CLINIC FOR ASYLUM, REFUGEE & EMIGRANT SERVICES

The Clinic for Asylum, Refugee & Emigrant Services (CARES) at Villanova Law serves individuals who have fled severe human rights abuses in their home countries and are seeking safety and asylum protection in the United States.

Each semester, CARES students work closely with refugees and emigrants from around the world to help them secure asylum status in the United States. CARES students tackle cutting-edge issues in immigration law to represent their clients in Immigration Court proceedings and in interviews before Asylum Officers.

CARES students have represented and won asylum for refugees from countries including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Mauritania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Syria, The Ivory Coast, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

SKILLS DEVELOPED

Case Planning

Fact Investigation

Legal Research

Legal Writing

Cultural Competency

Attorney/Client Relationship Management

Teamwork Management

"As a CARES Student Attorney I managed affirmative and defensive asylum cases, worked directly with clients and developed trauma-informed lawyering skills. It was a challenging experience, but I came out with more confidence in my abilities as a lawyer. CARES provided the foundation I needed to start my career in immigration law." – Mary O'Rourke '20

CONTACT US

NEWS

Villanova Law Welcomes New Clinical Faculty Members

Beginning in fall 2023, Villanova Law welcomed Daniel Cortes, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services (CARES) and Waseem Moorad, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Intellectual Property Law Clinic. MORE...

Villanova Law Launches Caritas Clemency Clinic

In spring 2023, Villanova Law launched the Caritas Clemency Clinic, a new in-house legal clinic providing pro bono legal services to incarcerated individuals who are seeking federal compassionate release from prison. Under the guidance of Clinic Director Amanda Rogers, Villanova Law student-attorneys will gain valuable hands-on legal experience while serving as the primary advocates for their incarcerated clients. MORE...

Clinical Work Combines Accounting with Legal Knowledge

After completing his 1L year, Seth Wasserman '23 had the opportunity to combine his financial literacy background with his legal knowledge. During the summer of 2021, he worked as a student attorney in the Federal Tax Clinic, one of the in-house legal clinics at Villanova Law where students provide pro bono legal representation to low-income individuals in dispute with the IRS. MORE...

Sowing Seeds of Justice

Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law may seem an unlikely host for the Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic (FLAC), but one in ten jobs in Pennsylvania is in the agriculture industry. Villanova is located just an hour away from Kennett Square, the “mushroom capital of the world,” and a few hours’ drive from central Pennsylvania’s apple and peach orchards. In terms of mission, the fit is perfect. MORE...

Passion for Family Law Begins in Villanova Law’s Civil Justice Clinic

When Kayla Fattell ’21 began her clinical experience as a student attorney in Villanova’s Civil Justice Clinic, she had never worked with an actual client facing a legal issue, and she had certainly never represented a client in a hearing. Fast forward less than four months later, Fattell found herself successfully petitioning on behalf of her client before a judge on a life-changing immigration case. MORE...