October 10, 2008
Michael Shapiro recognized by Legal Aid Society of New York for his work on employment discrimination case; and Megan Hogan, Rachel Owens and Avani Shah recognized by City Bar Justice Center for their work on precedential asylum case.
Litigation associate Michael Shapiro was recently recognized by the Legal Aid Society of New York for his successful pro bono representation of an employee who suffered discrimination at the hands of his employer on the basis of sexual orientation. Mr. Shapiro was presented with an award for his work on this matter by Judith Kaye, Chief Judge of the State of New York, at the Legal Aid Society's 2008 Pro Bono Publico Awards reception, which was held on October 7 at the City Bar Association. The annual event recognizes the outstanding commitment of major New York City law firms that provide access to justice to low income children, families and individuals.
Separately, the City Bar Justice Center recently honored Litigation associates Megan Hogan, Rachel Owens and Avani Shah as outstanding volunteers for their work with the Refugee Assistance Project. Specifically, they were recognized for their representation of a young Chinese woman seeking asylum. The client, who had been in proceedings for almost 8 years, was seeking refuge from Chinese authorities ordering her to submit to a mandatory gynecological examination for purposes of regulating and monitoring her sexual history and capacity to have children. In granting the claim, the immigration judge noted that there had been no real precedent for such claim.