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Holland & Knight

In March 2022, Church World Service (CWS) and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), reached out to Philadelphia partner Leonard Bernstein seeking substantial pro bono support for the sudden influx of refugees from Afghanistan following the abrupt end of America's military engagement in the area. Thousands of Afghan citizens fled their country as the Taliban regained control, and many settled in places such as Lancaster, Pennsylvania, an area that is especially welcoming of refugees. CWS and HIAS needed urgent help assisting the refugees with asylum applications, which were due one year after their arrival.

With the help of CWS and HIAS, the Philadelphia office hosted a firmwide pro bono training session that helped equip both attorneys and staff to begin helping refugees from Afghanistan apply for asylum. Soon after, the firm's Afghan asylum team was launched with attorneys and staff from a number of Holland & Knight offices across the firm, but coordinated by Philadelphia litigation partners Tracy Quinn and Amy McVeigh and associate Katie Princivalle, with support from Bernstein.

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