Rule of Law
Rule of Law
People-centered justice that profoundly impacts individuals and communities and respects every person’s autonomy and right to self-determination.
My approach is collaborative and outcome-oriented. I will work alongside your team, providing the information and tools needed to navigate the complexities of advocating for justice in challenging environments.
Services
Rule of Law
legal skills training
Better lawyers lead to better legal outcomes and greater client satisfaction. I offer tailored clinical legal skills training, coaching, and guidance to organizations operating legal programs for survivors of human rights violations, including discriminatory and targeted violence toward individuals in conflict and post-conflict situations.
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I focus on client-centered lawyering and other essential legal skills, such as interviewing, developing case theories, fact and evidence gathering, navigating ethical issues, and preparing clients for hearings. My approach incorporates formal court institutions as well as customary justice systems, such as how to negotiate with families using a human rights and culturally-sensitive approach. I also continue to provide post-training support and guidance, fostering a community of professionals dedicated to ethical practices and client-centered services.
Legal Justice Programming
Whether you’re looking to start a new initiative or enhance an existing one, I am here to provide you with strategic guidance based on my depth of experience. Programs that advance access to justice for survivors of human rights violations and crimes under international law require careful consideration of a range of factors, including but not limited to delivery of high-quality legal services.
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Whether you’re looking to start a new initiative or enhance an existing one, I offer strategic guidance based on my depth of experience. Enhancing access to justice demands a nuanced understanding of the delivery of high-quality legal services, which encompasses the provision of competent, efficient, and client-focused representation. I address all aspects of administering programs for survivors of human rights violations, including establishing case criteria and file management systems; developing internal procedures, secure data collection and storage; and setting ethical standards for representation. I also provide guidance on delivering culturally competent and trauma-informed services.
Legal Advisory & Client Advocacy Support
I offer specialized legal advisory services tailored to support organizations in handling sensitive human rights cases. My focus is on refugee resettlement, protecting individuals at risk of persecution, and navigating US humanitarian parole options.
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I offer specialized legal advisory services tailored to support organizations in handling sensitive human rights cases. My focus is on refugee resettlement, protecting individuals at risk of persecution, and navigating US humanitarian parole options. International law offers pathways for protection of individuals who have faced serious human rights violations, yet navigating refugee and asylum law is nuanced and challenging. Even more challenging are cases of individuals persecuted in their own country who are unable to flee in order to avail themselves of the limited protections that exist. I provide direct support as well as guidance on client interviewing, case preparation, and legal strategy to ensure that every case is managed with the utmost care and professionalism. I will collaborate closely with your team to strengthen capacity of service providers, fill expertise gaps, and enhance your organization’s ability to serve individuals seeking protection.
Featured Work
My professional journey has been deeply rewarding, marked by a range of impactful cases and programmatic initiatives. Below are selected highlights that feature some of my more memorable and meaningful experiences. It is important to note that some of the most significant work I have undertaken is of a sensitive and confidential nature, which precludes public disclosure.
Test case in Iraqi Criminal Justice System Defending Survivor of Domestic Violence
When I first moved to Iraq in 2007, I worked with an Iraqi lawyer to run a test case through the criminal justice system. Being new to the country, I was unsure about how to advocate within the legal system, and the Iraqi lawyer was also unclear of the best way forward.
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I developed criteria to evaluate cases in a women’s prison in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We chose to represent a woman charged as an accomplice in her husband’s crime, based on the fact that she acted under coercion. Her husband’s abuse and threats of sending her to face an honor killing in her home country provided a legal defense under Iraqi Criminal Code Article 62, which applies to crimes committed under coercion.
We drafted a legal argument based on Article 62, and the lawyer prepared the client to testify and requested permission for a private hearing. The three-judge panel accepted our approach, allowing our client to testify in private, away from her husband’s intimidating presence. The outcome was significant: the three-judge panel recognized our client’s legal defense argument and released her from prison. Her husband was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
This was my first experience advocating withing the Iraqi justice system and it demonstrated that a model that incorporated clinical legal skills training to strengthen legal practice to advocate for clients could be impactful. This success laid the groundwork for developing a comprehensive legal protection program to support victims of gender-based violence and human trafficking.
Customary Justice in Iraq
During my first visit to Kurdistan in 2005, I met two social workers from a women’s organization who were supporting residents in a women’s shelter. I was intrigued to learn about the local response to violence against women. These social workers negotiated with families to protect them from violence and the threat of honor killings. Their approach utilized traditional Iraqi negotiation practices, but with innovative modifications.
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Traditionally male-dominated, these negotiations were now being led by women, altering not only the dynamics but also the outcomes, steering away from sacrificing women’s rights towards more equitable solutions like financial compensation or relocation. It sometimes took months or even one year to resolve a case before they believed it was safe to release the person to her family.
It was evident that while these women possessed strong negotiation skills, however there was no formal training in place to pass on their knowledge to scale up the number of qualified negotiators. Recognizing a gap, I obtained funding from the UN Fund for Women to facilitate focus group discussions with experienced negotiators. From these insights, I developed a manual tailored to the Iraqi context, drawing from an existing mediation framework. This manual has since been used to train social workers and lawyers in gender-sensitive, human rights-based negotiation tactics. The impact has been tangible, particularly in cases where women and girls lacked legal options or feared accessing formal channels, resulting in positive outcomes like preventing forced marriages and re-enrolling girls in school.
The role of the informal justice sector is often overlooked in rule of law initiatives, with efforts tending to focus solely on formal or tribal systems. However, my experience has highlighted the potential of these systems working in tandem. Both have their advantages and limitations, especially for women facing human rights abuses. By integrating these sectors and incorporating a strong risk assessment and client-centered approach, we can create more effective strategies for upholding the rights of women and girls.
Protection from Honor Killing in Iraq
As an immigration lawyer from the United States, I encountered a pressing question after relocating to Iraq. What options do women have who face threats of honor killing and other forms of violence, and who are unable to leave their country to seek refugee or asylum protection? I soon met a young Iraqi woman in her twenties facing imminent danger of an honor killing by her family. Shelter social workers assessed her situation and concluded she could never safely live outside the protective shelter.
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Seeing no other options for her, I initiated a test case to determine if I could secure humanitarian parole for her entry into the United States, where she could seek asylum. This approach was unconventional because humanitarian parole is typically not intended as an option to bypass regular refugee procedures. Nonetheless, I presented a robust application demonstrating her clear eligibility for asylum and the impossibility of her crossing an international border without grave risk. The Department of Homeland Security, through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, approved the application, marking it as the first of several successful humanitarian parole cases I facilitated for women stuck in shelters who desperately needed medical and mental health services that were unavailable in Iraq.
In my publication, Trapped Between Borders, I delve into the complexities facing those trapped in peril within their own nation when no straightforward legal exits exist. While some, like the Yazidi survivors, have been offered in-country refugee screening by various countries, these remain individual exceptions outside the usual refugee resettlement protocol. Such predicaments are especially acute for women whose gender amplifies the obstacles to escaping threats of violence.
Fortunately, the client for whom I secured humanitarian parole has achieved stable legal status abroad and has successfully rebuilt her life outside of Iraq. Her resettlement was critical; without it, she faced the grim choices of suicide or returning to a family that intent on killing her. For her, and others like her, leaving their homeland remains the only viable path to safety.
Legal Clinic in Iraq
In 2012, I developed a country-wide legal clinic model for the USAID Access to Justice program in Iraq aimed at enhancing legal support for vulnerable populations. Outlined in the Community Based Legal Clinic Best Practices Manual, this model set the standards for effective legal services and advocacy for vulnerable populations. The manual, along with its training materials, emphasized a client-centered and trauma-informed approach to providing legal assistance.
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The manual draws from a legal service delivery and advocacy model that I created in 2008 at Heartland Alliance International. This earlier model was effective in equipping lawyers to manage cases of gender-based violence and human trafficking in Iraqi criminal and Personal Status Courts.
The Iraqi law school curriculum lacks a clinical skills component. The training model I have developed includes essential legal skills such as interviewing, client-focused representation, case theory development, fact-finding, legal writing, and preparing clients and witnesses for testimony. This model has led to improved outcomes and enhanced client satisfaction in cases managed by trained lawyers.
I further validated this model through a USAID pilot program aimed at tackling gender-based violence within the Yezidi community following the genocidal attack by ISIS.