The pro bono effort of two Robinson & Cole attorneys has resulted in
asylum in the United States for a man detained and tortured for his human rights
work in his home country of Uganda. Partner James B. Zuckernik and first-year
associate attorney Katherine S. Kayatta, both of the firm’s Boston office,
represented Samuel Nsubuga (real name withheld by request) of Kampala, Uganda.
Mr. Nsubuga was referred to the firm by the Political Asylum/Immigration
Representation (PAIR) Project in Boston, an organization devoted to advocating
for individuals in need of legal counsel.
Throughout the year, Robinson & Cole attorneys provide pro bono services
to a wide variety of organizations. The selection of this case presented new
challenges and an opportunity to support an individual who has devoted his life
to developing a human rights support network and advocating for civil
rights.
Mr. Zuckernik and Ms. Kayatta, who are both trained by PAIR to represent
asylum seekers, first met with Mr. Nsubuga in December 2009. The attorneys
submitted a legal filing with written evidence to the U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services in February 2010, telling Mr. Nsubuga’s story. The
submission included a detailed summary of his account, along with a voluminous
binder specifying the atrocities he suffered, his legal advocacy, the local
country conditions, and his medical records from when he was detained in Uganda.
The filing resulted in a hearing with the Department of Homeland Security, and
asylum officers questioned the client for more than two hours to verify his
story. The verdict, a decision that will affect the rest of Mr. Nsubuga’s life,
arrived on July 2, 2010, granting him asylum in the United States.
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