The Immigrant Families Advocacy Project (IFAP) in conjunction with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), the Washington Law School Foundation, and the University of Washington School of Law invites you to participate in a Continuing Legal Education program on the Violence Against Women Act and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

IFAP was founded in 1996 as a partnership between NWIRP and the University of Washington School of Law. The organization trains and matches law students with pro bono attorneys and provides representation to immigrant survivors of domestic violence who are eligible to obtain lawful immigration status in the U.S. under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). IFAP recently expanded its services to include Special Immigrant Juvenile Status petitions, representing immigrant minors who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected. IFAP has enabled many immigrant survivors of domestic violence and their children to leave abusive relationships and begin lives free of violence, while providing law students with an opportunity to gain training and experience in immigration law, domestic violence advocacy, and client counseling.

Attorneys who commit to take one IFAP case during the 2004-05 school year can attend the CLE for the cost of materials, $25. At the close of the event, attorneys that have agreed to take a case immediately will be paired with two law students and assigned a case by NWIRP.

Neha Chandola has six years of experience in the area of immigration law. She is currently the Legal Director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Seattle, Washington. Prior to joining NWIRP, Ms. Chandola was in solo practice in Tucson, Arizona, focusing on immigration cases. Before that, she worked with the Tucson Ecumenical Council for Legal Assistance (TECLA), a project that, like NWIRP, had its origins assisting Salvadorans and Guatemalans fleeing their countries' wars in the 1980's. Ms. Chandola has served as the secretary of the Board of the Asylum Program of Southern Arizona. In addition, in 2001, she received an Award for Outstanding Dedication to Battered Immigrant Women by the Southeastern Arizona Behavior Health Service.

Robert A. Free is a past President of the Washington Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and past member of the Board of Governors of the national association. He is a frequent lecturer at local and national immigration law seminars and writes about immigration law for scholarly publications. He is an adjunct professor of law at Seattle University and an attorney with MacDonald, Hoague and Bayless. Mr. Free holds a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, a M.A. from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of Washington.

Marie Higuera supervises the Immigrant Child Advocacy Project and the Family Services Unit of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. She works with victims of human trafficking and immigrant juveniles, and also provides representation in family-based visa matters and in removal proceedings. Ms. Higuera previously worked with Seattle University1s Access to Justice Institute as the staff attorney for the Immigration Court Project and the Hague Convention Project. Prior to that, she spent seven years as an attorney with the Seattle immigration law firm Gibbs Houston Pauw. Before entering private practice, she worked with NWIRP as a volunteer, an interim staff attorney, and a Goldmark attorney. Ms. Higuera received her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law. She has volunteered in the past as an IFAP pro bono attorney.

Andrea Parra is the supervising attorney at the domestic violence unit of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, where she represents immigrant survivors of domestic violence in self-petitions, conditional residence waivers, U visas and removal proceedings. Ms. Parra has also worked as a removal and citizenship attorney at the same organization. She received her law degree from the University of Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia and obtained a Masters Degree in American Law at Boston University. She is a member of the New York Bar. In Colombia Ms. Parra worked at a Center for Socio-Legal Studies and participated as principal researcher in a number of projects, including "Sex Crimes in Santafe de Bogota", "Congress Watch", and "Human Rights Discourses of Armed Actors." In Colombia, Ms. Parra also worked with domestic violence survivors advocating for their access to legal services. While in Boston she participated in the Battered Women Advocacy Program with Northeastern University and the Boston Medical Center.

Karen Rosenberg is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Women Studies at the University of Washington. She holds a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a M.A. from the University of Washington. Ms. Rosenberg worked as a legal advocate at New Beginnings, a Seattle-based domestic violence agency, from 1996-2002. In this capacity she worked extensively with immigrant survivors of violence. She frequently lectures on issues relating to domestic violence and has designed and taught classes on women and the law at the University of Washington.

4.5 CLE credits (includes 1.75 Ethics credits). For more information regarding CLE credits in other states, contact UW CLE at 206-543-0059.

Refunds are available up to five days prior to the program. In lieu of a refund, we encourage participants to send a substitute. Please notify the UW CLE of any requests for refunds or substitutions. All cancellations are subject to a $30 handling charge.

To request accommodations for the disabled, please contactthe office of the Disability Services Office at least ten daysin advance at:(206) 543-6450 (voice); (206) 543-6452(TDD); (206) 685-7264 (FAX), or dso@u.washington.edu(E-Mail).