Virtual Immigrant Liberty Awards - Honoring Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP
Kenzo Kawanabe & Shalyn Kettering of Davis Graham & Stubbs accept the Pro Bono Service Award at the 15th Annual Immigrant Liberty Awards.
For over a century, Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP (DGS) has ranked among the Rocky Mountain region’s most prominent law firms, consistently offering quality legal services to emerging and established businesses. While the firm’s Denver headquarters and intermediate size allow a close personal relationship with local and regional clients, our technology, broad experience, and status as the exclusive Colorado member firm for the Lex Mundi global network allow us to partner effectively with businesses and their investors throughout the world.
DGS attorneys have a long tradition of serving Colorado’s business, professional, civic, and cultural communities. Our lawyers take leadership roles in legal professional organizations, law schools, pro bono representations, charitable and civic organizations, and governmental agencies, boards, and commissions. We ask our attorneys to get involved in what they love and make a difference through their involvement.
Through our participation in the Colorado Supreme Court's Pro Bono Recognition Program, DGS is committed to upholding the firm's pledge of providing at least 50 hours of legal community or pro bono service per attorney per year. In recent years, DGS lawyers have completed thousands of hours of pro bono and community service work annually. Many DGS attorneys represent clients who cannot afford legal services, thereby providing them with a critical means of access to justice.
DGS is a founding member of the Colorado Lawyers Committee (CLC), a consortium of Colorado firms that work together to undertake significant pro bono cases. In 2019, DGS implemented a Credible Fear Interview Program in partnership with CLC and RMIAN. DGS was selected as one of four firms to participate in this pilot program to help prepare asylum seekers at the Aurora ICE detention center for their credible fear interviews. DGS lawyers have assisted with more than 70 credible fear interviews and have also successfully represented numerous clients in their asylum merits hearings. These favorable outcomes confirm that lawyers are uniquely positioned to help change lives and promote a more just society.
Celebrating Client Success
The first time Yelena (pictured left) was arrested, she was only 15 years old and participating in a human rights protest alongside her mother. She was separated from her mother, abused, and intimidated by police officers. At just 19 years old, she was forced to flee her home country of Cuba after being arrested a second time. She was falsely charged and threatened for voicing her political opinion and had no other choice but to flee for her life and seek refuge in the United States, just as her father and uncle were forced to do when Yelena was only four years old. Yelena spent four months in immigration detention before winning her asylum case and her freedom. "Having asylum has changed my life," says Yelena. "I feel safe now and don't have to worry about speaking my mind."
A donation of $6,000 helps RMIAN to provide free legal services to other asylum seekers like Yelena. Please make your contribution today to help RMIAN reach its goal of raising $50,000 through the Immigrant Liberty Awards Event.
