David Austin Lectures on Refugees and Human Rights at
The John Marshall Law School

David Austin, Associate in the Chicago Office, was a guest lecturer on May 1 to International Human Rights students at The John Marshall Law School. Mr. Austin described pro bono work on behalf of refugees and asylum-seekers and highlighted the difficulties that these individuals face in their attempts to obtain relief. He also discussed laws covering individuals who arrive in the U.S. fleeing persecution abroad and emphasized the important role that lawyers can play by advocating on behalf of refugees and acting as catalysts for legislative and social change to ameliorate the conditions of this vulnerable population. Mr. Austin has represented a number of pro bono asylum clients and his most recent case involved a Palestinian convert to Christianity who feared being persecuted by Hamas on the basis of his status as an apostate from Islam.