Pro Bono

Milbank Associate Carolyn Walker-Diallo Obtains Asylum Approval
For Her Pro Bono Client

NEW YORK, NY, January 5, 2006 – Milbank associate Carolyn Walker-Diallo has obtained asylum approval for her pro bono client, a young woman from the Republic of Guinea. Ms. Walker-Diallo drafted a persuasive brief in support of her client's application for asylum. Carolyn argued that her client suffered past persecution based on her being subjected to Female Genital Mutilation ("FGM") and being forced into an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen. As such, her client is a part of a particular social group of Guinean women who: (1) are members of an ethnic group that practice female genital mutilation and have been mutilated themselves, but refuse to allow their own daughters to be mutilated; and (2) strongly oppose and resist being oppressed and battered as a result of failed forced marriages. Carolyn also argued that her client has a well-founded fear of future persecution because, if returned to Guinea, her U.S. citizen daughter would be forced to become a victim of FGM, which would result in severe psychological and emotional trauma. This position has not been uniformly accepted by the Board of Immigration Appeals or the Federal Courts of Appeals so Carolyn’s successful argument on this issue is especially noteworthy.