Morrison & Foerster counsel 
Julia Schwalm sat in her car in Berlin for five minutes, refusing to move, until the Pakistani refugee who just accepted her guardianship understood he needed to wear his seat belt.After the 16-year-old refugee to Germany was able to accept that a woman would be his guardian, it was the little things he and Schwalm had to overcome—like the seat belt, she says, or how to communicate. They used mobile instant messenger WhatsApp and its translation function to correspond. But Schwalm says it was important to her that her client learn German if he was to achieve the asylum he was seeking and assimilate into a country that has one of the largest refugee populations in Europe.

Now that her client is over 18, Schwalm is no longer a guardian but is still representing him in his asylum appeal. She still worries about his mental health, given that he lives in a country without his parents, who are back in Pakistan, where a family feud over land has made her client fearful for his life.

“Being a trustee is a very personal thing to do. It's not something that the firm would say 'Who wants to volunteer?' It's not as much of an adoption, but it's close,” Schwalm says, adding “They are kids. They are alone. You worry about them.”