Lawyers Journal

When uprisings and violence engulfed Syria two years ago, sisters Marine and Vana were forced to make a difficult decision. Their family in Aleppo was specifically targeted by a rebel group because of their Armenian heritage and Christian religion. Many of their friends had even been killed. Leaving family members behind, the two sisters decided to flee Syria for the United States, afraid and not knowing what the future might hold.

After a few months in the U.S., the two sisters sought help for their situation through the Irish International Immigrant Center in Boston (IIIC), a nonprofit organization founded in 1989, which assists immigrants from Ireland and around the world as they integrate into American society. Knowing it would be extremely dangerous for the sisters to return to Syria, the IIIC helped them apply for temporary protected status, which had just recently been announced for Syrians.

One of the wonderful things about belonging to the Massachusetts Bar Association is the opportunity to make meaningful contributions to our profession, our system of justice and our communities.

The MBA is proud to partner with organizations dedicated to helping the less fortunate, especially at this special time of year. The MBA's Young Lawyers Division just concluded their Thanksgiving Food Drive with the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, and many families had a very special Thanksgiving due to the acts of kindness of the MBA members who donated.

Dozens of law students across the commonwealth honed their interviewing skills by participating in the Massachusetts Bar Association's Mock Interview Program this fall. First piloted in 2013 by the MBA's Law Practice Management Section and Suffolk University Law School, the program offers law students and recent graduates the opportunity to interview with an attorney in a real, but low-pressure, setting.

The MBA's Mock Interview Program was developed around a similar one that MBA member Susan Letterman White had been involved with in Pennsylvania. In addition to Suffolk, the program expanded to include four other area law schools this year: New England Law | Boston, Massachusetts School of Law, Western New England University School of Law and the University of Massachusetts School of Law.