Every month, we give the Amicus Mundi Award to an outstanding volunteer lawyer in our community who lives our shared values of service and fighting for justice.
This month’s award comes at a time when thousands of Afghan refugees are in need of support from the legal community. We specifically need lawyers nationwide who speak Dari, Pashto or Farsi who can help with translation services to support Afghan refugees. If you don't speak these languages, please consider sharing this email with your networks to help spread the word.
Since We The Action was founded, lawyers in our community have advocated for refugees and displaced persons. This month, we’re proud to recognize one of those lawyers who has helped improve the lives of refugees by eliminating language barriers and getting them humanitarian services more efficiently.
Congratulations, Dean Schmidt!
The big picture: A litigator from California, Dean has been working tirelessly for years to support organizations that defend the rights of detained immigrants.
Prior to joining We The Action, Dean spent the last three years doing asylum-related work, especially with unaccompanied minors.
“One of my strong loves is helping protect the rights of immigrants in detention,” Dean says.
A new way to make a difference: When Dean found a We The Action project with Tarjimly — an organization that’s used digital tools to provide refugees, asylees, and other immigrants with translation services more than 26,000 times — Dean knew he had to sign up.
“In my other volunteer work, I was constantly trying to find people to translate languages I’d never even heard of,” Dean says. “When I saw the project, I thought ‘Woah! I think I can help.’”
Increasing an organization's impact: Sara Haj-Hassan, Partnerships Manager for Tarjimly, says that the new nonprofit wanted to expand their services to more people and organizations, but had legal questions about their liability around the use of translators.
“We wanted to help as many people as possible while ensuring we weren’t doing any harm, and Dean understood that,” Sara says. “He worked with us to make sure his solutions made sense for our mission.”
The right person at the right time: Sara says that Dean’s approach married his legal expertise with his passion for the organization’s mission.
“Dean was extremely patient,” Sara says. “He got us in a position where we were confident we could share our services in as many contexts as possible.”
Sara says that Dean’s help has empowered the organization — and the translators — by establishing clear guidelines to help them confidently assist as many refugees as possible.
A resource for volunteers: A litigator for 32 years, Dean says he knows firsthand how busy lawyers can be — but he’s also seen how big a difference even a few hours can make in someone’s life.
“The kinds of projects on We The Action aren’t what you find at your local bar association,” Dean says. “Do something you like to do. Do something you want to do. There’s so much work to do and so few volunteers to do it.”
On behalf of 41,000 We The Action volunteer lawyers: Thank you, Dean!
Again, if you're a lawyer who speaks Dari, Farsi, or Pashto, please sign up now to help with translation services for Afghan refugees. If you don't speak these languages, please consider sharing this email with your networks to help spread the word.
