The mission of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) is to provide quality immigration legal services and law-related education to meet the steadily increasing needs of Minnesota's growing immigrant and refugee communities.

ILCM held its third annual fundraising Gala on April 17, 2009, at the Embassy Suites in St. Paul.

"E pluribus unum," said John Keller, ILCM Executive Director, in his remarks at the sold-out Gala. "It's Latin for 'out of many, one' and this is the case for our program. Out of many people, one common purpose is to help our clients."

ILCM meets increasing client needs through multiple pro bono projects, and the volunteer efforts of law firms, immigration practitioners, seasoned litigators and attorneys who practice in other areas of the law. Law firms host CLE programs and aid in volunteer recruitment. Immigration practitioners serve in multiple roles, from mentoring less experienced immigration pro bono attorneys to providing full representation of clients in complex immigration cases. Seasoned litigators represent clients in complex legal, civil and/or constitutional cases. Lastly, attorneys with little or no immigration experience volunteer on naturalization cases.

ILCM has traditionally awarded one Pro Bono Award to an individual attorney at the annual Gala. This year the organization awarded the Pro Bono Award to the law firm of Faegre & Benson to recognize the collective pro bono contributions of the firm's attorneys to clients referred by ILCM, and the firm's sustained support of the organization.

Faegre & Benson attorneys volunteer on two primary ILCM pro bono projects: naturalization cases and the U-Visa pilot project.

Naturalization cases provide opportunities to work with clients who are legal permanent residents and are seeking to become US citizens, and are an excellent introduction to pro bono work with ILCM.

The U-Visa pilot project serves clients who are eligible for relief under legislation passed in 2000, which is directed at victims of violent crimes who cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of those crimes. Successful U-Visa applicants receive temporary status and work eligibility in the United States. Regulations implementing the law were not promulgated until 2007, and initially few ILCM clients required assistance in the application process.

"We had about 50 U visa cases from 2000 through 2007," said Keller. "Suddenly after the U-Visa regulations passed, the number jumped to 65 cases in a span of six months, and Faegre & Benson was there every step of the way to help out."

Faegre & Benson hosted a CLE in February 2009 for participating U-Visa pilot project law firms and lawyers, who to date are providing pro bono representation to sixteen U-Visa applicants. Three of these clients are represented by teams at Faegre & Benson.

Stefanie Galey, a partner in the firm's Corporate group, has represented two naturalization clients. She observes that "While the legal work is not complex, the impact of our work for the individual client is considerable. To assist the client successfully; navigate a daunting administrative system; and finally achieve a dream of citizenship is both personally and professionally rewarding. We are grateful for the opportunity the ILCM provides to do this work."

If you want to volunteer or do pro bono work go to www.ProJusticeMN.org to access the MSBA Pro Bono Directory. You may also contact Jennifer Eichten, MSBA Pro Bono Development Director, at 612.278.6308/800.882.MSBA or jeichten@mnbar.org.