not otherwise afford to retain an attorney. She also leads the Pro Bono Program at the Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm. She trains and leads other Business Immigration Attorneys at the firm in helping women and children referred by local domestic violence shelters and assistance programs to ensure that these immigrant survivors have access to high quality legal representation. The Pro Bono programs helps survivors in obtaining and maintaining legal status in the United States to enable them to break the cycle of violence. In 2019 year alone, the Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm Pro Bono Program provided pro bono services to 24 women and children from 11 countries, including Mexico, China, Jamaica, Haiti, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Japan, and the Philippines. The Pro Bono program assisted survivors of Rape, Domestic Violence, Domestic Assault, and Sexual Assault. Under Danielle Atchison’s leadership, the Pro Bono Program lawyers provided the following free legal services provided to the survivors: I-360 VAWA petitions for green cards, I-485 Applications for Green cards based on VAWA petitions; I-131 Travel Documents; I-765 Employment Authorization Documents to enable our clients to work legally in the United States; I-751 petition to remove conditions on a Lawful Permanent Resident card after clients fled their homes with their abusers, U Visa Petitions, and N-400 citizenship applications. The results included: one survivor received a 10-year green card allowing her to permanently reside in the United States free from fear her abuser; one survivor has a pending I-751 petition on file, allowing her to extend conditional permanent residency for many more months; two survivors received work permits allowing them to create a stable life for themselves pending the outcome of their VAWA petitions and applications for green card, U visas approval, and US citizenship.
Ms Atchison Engages in Community Outreach and Law Teaching
Danielle engages in community outreach to continue to train lawyers and shelter advocates through outreach programs to educate the community about options for immigrant women and children victims of domestic violence. She visits local domestic violence shelters to train advocates on how to recognize, triage, and work with attorneys on these cases. She taught the subject at UMKC School of Law and provide continuing legal education (CLE) to practicing attorneys about the program and this area of the law. In 2019, she expanded The Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm Pro Bono training to Washburn Law School in Topeka, Kansas, where Danielle Atchison guest taught a Domestic Violence class on working with immigration women and children survivors of domestic violence and other violent crimes. Additionally, this year, Attorney Danielle Atchison also visited the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (MCADSV) in Jefferson City, Missouri to train advocates throughout the state on how to triage and prep these cases. She continues to work on relationships with area domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers, including, among others, MOCSA, SAFEHOME, Hope House, New House, Synergy, the Missouri Coalition for Domestic and Sexual Violence in partnering with Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm in bringing legal status to immigrant survivors, and with.
What Pro Bono Clients Say About Danielle Atchison
These are some of the words said about her pro bono work:
“I have no word to say thank you. Thank you for everything. Thank you for supporting me during this bad storm. Thank you for being so concerned about my case. Thank you is just not enough.” – VAWA Client,
and
“Thank you so much for your services, patience, and time. We certainly would not have been able to do this without your help. I am sure we will work together moving forward in the future.” – Shelter Advocate
We congratulate our amazing colleague Danielle Atchison, and look forward to doing more good together with her in the years to come
Mira Mdivani, Business Immigration Attorney
Mdivani Corporate Immigration Law Firm
