WASHINGTON, D.C., October 26, 2016—Duane Morris LLP partner Denyse Sabagh received the second annual Duane Morris Pro Bono Leadership Award, which recognizes an attorney who exemplifies the spirit of pro bono: a selfless, longstanding and unwavering commitment to pro bono service; a leader by example, who accepts pro bono matters without fanfare; and a pro bono contributor who encourages and mentors other firm attorneys in pro bono service. Sabagh was honored with the award at Duane Morris’ annual firm meeting.
Sabagh was recognized for her pro bono aid to hundreds—if not thousands—of low-income immigrants throughout her career, including refugees, asylees, citizenship applicants, domestic violence survivors, children and many more. In addition to serving on the firm’s Pro Bono Committee since its inception, Sabagh has led the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) pro bono efforts for decades. She has averaged more than 100 pro bono hours annually since the firm began collecting data on pro bono service and has mentored and encouraged many Duane Morris attorneys in their pro bono service.
As chair of Duane Morris’ Immigration Practice Group, Sabagh has more than 30 years of experience representing individual and corporate clients for all of their immigration needs, including E, H, J, L, O, P and TN non-immigrant and EB-1, PERMs, immigrant visas, EB-5 immigrant investor visa, J-1 waivers and outbound issues. She also represents clients in I-9 audits, complex immigration cases, consular processing and immigration ramifications of criminal charges. In addition, she represents family-based clients. Sabagh is a frequently featured speaker at national, state and local conferences and in national and international media.
Sabagh is a former national president and general counsel of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and serves on its board of governors. She was the vice chair of the National Immigration Forum, the umbrella organization for organizations concerned about immigration, and serves on the boards of the American Immigration Council, the Arab American Institute and Immigrants’ List, the only pro-immigration PAC. Sabagh is a former member of the Coordinating Committee on Immigration Law of the American Bar Association, former chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Fairfax County Bar Association and former member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union National Capital Area Chapter. Human Resource Executive magazine has named Sabagh one of its “Top 20 for Immigration Law” since 2010. She has also been recognized by Chambers Global and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business from 2006 through 2016. Among her many accolades, Sabagh received the Hala Maksoud Award for Leadership in 2012 and was awarded the first Rose Bouziane Nader Award by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in June 2006—given to an Arab American who exemplifies civic courage, organizing skills and significant achievement in advancing the just society with its pursuit of happiness, creativity and foresight. In 2003 she was awarded the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for excellence in advancing the practice of immigration law.
Sabagh is a 1977 magna cum laude graduate of George Mason University Law School and a graduate of the University of Maryland.
About the Duane Morris Pro Bono Program
Duane Morris’ Pro Bono Program provides free legal services to those in our communities least able to afford them. The importance of pro bono work and volunteerism has been an integral part of Duane Morris’ culture and a backbone of our value system since the firm’s inception more than 110 years ago.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 750 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries.