ILG Turns 10!
ILG Celebrates its 10th Anniversary; Announces Fellowship for New Immigration Litigators
Who would have thought that we would still be here 10 years later?
Shocked by the treatment of immigrants in Portland and catalyzed by the
impunity with which government agencies acted in violation of the law,
three lawyers got together to create a new type of law firm in
Portland, Immigrant Law Group PC. Founded on the simple principle
that all human beings should be treated with dignity and that respect
for the rule of law is paramount, we have been blessed with good
fortune, good luck, and good colleagues, and great clients.
Who would have thought that we would still be here 10 years later?
Anyone who believes in human rights and dignity. Our first office was
a closet (literally) hidden in the back of an office building.
Working with limited material resources, we leveraged our passion, our
intelligence, and our skills to bring innovative litigation when
litigation was needed regardless of a client’s ability to pay. We
mixed the best elements of a non-profit legal services organization
with the best characteristics of a private law firm to create a
hybrid: a public-interest focused private firm.
Since we opened our doors in 2002, we have grown to more than 13
employees in an office space designed to provide comfort and ease to
our clients. We have provided more than a quarter of a million
dollars in free legal services – a fact that makes us proud.
We are also proud to announce the creation of a new program for new
attorneys: the ILG Post-Graduate Innovator Fellowship. The ILG
Post-Graduate Innovator Fellowship is a one-year, full-time paid
position for a new lawyer interested in creative human rights work.
The ILG Innovator Fellowship is open to (1) any third-year law student
expected to graduate and take a bar exam prior to the October start
date or (2) licensed attorney who entered into a judicial clerkship
after law school and has not yet practiced law for more than one year.
The Fellowship has 2 primary components: the first is mentorship. The
fellow works closely with the firm’s attorneys on developing advocacy
skills in the removal defense context and federal courts. The fellow
learns how to manage cases of different complexity, engage in positive
client relations, and develop meaningful time management skills. The
second component is what we call the “Innovator Project” — hence, the
name of the fellowship. In the second component, the fellow
implements a litigation or public education project proposed by and
developed by the fellow in her or his application. The Innovator
Project is a one-year project that creates social change through the
development of novel litigation strategies, creating and sharing new
curriculum for public education about organizing for equitable changes
to our immigration and human rights legal system, or a combination of
the two. The Innovator Project must have demonstrable and measurable
outcomes. Applications are available in February.
All the details of the Innovator Fellowship are available here.
ILG owes deep felt gratitude to the many people who have made our
journey to this point so rewarding. We look forward to the next 10
years!
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