NIJC Honors Munger, Tolles & Olson with Human Rights Practitioner Award
The National Immigrant Justice Center will present Munger, Tolles & Olson with its Human Rights Practitioner Award at its 21st Annual Human Rights Awards luncheon on June 2, 2020.
The Human Rights Practitioner Award recognizes an individual or law firm that has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting human rights. In selecting Munger Tolles for this award, the Center cited the firm’s outstanding pro bono representation of vulnerable individuals fleeing persecution and torture and its commitment to advocating for those individuals despite the substantive and procedural barriers they face.
In particular, the Center noted a number of immigration victories by Munger Tolles attorneys in the federal courts of appeals. In cases in the Seventh and Eleventh Circuits, the firm prevailed in the face of adverse credibility findings resulting from irrational decision-making and ineffective assistance of counsel.
In the Fifth and Ninth Circuits, the firm won remand for individuals seeking protection and then helped them win protection on remand. And in a series of cases in the Ninth Circuit, the firm has advocated for protection for individuals with mental-health disabilities under immigration law. Munger Tolles also has secured release for clients facing prolonged detention.