Cravath Team Secures Parole for Incarcerated Survivor of Gender Violence

Romy Felsen-Parsons

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary will honor a Cravath team for their dedicated advocacy on behalf of “Monica”.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families will be honoring Cravath’s David Stuart and Angel Valle for their trauma-informed advocacy and commitment to successfully helping “Monica,” an incarcerated survivor of gender-based violence, to secure parole.

Parole preparation with an incarcerated survivor can facilitate incredibly meaningful moments in an attorney’s pro bono work, should they take the opportunity and put in the work to bond with their client and truly work to understand their lived experiences. Cravath’s David Stuart and Angel Valle certainly did this and more in the parole preparation they conducted with their client, “Monica,” over the course of about a year. When Monica was granted parole and released after nearly 25 years of incarceration, “Team Monica,” as she had taken to calling the pair of attorneys, drove up to meet her with supplies and to take her for her first meal outside prison in over two decades.

When Angel and David met Monica, she was incarcerated for the first-degree murder of her extremely abusive former husband. The physical abuse Monica experienced at the hands of her husband resulted in numerous hospitalizations. On one terrifying occasion, her husband put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger twice – only then did she learn that the gun had not been loaded. In addition to this severe trauma, Monica had already survived and witnessed extreme abuse from childhood and throughout her entire life. However, during her time in prison, Monica not only worked on unpacking and healing from this trauma but also consistently pushed herself to excel, taking over 20 classes and programs ranging from animal caretaking (Puppies Behind Bars) to faith-based learning (Women and the Bible) to doula training, while also working in the prison’s law library.

Needless to say, Monica was traumatized from a lifetime of violence and victimization, including at the hands of the criminal legal system, and needed significant support and patience. As her legal team, David and Angel had two main tasks: to create a compelling parole packet for Monica and to prepare her for her long-awaited appearance before the Parole Board. As mentioned in a previous post, in New York State, incarcerated individuals are not entitled to legal representation in their parole hearings. The onus falls entirely upon them to convey their remorse and rehabilitation, while simultaneously discussing a highly traumatic incident in their lives and responding to difficult questions from the Parole Board. Angel and David met with Monica to conduct mock hearings and were thrilled when they heard that her appearance before the Parole Board had been a success.

Reflecting on the experience, Angel notes, “Monica waited 25 years to tell her story to the Parole Board so it was important for her voice and perspective to drive the case.  She was not just a client but a valued member of our team, contributing legal insight she gained from being incarcerated and from working in the law library.  Since her release, Monica has remained a part of our team, visiting the Cravath office to share her experience and knowledge with the firm’s Incarcerated Women’s Initiative.”

“The Cravath team represented Monica with incredible enthusiasm and compassion. At every stage, they approached the case with both trauma-informed practice and zealous advocacy … certainly ‘Above and Beyond’ in every sense.”

Ross Kramer
Director of Sanctuary’s Incarcerated Gender Violence Survivors Initiative

Sanctuary is thrilled to honor Angel and David for their outstanding legal abilities and dedication to their client.

Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on November 2, 2022, as we honor Cravath’s outstanding pro bono work.

PURCHASE TICKETS

If you can’t join us, but would like to support Sanctuary’s work, please consider making an Above & Beyond donation here.

Romy Felsen-Parsons is Pro Bono Project Assistant at Sanctuary for Families.

Paul Weiss & Morvillo Abramowitz Team Achieve Groundbreaking Supreme Court Victory

Timothy J. Weinstein

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary will honor a Paul Weiss & Morvillo Abramowitz team for their representation of Narkis Golan, a U.S. citizen who fled Italy in 2018 with her then-two-year-old son to escape an abusive relationship with her husband.

At this year’s Above & Beyond Awards, Sanctuary for Families is honoring an extraordinary team of attorneys from Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP and Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC, who achieved a groundbreaking Supreme Court victory in their long-running representation of pro bono client Narkis Golan. 

The Paul Weiss and Morvillo teams, some of whom have now worked on this matter for more than 3 years, include Karen R. King, Kevin Grossinger, Daniel Gordon, Ariel Cohen, Chelsea L. Scism, Joshua Bussen, Rusty Feldman, Bronwyn Roantree, and Ryan McMenamin, from Morvillo; and Daniel H. Levi, Kannon K. Shanmugam, Aimee W. Brown, Matteo Godi, Sylvia Sui, Danielle J. Marryshow, and Randall W Bryer, from Paul Weiss.

Background

For four years, a team of attorneys from Paul Weiss, and later Paul Weiss and Morvillo together, have represented Ms. Golan, a U.S. citizen who fled Italy in 2018 with her then-two-year-old son to escape a physically, psychologically, and sexually abusive relationship with her husband, J. Saada. After Ms. Golan fled Italy, Mr. Saada filed a petition seeking an order to return their son to Italy pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the “Hague Convention”).

In January 2019, attorneys from Paul Weiss defended Ms. Golan in a two-week trial in the Eastern District of New York, which included laying out a chilling and irrefutable record of domestic violence by Mr. Saada. As Karen King (formerly of Paul Weiss, now of Morvillo), who has worked on Ms. Golan’s case from the very beginning, explained, the team focused on proving the “grave risk” exception to return based on the physical and psychological harm to the child from witnessing the abuse, the collateral consequences of being in a household of domestic violence, and the risk to the child if returned to Italy given Mr. Saada’s volatile and aggressive nature. 

After the trial and post-trial briefing, the district court found that the child would face a grave risk of harm if returned to Italy, but nonetheless ordered his return under then Second Circuit precedent obligating the court to “examine the full range of options that might make possible the safe return of a child.” By contrast, some other circuit courts of appeal either disfavor or do not require the same broad consideration of potential ameliorative measures.  Under the Second Circuit’s standard, the district court crafted a suite of ameliorative measures it believed would sufficiently reduce the risk to the child, largely based on promises by Mr. Saada to reform his behavior.

While disappointed in the result, Ms. Golan and her attorneys continued to fight, appealing first to the Second Circuit, where the team successfully argued that the most important ameliorative measures proffered by the district court were unenforceable undertakings without sufficient guarantees of performance. Combined with the “ample reason to doubt that Mr. Saada w[ould] comply with these conditions,” the Second Circuit found that the undertakings were insufficient to mitigate the harm faced by the child if returned to Italy, and remanded to the district court to consider the full range of remedies that might allow the return of the child safely. On remand, the district court imposed new ameliorative measures that involved forcing the parties to obtain a protective order from an Italian court, and the Second Circuit affirmed.

Supreme Court Victory

Paul Weiss and Morvillo then petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari, which was granted in December 2021, focusing on the question of whether, upon finding that return to the country of habitual residence places a child at grave risk, a district court is nonetheless required to consider ameliorative measures that would facilitate the return of the child.  In a unanimous opinion published this June, the Supreme Court found in favor of Ms. Golan, holding that a court is not “categorically required to examine all possible ameliorative measures” before denying a Hague Convention petition for return of a child where it has already found that return would expose the child to a grave risk of harm. Accordingly, the Court vacated and remanded the case, emphasizing that the district court’s decision should bear in mind that the primary goal of the Hague Convention is the safety of the child.

Aftermath of the Court’s Ruling

The Supreme Court’s decision, which overturned the standard in the Second Circuit (and the Third and Ninth Circuit, which follow the Second Circuit on this issue) for review of Hague Convention petitions for return of a child in the face of a grave risk, has had a significant impact on cases involving abuse victims fighting to retain custody. While Ms. Golan’s case remains in limbo—the district court again opted to order the child returned to Italy, despite current circumstances and new safety issues, and the case is again on appeal to the Second Circuit—Ms. Golan and her team are proud that her case has been able to help other mothers fighting to keep their children safe.

Ms. Golan’s resilience during her four year fight is a testament not only to her, but to her team of lawyers who have helped her throughout the case.  While the fight continues, the 9-0 decision of the Supreme Court should be celebrated as an important battle victory for survivors of domestic abuse.

“The entire domestic violence community was ecstatic when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its unanimous decision overturning the problematic Second Circuit precedent. The Golan decision is an incredible victory for survivors and their children fleeing the terror of domestic violence to find safety in the United States.  This Above & Beyond Team worked incredibly hard to achieve this monumental victory and I can’t thank them enough for the dedication, passion, and unparalleled lawyering that they have brought to the case.”

Nicole Fidler
Director of Sanctuary’s Pro Bono Program

Join us at our Above & Beyond Awards Ceremony on November 2, 2022, as we honor Morvillo Abramowitz & Paul Weiss’ outstanding pro bono work.

PURCHASE TICKETS

If you can’t join us, but would like to support Sanctuary’s work, please consider making an Above & Beyond donation here.

Tim J. Weinstein is an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell.

New Study Shows Benefits of Dance/Movement Programs

Sanctuary for Families

In partnership with Teachers College, Columbia University and Gibney, Sanctuary for Families recently completed the first randomized, controlled study exploring the impact of dance and movement on the mental health and well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence.

First Randomized, Controlled Trial on the Impact of Movement for Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Conducted by Gibney, Sanctuary for Families, and Teachers College, Columbia University.

VIEW PRESS RELEASE


New York, NY, August 16, 2022 – A new study, Exploring a Dance/Movement Program on Mental Health and Well-Being in Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence During a Pandemic, has shown that the participants’ symptoms of PTSD and psychological distress measurably lessened over the course of a 12-session virtual movement program. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts as well as the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, the study is the first randomized, controlled study exploring the impact of dance and movement on the mental health and well-being of survivors of intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence. It was conducted through a partnership between the New York City-based dance and social justice organization Gibney; Sanctuary for Families, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence; and Teachers College, Columbia University, a graduate school of education, health, and psychology.

Gibney’s Move to Move BeyondTM program was launched in 1999 in partnership with Sanctuary for Families. Move to Move BeyondTM is an evidence-based program that offers the transformative power of movement to survivors of intimate partner violence and their families and provides an environment for positive physical expression and community building.

“Move to Move BeyondTM was created through a thoughtful collaboration between dancers, survivors, and social workers. We set out to create a trauma-informed way to offer movement as a tool for survivors and it has been beautiful to see the work and its impact grow and evolve over time,” said Gina Gibney, Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO.

Core tenets of the program model, such as honoring choice and bodily autonomy, offer survivors somatic tools to support their healing journey:

“I really enjoyed the movement… being able to put my own words and my own feelings into movement,” said one participant in the study. “I felt like that helped me to express myself a little bit better and to be able to say what I didn’t really know how to say.”

According to renowned Harvard University trauma expert Judith L. Herman, M.D.’s work, trauma creates disconnection from self and others. Rebuilding healthy connections, therefore, is an important component of recovery. During the study’s focus group interviews, participants shared that movement was that bridge for them:

“I found myself really connecting to the music and to giving myself that time to connect… to my body, which I had disconnected from for a long time,” said one participant.

“The increase in intimate partner violence during the pandemic was widely reported,” said Dr. Allison R. Ross, Deputy Clinical Director at Sanctuary for Families. “Research continues to show that intimate partner violence has an ongoing negative impact on the wellbeing of survivors and increases the risk for development of mental health disorders that include depression, low self-esteem, psychological distress, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).”

“Our aims were to determine the feasibility of delivering a virtual dance/movement workshop program, to examine the effects of the program on symptoms of PTSD and psychological distress, to determine whether heart rate variability, a measure of the body’s stress responses, improves as a result of participating in the program, and to describe the individual and shared experiences of participants of the program,” added Dr. Carol Ewing Garber, Professor of Movement Sciences, Director, Graduate Program in Applied Physiology at the Teachers College at Columbia University.

“Through our ongoing Move to Move BeyondTM program, we have observed improvements in mental and physical health among the participants,” said Yasemin Özümerzifon, Senior Director of Community Action at Gibney. “It’s extremely rewarding to know that these programs can also be effective when conducted in a virtual format, and to have the results of this study confirm what we’ve seen in terms of the benefits to the participants.”

Findings from the study of the Move to Move BeyondTM program model suggest that dance and movement can have a meaningful and effective role in addressing trauma. These results encourage providing trauma-informed movement workshops for survivors of intimate partner violence as a complementary tool to the essential social services provided by domestic violence agencies.

STUDY OVERVIEW

In the study, 45 women ages 23–48 years were randomly assigned to a 12-session virtual creative dance/movement program or a usual care control group. Each group completed questionnaires about PTSD and mental health symptoms, general health, physical activity, and underwent a brief measurement of heart rate variability. A subset of the intervention group participated in a semi-structured focus group. The virtual format of the study launched in December 2020. Data collection took place throughout the pandemic and concluded in August 2021.

KEY FINDINGS

The results of the study showed that the survivors of intimate partner violence who participated in the virtual workshops experienced improved mood and reduced tension. They found new ways to express themselves, attune to their bodies, learn new self-care habits, and build community as they engaged in the workshops. Over the course of the study, the participants’ symptoms of PTSD and psychological distress lessened. There were no detectable changes in heart rate variability.

APPLICATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The study showed feasibility and acceptability of a movement/dance program provided in an online format during the global COVID-19 pandemic, wherein many participants were most likely experiencing additional traumatic events. Survivors enjoyed the workshops and found they felt better after participating in the program. A number of participants shared that they were integrating some of what they learned during the workshops into their daily lives. Participation resulted in improvements in some mental health symptoms and overall well-being.

With this finding, there is an opportunity to expand the framework nationally to offer access to this model of somatic healing to more survivors of intimate partner violence as a way to increase the range of resources available to them. Further, this framework may also inspire utilizing collaborative, interdisciplinary partnerships to address complex health issues, such as trauma. Implementation of this model on a larger scale and continued study of the ways that movement impacts a person’s healing journey when they experience trauma would be valuable to add to the current body of knowledge.

PROJECT TEAM & PARTNERS

Gibney

Gina Gibney, Founder, Artistic Director, and CEO
Yasemin Özümerzifon, Senior Director of Community Action
Tessa Brinza, Research & Partnerships Manager

Sanctuary for Families

Dr. Allison Ross, Deputy Clinical Director

Teachers College, Columbia University

Dr. Carol Ewing Garber, Professor of Movement Sciences. Director, Graduate Program in Applied Physiology.

Funding for Exploring a Dance/Movement Program on Mental Health and Well-Being in Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence During a Pandemic was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund.

Gibney

Founded by Gina Gibney in 1991, Gibney is a New York City-based performing arts and social action organization that taps into the vast potential of movement, creativity, and performance to effect social change and personal transformation. Gibney’s trauma-informed Move to Move Beyond MTMB™ workshop model was originally created in 1999 in partnership with Sanctuary for Families by bringing together the strengths of dancers and social workers. Dancers through years of training focus on expressing themselves using their bodies and building community using movement, and social workers hold particular expertise in providing mental health support and recovery to survivors. Hundreds of free MTMB™ workshops are offered annually to individuals and families who are on journeys to healthier futures, and a virtual model of our Move to Move BeyondTM workshops was also created in response to COVID-19 and its negative impact on survivors.

Sanctuary for Families

Sanctuary for Families is New York’s leading service provider and advocate for survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence. Every year, Sanctuary empowers thousands of adults and children to move from fear and abuse to safety and stability, transforming lives through a range of comprehensive clinical, legal, shelter, and economic empowerment services. Sanctuary’s 220 full-time staff communicate with clients in over 25 languages and provide services in 11 locations throughout New York City. Sanctuary also engages around 2,700 volunteers annually, including social work interns and nearly 1,000 pro bono lawyers. Furthermore, through education, awareness-building, and advocacy initiatives, Sanctuary educates the public about gender violence and the resources available to survivors while promoting improved policies and practices at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Teachers College, Columbia University

Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education, health, and psychology, founded in the late 19th Century. It was founded on the proposition that education alone can’t correct our society’s inequalities — that to maximize the life chances of all people, we must also support poorer communities’ physical and nutritional health and psychological wellbeing. Thus, fields such as education psychology, nursing education, nutrition education, special education, conflict resolution and spirituality and education were created at TC, and for more than a century it has prepared psychologists, movement scientists, nutritionists, health educators, speech pathologists and other professionals, as well as teachers and school leaders. The Movement Science & Education program approaches the study of movement from a multidisciplinary perspective. Its focus is on the practical applications of science and theory in the laboratory, clinic, school, and community. It has a particular focus on the promotion of physical activity in diverse populations and research about the effects of physical activity on the brain, physiological processes, physical and mental health, and overall well-being

MEDIA CONTACTS

Megan V. Sprenger
Megan.Sprenger@finnpartners.com
212.593.5889

Alli Steinberg
Alli.Steinberg@finnpartners.com
212.583.2754

Photo by Julieta Cervantes

Hogan Lovells: Sanctuary Pro Bono Partner Spotlight

Sanctuary for Families

A spotlight on Sanctuary Pro Bono Partner Hogan Lovells and their team’s fantastic work in securing asylum for a Honduran survivor escaping extreme domestic abuse and gang violence.

Sanctuary for Families’ Pro Bono Project has the honor of working with hundreds of extremely dedicated and expert pro bono attorneys per year. As part of our new Pro Bono Spotlight, we’ll be highlighting some of the great work done by Sanctuary pro bono attorneys!

*Please note that this blog contains descriptions of physical and sexual abuse that could be triggering*

Assisting an Asylum Seeker Fleeing Domestic and Gang Violence

Representing survivors of severe abuse or trafficking seeking to secure asylum can be a legally and emotionally challenging process. It is also an exhilarating process that provides a unique opportunity for pro bono teams to engage in creative lawyering, build meaningful client relationships, and secure an outcome that is life-changing for a survivor. Asylum is often the only way survivors of severe violence and exploitation can find safety and stability for themselves and their children. Sanctuary for Families is incredibly grateful to the pro bono attorneys who volunteer to help the courageous survivors seeking refuge in the United States.

Sanctuary recently had the pleasure of working with a team of talented pro bono attorneys from Hogan Lovells LLP: Jonathan Wieder, Juan Moreno, Ian Lewis-Slammon, and supervising partner Dennis Tracey. This stellar team worked hand in hand with a Honduran survivor of extreme domestic abuse and gang violence, “Serena,” who ultimately successfully secured asylum in the United States.

Serena was born and raised in Honduras, where she began dating “B,” a prominent gang member in the area. As the relationship progressed, B started to subject Serena to violent physical and sexual abuse and repeatedly threatened her life. Due to B’s gang affiliations, he enlisted several other men to stalk and harass Serena, even during a stint of imprisonment. Serena, who had grown up in an area controlled by gang violence and had witnessed multiple murders in broad daylight, and whose brother had also been murdered by a gang member, was terrified of her abuser and the very credible threats he made upon her life. Her attempts to flee to neighboring countries resulted in periods of homelessness and multiple deportations back to Honduras, where her situation grew increasingly life-threatening. Ultimately, Serena was able to enter the United States and apply for asylum with the help of Sanctuary for Families.

The Hogan Lovells team took on Serena’s case in 2020 during the Trump administration and was immediately faced with a staggering challenge: then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recently stated that domestic violence survivors and gang violence survivors would not, as a general matter, be eligible for asylum protection. Serena’s case had been potentially stalled right out of the gate.

Undeterred, the attorneys got to work and began strategizing. Instead of building Serena’s asylum claim based on her experiences of domestic violence, they framed her claim upon the discrimination and antipathy she had experienced due to her gender in Honduras, the country with the highest femicide rates in Latin America. Building this claim involved careful planning around how to acquire police records and witness testimonies from Honduras without endangering any of Serena’s family members. With the administration’s change in 2021 and the onset of Covid in 2020, the team pivoted again. By the time Serena’s final claim was presented, after countless hours of research, pulling together supporting evidence and affidavits, and direct- and cross-examination practice with Serena, the ICE attorney from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor stipulated asylum, agreeing that Serena’s claim was so strong that it did not need to be taken to a hearing.

When reflecting on their experience, Jonathan and Ian both expressed that it was a privilege to work with Serena on her case, highlighting her enormous role in its success. In a phone call, both attorneys also emphasized how critical Juan’s Spanish-speaking skills were in communicating with and building trust with the client, a monolingual Spanish speaker. Jonathan, a first-year associate when he was first staffed on the case, also credits Director of Sanctuary’s Immigration Intervention Project Pooja Asnani with her extensive expertise and for allowing the team to build a solid foundational understanding of asylum cases with which to move forward.

“At every stage in preparation for this case, I was impressed by the team’s trauma-informed approach to working with ‘Serena,’ their close attention to the fact evidence and legal arguments, and their dedication to this case and the client. I loved working with this team and would welcome any opportunity to work with them again.” -Pooja Asnani.

Hogan Lovells Partner Pieter Van Toll, who helps coordinate Hogan’s pro bono program, was thrilled with the outcome. “Peter [Bautz, who also helps coordinate Hogan’s pro bono work] and I congratulate the entire Hogan Lovells team for their excellent work winning asylum for a deserving immigrant. We are proud of the work Hogan Lovells has been doing with Sanctuary for Families on these types of asylum cases and other important issues and look forward to helping them on future matters.”

Sanctuary for Families is immeasurably grateful to our pro bono partners for their work supporting survivors. It has been a pleasure to work with this team, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with these attorneys and with Hogan Lovells in the future.

Join the team from Hogan Lovells in standing with our clients. Your gift supports Sanctuary’s life-saving work with survivors of gender violence.

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