Partner William Ashworth, Associate Shauna Kramer and Paralegal Miranda Delgado successfully achieved cancellation of removal for a pro bono client facing deportation and exile from his family. The client, a man from Bosnia-Herzegovina, had survived the Bosnian War and fled with his family to the United States. After arriving as a refugee and securing a green card, the client’s war-related trauma continued to haunt him. He coped by abusing drugs and supported his habit by shoplifting; eventually, he was convicted of shoplifting three times and placed in deportation proceedings.

After meeting their client, Will, Shauna and Miranda worked tirelessly to keep him in the United States. Rachel Jordan, the CAIR Coalition staff attorney who mentored the team, saw their work firsthand: “They had an immense depth of compassion for their client, and they were remarkably resourceful through all of the ins and outs of a very complex case. They thought out game plans for all of the potential twists that the case could take, and that allowed them to be prepared for anything.”

Will, Shauna and Miranda’s creativity, ingenuity, and dedication paid off. During the removal hearing, they persuaded the Immigration Judge that their client could and should remain in the United States with his family.

For more information, please read Will and Shauna’s Pro Bono Week Profile for the Washington Council of Lawyers.