“Our cutting-edge, holistic legal program in support of refugees worldwide has been moving from strength to strength for nearly nine years now,” said Reed Smith Global Managing Partner, Sandy Thomas. “We are extremely grateful to Jayne, as well as Rebecca Naylor, our London project coordinator, Chicago partner Duane Sigelko, senior Pro Bono Counsel Chris Walters in Philadelphia, and the efforts of hundreds of lawyers and legal professionals in our U.S., Europe, and Middle East offices who have devoted time and resources to helping so many refugees and creating such a successful model program.”
Reed Smith began its Refugee Protection Project, with dozens of missions on-the-ground, in Central America and Haiti to support women and children refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing violence and torture. Three and a half years ago, the firm moved the innovative refugee protection model it had developed to the Middle East, with a focus on refugees and IDPS fleeing violence and torture in Syria and Iraq.
Over the last three years, in the face of numerous legal obstacles, Reed Smith successfully relocated clients from Jordan and Greece to Australia, France, Germany, Greece, England Canada and the United States. The firm’s holistic program further supports hundreds of at-risk Middle East refugees in cases involving kidnapping, sexual torture, rape, domestic violence, forced marriage, and labor exploitation.
The firm has led dozens of missions to Jordan, Lebanon, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Greece, where its pro bono teams have interviewed several hundred refugees and torture victims, and identified dozens of the most at-risk survivors, for whom they are developing comprehensive legal protection strategies.
Many of the firm’s pro bono clients in Jordan and Greece are torture survivors; many are women and children suffering from war trauma and gender-based violence, including those at risk of ‘honor killing’ and retaliation for seeking access to justice in their countries. Many have also been subjected to trafficking, sexual violence, labor exploitation and other forms of harm.
“Refugees who are women and children make up nearly half of the refugee population. They face an extraordinarily high risk of re-victimization during flight and in refugee camps and settlements,” said Fleming about the firm’s focus on at-risk women and children refugees.
“Our holistic approach in support of women refugees is especially innovative, because it validates a woman refugee’s human right to self-determination and rejects humanitarian approaches that objectify and disempower women refugees,” Fleming explained. “It rejects the warehousing of women refugees in camps generation after generation, and envisions a world where every woman refugee is able to access the rights embodied in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.”
At the December 5 American Lawyer Industry Awards, Reed Smith was also named a finalist for “Best Use of Technology” for its Deal Performance Platform, and “Best Law Firm Business Team,” as well as for The American Lawyer’s top innovation honor, the “Legal Services Innovation Award.”
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global law firm dedicated to providing quality business solutions, not just legal answers. Our belief is that by doing things differently, with a greater focus on innovation, and by delivering smarter and more creative and efficient legal services, we will not only enrich our clients' experiences with us, but also support them in achieving their own business goals.
With long-standing relationships, an international outlook, and collaborative structure, Reed Smith is a strategic partner in the resolution of complex disputes, transactions, and regulatory matters.
For further information, please visit reedsmith.com.
