Christopher D. Belelieu
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Christopher’s Mexican-born client had been married to her husband for 10 years when he started drinking heavily. When drunk, he became physically and verbally abusive, frequently destroying her belongings and eventually threatening her with a knife. Their three children often witnessed these violent episodes.

Christopher drafted and filed a persuasive Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petition on behalf of his client and successfully secured her lawful permanent residency.

Demonstrating great commitment to her well-being, he then extended his representation to help her obtain a divorce, as well as custody and child support, overcoming complications due to the husband’s lack of a permanent address. Thanks to Christopher, she is now able to live and work lawfully in the U.S. and she and her children live free from violence and fear.

Jillian M. Barber, Nicole Beliveau Sheff,
Victoria Elman, Ajay Malshe & Carla R. Pasquale
Goodwin Procter LLP

After living in the United States for nearly 25 years and surviving years of abuse by her husband, a Jamaican mother is now a lawful permanent resident thanks to the extraordinary work of these attorneys.

Their client’s husband, a U.S. citizen, withdrew his support for her immigration petition and she was facing removal proceedings and permanent separation from her daughter. The Goodwin Procter team submitted a VAWA self-petition to the immigration authorities who denied the petition claiming that previously filed documents in the client’s file—documents she did not submit, review or sign—suggested she had entered into a fraudulent marriage.

The team appealed the decision. Their hard work and creative legal thinking was rewarded by a decision vacating the denial and approving her petition for residency. The client can now live lawfully in the U.S. with her daughter.

Sarah L. Cave, Jaime O. Hernandez
& Christine M. Stecura
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

When a native of the Dominican Republic, who had been living in the U.S. for almost 18 years, came to inMotion, she was in removal proceedings, threatened with deportation.

Her husband, a U.S. citizen, had verbally abused her, physically assaulted her, and threatened to have her deported. When she was pregnant and did not make coffee before going to work, he pulled her hair, kicked her and left her bleeding, causing a miscarriage.

These Hughes Hubbard lawyers volunteered to appear on her behalf in Immigration Court where they skillfully litigated and overcame their client’s complicated immigration history, while simultaneously preparing and filing affirmative VAWA petitions.

Through their effective representation, their client’s removal proceeding was terminated and she is now a lawful permanent resident, free from her abusive husband and the threat of deportation.

Anuradha V. Gokhale, Ethan Horwitz
& Preetma Singh
King & Spalding LLP

This team’s Spanish-speaking client had been separated from her abusive husband for seven years when he sought full custody of their seven-year-old daughter. He had threatened to send the child to his home country of Pakistan so that the mother would never see her daughter again.

With compassion and sensitivity, the King & Spalding team diligently represented their client, filing emergency motions and persevering despite an unresponsive adversary. They negotiated a favorable settlement which included visitation arrangements, the court dismissed the father’s petition and granted their client full custody.

Sona De & Ramya Kasthuri
Ropes & Gray LLP

When her husband of eight years began abusing her—kicking and punching her and threatening her with a knife—the 36-year-old waitress and mother of two young children left home and sought refuge in a domestic violence shelter.

The Ropes & Gray team came to her aid, working tirelessly and skillfully to protect their client and her children. They obtained an order of protection and a divorce that granted her custody and provided for child support, health insurance coverage for her children and safe visitation arrangements when the children are with their father. Now the family is safe, and their client can provide for her children and begin a new life.

Jorge L. Escobedo, Sung Eun (Summer) Kim,
Doreen E. Lilienfeld & Eva A. Rasmussen
Shearman & Sterling LLP

A 43-year-old health care attendant from Colombia contacted inMotion for assistance in removing the conditions on her residency status. Her abusive husband, a U.S. citizen from whom she was separated, had not signed her petition to remove these conditions as required by law.

The Shearman & Sterling team took on the case to file affirmative petitions with the immigration authorities on the client’s behalf. However, before the petitions were filed, the client was faced with removal proceedings and the threat of deportation.

Zealously advocating for their client in Immigration Court and simultaneously filing well-drafted petitions, the team succeeded in terminating the deportation proceedings and removing the conditional terms of her immigration status.The client is now safe and can live and work in the U.S. free from fear of abuse or deportation.

Whytne J.V. Brooks, Shena M. Elrington, Magallie Kortright,
Katherine Burghardt Kramer, David Tejtel, Hayley Urkevich
& Courtney A. Welshimer
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

This award goes to a team of talented Simpson Thacher attorneys who handled separate legal matters, carefully coordinating their efforts to provide exceptional and comprehensive assistance to a vulnerable, abused mother. After her husband’s regular verbal abuse escalated to severe physical abuse and threats to kill her children, the client contacted inMotion seeking a divorce and assistance in removing the conditions on her residency status.

Her attorneys diligently pursued her legal rights in a complex and difficult divorce action. Their ardent representation resulted in the court’s granting her sole custody and ordering her husband to pay substantial child support, maintenance and health and child care expenses.

Meanwhile, the lawyers working on her immigration matter pursued a complex and labor-intensive strategy in order to achieve the best outcome for their client and her children. The client already had conditional permanent residency status. However, instead of preparing a battered spouse waiver to remove the conditions on her status, which would not have permitted her to apply for residency for her children, the team prepared a compelling VAWA self-petition and secured her lawful permanent residency.

The team’s efforts are ongoing as they work to unite the family by obtaining derivative residency status for the client’s two children in the Dominican Republic.

Royce F. Cohen, Robert P. Coleman
& Christopher Guhin
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

An unemployed mother of three children with medical issues sought inMotion’s help when her husband of 16 years abandoned her, moved in with his mistress and filed for divorce.

The Stroock team demonstrated great commitment to their client who became disabled during the course of the representation, relentlessly pursuing her legal rights. Her attorneys’ extraordinary dedication and effective negotiation secured her sole custody of her children, exclusive occupancy of the marital home, child support, continued health coverage for the children under their father’s plan as well as a fair share of his pension. Their client now has the stability and financial security to provide for her family.