Student from Iraq gains asylum based on academic pursuits

Tara Eyer Daub, a Long Island associate in the Labor and Employment group, helped a student from Iraq win asylum in the United States. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from a university in Iraq, the student accepted a full scholarship to pursue a master’s degree at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNY Stony Brook), in Long Island, New York, in 2005. By attending SUNY Stony Brook, the student was able to pursue his desired concentration in an area of science, which he would not have been able to pursue in Iraq because of its incompatibility with Islamic teachings.

Our client pursued his asylum request because he feared it would be unsafe for him to return to Iraq after graduation, particularly due to his association with an American university and his academic status. Tara noted that there have been hundreds of academics killed in Iraq since 2003—professors and students have been common targets for executions and kidnappings. In fact, Tara researched and collected numerous newspaper articles reporting on the wave of violence against academics in Iraq and submitted these articles to the USCIS Asylum Office, in support of the student’s asylum petition. She believes these examples made a compelling argument and may have been part of the reason for the successful outcome of the case.

In June, Tara received the good news that the student’s asylum request had been granted. He remains at SUNY Stony Brook where he continues to purse his degree. Tara also credits former partner John Bolton and former associate Alaina Morgan for their work on the case.

Helping the poor in the developing world—several practice groups get involved in sophisticated microfinance work

What began as a small pro bono project has grown into a niche practice area for Nixon Peabody lawyers across several practice groups and offices. Currently, Nixon Peabody is working with four different microfinance clients and may add more.

All of the firm’s microfinance clients have the same general goal, which is to play a role in the securing of microloans for poor individuals—mostly women—in the developing world who have little or no access to credit. The idea is for the “microborrower” to use the proceeds of a “microloan” (typically between $50 and $1,000) to start, supplement or expand an entrepreneurial activity. In the process of sustaining and growing a successful business, the microborrowers are also more able to provide for themselves and their families, which often results in improved health care and education for the children.

A thank you letter the firm received from client Global Partnerships provided an example of one of the successes its affiliate microfinance institution has enjoyed, “which could not have happened without help from organizations like Nixon Peabody.” Because of Global Partnership’s work, with the help of the Nixon Peabody team, a woman in the remote village of Acopia, Peru, was able to obtain a $100 microloan. The loan was used to feed her farm animals, which were the family’s means of support. Today, husband and wife are dairy farmers and the proud owners of 12 cows. They have also saved $300, which they are using to support their four children’s education. Two of the children are already attending universities, moving their parents closer to realizing the dream of their children becoming professionals.

The firm’s clients play different roles within the general category of microfinance. Global Partnerships and HOPE International have similar functions in the microfinance space. Both clients create investment vehicles, which offer securities through private placements, and then use the proceeds of such offerings to lend funds to pre-screened and pre-selected microfinance institutions. It is the microfinance institutions that actually do the lending to microborrowers. These two clients require sophisticated securities and investment-related work, which offers excellent pro bono opportunities for Nixon Peabody attorneys with securities and public finance expertise. HOPE has also required the expertise of the firm’s trademark lawyers.

MicroFinance Transparency’s mission is to make microloan interest rates more accessible by publishing interest-rate information. Because rates for these loans vary from around 10 percent to as much as 120 percent, tracking and publishing this information allows investors, donors and others to make more informed decisions.

Energy In Common, Anita Pelletier’s client, is a start-up not-for-profit for which Nixon Peabody is doing a wide variety of ongoing work, including establishing 501(c)(3) status. The organization is focused on making peer-to-peer microloans in the developing world for “green” energy projects.

The firm’s varied pro bono efforts for these clients have been coordinated primarily by Global Finance associate Liz Qually, together with Stacey Slater, the firm’s pro bono partner, Bill Egler, and Anita Pelletier. “The real heroes are all the lawyers who have dedicated significant time to this work, particularly the many hours required from the securities lawyers,” Liz said. “None of our clients is an actual microfinance institution. They work in other roles, which provides the opportunity to do some fairly sophisticated and broader pro bono work,” she said.

Several attorneys, particularly within the securities group, have generously donated significant amounts of time and expertise to this work. For example, Dick Langan, the firm’s managing partner and CEO, is a member of the HOPE International pro bono team. Additionally, both Brad Kamlet, for Global Partnerships, and Dan McAvoy, for HOPE International, have provided their leadership, expertise and considerable time to help with securities offerings and other related work for these two clients. Dan said the work has been especially rewarding. “It’s nice because securities transactions do not generally involve pro bono work. We’re doing the same work we would do for paying clients, but the work is for an organization that is trying to change the world. And the client is getting sophisticated legal advice that may not have been available to them without pro bono,” he said.

Anita Pelletier has also provided expertise, particularly regarding not-for-profit organizational matters. Anita’s client, Energy in Common, requires work from several different departments. “We’ve been working with this group on several matters. Energy In Common is incorporated now and the next step is the exemption process. We are also drafting some of their loan documents,” Anita said. Specifically, Anita is handling the organization’s formation and tax issues, Dan is investigating securities issues and Liz is working on the organization’s loan documentation.

In addition to formation, securities and finance work, the firm has also provided work regarding trademark issues, web site policy, taxation matters and various other business issues for the four clients.

The practice groups and individual members of Nixon Peabody’s pro bono microfinance team include:

Work with ‘1% For The Planet’ provides green pro bono opportunity

New York City private equity associate Brian Collet has parlayed his interest in rock climbing into some interesting pro bono work on behalf of 1% For The Planet (1% FTP)—a nonprofit organization dedicated to getting businesses to donate one percent of sales toward grassroots environmental organizations around the world. This has provided a unique opportunity for the firm to work toward both our pro bono and green objectives on the same engagement.

An avid rock climber, Brian knew of 1% FTP from following the career of one of its co-founders, Yvon Chouinard, a rock climbing pioneer in the 1960s who later founded Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company. At Patagonia, Mr. Chouinard implemented a policy of contributing 10 percent of the company’s earnings or one percent of sales, whichever was greater, to environmental groups each year. He co-founded 1% FTP as a way to expand his idea. Today, more than 1,000 member companies work with 1% FTP and pledge one percent of their sales to environmental organizations.

In December 2008, Brian took the initiative and reached out to one of the board of directors from 1% FTP to ask if there was anything he could do to help on a local level. The board member, who works with a green furniture company in New York City, referred Brian to Terry Kellogg, the chief executive officer at 1% FTP. After the two had a conversation, Brian approached Pro Bono Partner Stacey Slater, who approved his proposal to offer pro bono assistance on some of 1% FTP’s corporate matters.

Since then, Brian and several other Nixon Peabody colleagues, including fellow associates Ami-Cietta Duche, Tamar Duvdevani, Bijal Vira, and Lee Harrington have been providing pro bono assistance to 1% FTP under the supervision of partners Frank Ryan and James Kelly. For example, Lee has combined his legal know-how with his first-hand knowledge of the recording industry in drafting a licensing agreement for a 1% FTPrelated compilation album of various artists.

So far, it’s been a win-win for NP and 1% FTP. Carolyn Kaplan, counsel in the Boston office and the firm’s chief sustainability officer, recently heard from an old friend, Melody Grote—coincidentally, a vice president at 1% FTP—who said that “Brian and the other lawyers with whom we’ve worked have been fantastic…we appreciate the professionalism and high quality of the working relationship a ton, plus they are just really good guys to work with.”