meet a pro bono partner
Anelia Dimitrova
Staff Attorney
Arnold & Porter LLP
- Q: Why did you join Tahirih's Pro Bono Network?
- A: Arnold and Porter has an extensive, award-winning immigration pro bono practice and has been partnering with Tahirih Justice Center for many years. I have always been interested in immigration matters and was eager to help women and girls who were victims of violence. When a potential affirmative asylum case came to my attention, I was very excited to get involved.
- Q: Q: Can you share a highlight from a memorable case?
- A: I will never forget my first pro bono client, a young woman from Mali who was a victim of horrific domestic violence, suffered through female genital mutilation as a child, and was forced to marry at a very young age. In her first attempt to flee the marriage, she was hunted down, beaten, and dragged back to her home by her husband and his cousins. As a punishment for her disobedience, she was locked in her house for months. When her husband and his relatives also threatened her children, she knew she had to escape. Now, our client and her children finally have the opportunity to live in a safe and healthy environment. Our client was able to secure a full time job and her children are excelling at school and in sports.
- Q: How has your pro bono service impacted you?
- A: Working with Tahirih gave me the amazing opportunity to meet courageous women who never lost hope and are trying to make a new home after escaping abuse. Unfortunately, often these wounded women have to take care of children who also were abused and desperately need assistance. It is extremely hard to listen to their stories, but I am always amazed by their strength, the power of their spirit, and how they strive for a better life.
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Please join us as a pro bono partner or volunteer today! Your time and talents can truly make a difference.meet more pro bono partners
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Meghan Leibold Lidster
Staff AttorneyRichards Kibbee & OrbeIt has been humbling to work with a client who, despite extreme hardship in her past, has been able to increasingly open up to me. -
Lindsay Wright Brett
Associate AttorneyBaker & McKenzie LLPThe women and children I've worked with over the years inspire me to take on new cases. -
Alicia Balthazar, Deborah Wei, Maria A. Arboleda, & Marta Thompson
Hogan Lovells US LLPRealizing the impact of the case’s outcome not just for our client but for her son, shows how these cases can be completely life changing for a family’s future.
