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August 21, 2014, 11:00-12:30 PST - Register here!
Join the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies and the Legal Aid Association of California for a special webinar focused on how to prepare asylum claims on behalf of women and children fleeing violence and other forms of persecution in Mexico and Central America. Given the recent surge in child and family migration from Central America to the United States, asylum is frequently one of the only immigration benefits for which these children and families are eligible. Whether you are an experienced practitioner or new to asylum, join us if you are interested in learning more about representing these individuals in their requests for asylum protection. Register here.
Topics to be covered will include:
- Overview of the root causes leading to the recent migration surge and how this influences the type of asylum claims being brought
- Overview of the elements of asylum, with special emphasis on the particular social group, which is the most common ground argued in cases of women and children
- How to effectively use experts and country conditions evidence to persuasively present a claim for asylum protection
- Procedural issues arising in cases involving women and children who have recently arrived to the United States border and are seeking asylum protection
- Practical tips on working with vulnerable clients
Presenters:
Lisa Frydman, Associate Director/Managing Attorney – Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, UC Hastings College of the Law
Lisa’s extensive experience in asylum law before coming to CGRS in 2007 includes work as a staff attorney at Legal Services for Children in San Francisco and as an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (now Americans for Immigrant Justice) in Miami, where she represented immigrant children seeking asylum and other types of immigration relief before the Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals. Lisa regularly trains and mentors attorneys across the country. She has played an integral role in local and national efforts to improve policies and practices for immigrant children. Lisa graduated with honors from Boalt Hall School of Law. She holds an undergraduate degree in History from the University of Maryland, where she graduated magna cum laude.
Misha Seay, Staff Attorney – Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, UC Hastings College of the Law
Misha works in all program areas at CGRS, including managing the Expert Consultation and Training program as well as participating in CGRS’s Impact Litigation, Policy Advocacy, and International Human Rights programs. Prior to joining CGRS, Misha served as a Judicial Law Clerk and Attorney Advisor at the San Francisco Immigration Court (U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review) through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. Misha received her J.D. from U.C. Hastings College of the Law, where she was Co-President of the Hastings Public Interest Law Foundation and a member of the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal. During law school, Misha participated in the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic and was a law clerk at the East Bay Community Law Center, at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, and at a private immigration law firm. She holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor’s degree from U.C. Santa Cruz.
