Jennifer L. ColyerSpecial Counsel Jennifer L. Colyer is special counsel in the litigation department, and resident pro bono counsel in the New York office. She joined the Firm in 1993 and became special counsel in 2000. As pro bono counsel, Ms. Colyer is responsible for directing the overall pro bono program and supervising individual pro bono projects handled by other attorneys at the Firm. Ms. Colyer specializes in immigration and criminal defense and LGBT rights cases. Most recently, she was counsel to the attorney for the child in the landmark case of Debra H. v. Janice R., in which the New York Court of Appeals gave effect to a lesbian couple's Vermont civil union to find that the child had two legal parents. On the immigration front, Ms. Colyer has extensive experience in asylum, VAWA, U-Visa and cancellation of removal cases and has won asylum based on political opinion, sexual orientation, HIV status and other social group claims. She also handles family-based immigration petitions. For the past ten years, Ms. Colyer has defended individuals facing a broad array of criminal charges in federal court. |
