Robertson Law Office PLLC

12/13/2021

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"One officer, though, said he wants to see the mission end, though he won’t get his hopes up.
“It’s much easier to fund 3,500 troops to go do f**k-all in the desert than it is to pass [immigration reform].”"

For much of 2021, there were deep-seated issues with the National Guard's federally-controlled border mission.

04/08/2021

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/magazine/immigration-el-salvador.html?referringSource=articleShare

Trump tried to end a 30-year program that shielded migrants, many fleeing conditions that U.S. foreign policy helped foster. What does America owe them?

02/12/2021

Born in Philadelphia, but raised in Petersburg Virginia, Chief Judge Roger Gregory overcame many obstacles to becoming the first African American appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (“Fourth Circuit”), and then later becoming that court’s first African American Chief Judge.

His parents had very little formal education and worked in a to***co factory. However, to ensure that Chief Judge Gregory received his proper education, they took on extra hours at work so that he could excel in school. And excel he did. Attending segregated schools through the 11th grade, Chief Judge Gregory eventually made the leap to college, where he graduated summa cm laude from Virginia State University. He later attended University of Michigan for law school. Upon graduation, he went into private practice briefly in Detroit, ultimately returning to the Commonwealth as an associate at Hunton & Williams. In 1982 he formed the law firm Wilder & Gregory with L. Douglas Wilder, remaining there until his appointment to the Fourth Circuit in 2000.

The Fourth Circuit consists of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and both Carolinas. It resisted integration and was the final federal circuit with an all-white panel of jurists. Chief Judge Gregory’s appointment by President Clinton was initially stopped by North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms, who opposed diversifying the court. Clinton sidetracked Senator Helms by making a recess appointment, and Chief Judge Gregory was reappointed by then-President George W. Bush. As a result, Chief Judge Gregory is the only American in history to have been appointed by presidents of two different parties.

Chief Judge Gregory is the recipient of more honors and accolades than this space permits. His is a former president of the Old Dominion Bar Association and serves on the Board of Trustees at the University of Richmond and John Marshall Foundation, as well as the Board of Visitors for Virginia State University. He holds honorary degrees from Virginia Union, Virginia State, and Virginia Commonwealth Universities.

Today NOVABAA celebrates the trailblazing accomplishments of Chief Judge Roger Gregory.

02/11/2021

The child of a railroad worker and a school teacher, Elaine Jones broke through racial and gender barriers to become the first African American woman graduate of the University of Virginia’s School of Law. A Norfolk native, Jones attended Howard University where she graduated with honors in Political Science. She then entered the peace corps for two years before pursuing her dream of attending law school.

In 1936 the Commonwealth of Virginia passed the segregation-affirming Dovell Act. Its purpose: to prevent the integration of the Commonwealth’s schools by any means necessary. Under the Dovell Act, Virginia would pay otherwise qualified African American students to go to college in another state. This was the policy through the 1960s, and it was against this backdrop that Ms. Jones entered UVA.

Upon graduation, Ms. Jones had the opportunity to work at the nation’s premier private sector law firms. She actually accepted a position at one prior to graduation, and then realized that that wasn’t where her passion was, and later declined the offer. Her passion was in helping people and fighting injustice. She took a position at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where (with the exception of 2 years at the Dept. of Transportation) she would spend her entire career with the LDF.

Over the course of her career, Ms. Jones litigated & oversaw critically important cases on voting rights, affirmative action, the death penalty, employment discrimination and others where injustice was evident. She supervised the LDFs DC office for 14 years, and then she was elevated to Director Counsel and President of the LDF – the first woman to hold that office. She retired in 2004, and that same year she gave the commencement address to the UVA Law graduating class – a fitting bookend to her career.

Naturally, Ms. Jones has received numerous honors, to include 16 honorary doctorate degrees, as well as UVAs Distinguished Alumna Award, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law (the highest honor bestowed by UVA), the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award and many more than this space permits. Today NOVABAA salutes and celebrates Ms. Elaine Jones for her trailblazing career.

Image courtesy of Tom Cogill

02/10/2021

A titan of the Northern Virginia legal community, the Hon. Gerald Bruce Lee has been a champion of diversity for his entire career. Born in Southeast Washington, D.C., Judge Lee came from humble beginnings. Growing up, Judge Lee was accustomed to hard work. Whether it was sweeping streets and sidewalks, or picking to***co, Judge Lee did so with a sense of purpose and discipline. A recipient of the Frederick Douglas Scholarship, Judge Lee attended American University where he obtained his undergraduate degree in Communications, and then subsequently, his Juris Doctorate in law.

After law school, Judge Lee was a trial attorney for fifteen years, and was a partner at Cohen, Dunn & Sinclair prior to taking the bench. In 1992 Judge Lee was selected to be a circuit court judge in Fairfax County, the second African American ever to serve on the bench. In 1998, President Clinton nominated Judge Lee to the Federal Bench in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Lee became the first African American judge to serve in the Alexandria Division. He retired from the bench and entered private practice nearly 20 years later in 2017.

A founding member of the Northern Virginia Black Attorneys’ Association, Judge Lee has mentored - directly and indirectly - an entire generation of attorneys (and judges for that matter). A constant champion in the battle for diversity and equality, Judge Lee has always challenged his mentees to be great and to harness the “adrenaline of excellence” in all that they do.

Today NOVABAA salutes Hon. Gerald Bruce Lee for his commitment to service, and inspiration to be great.

Image courtesy of Jose Rosado.

12/05/2020

“We can actually carry out our mission for the American people again.”

12/04/2020

Honduras filed a request with the Trump administration this week for temporary protected status for its citizens in the U.S.

11/11/2020

With his defeat, Trump's immigration policy changes are now vulnerable — and Biden's team is eager to begin the process of undoing most of them.

11/05/2020

The lie at the heart of the Pham family ‘pass to freedom’

11/02/2020

Press Release: Judge Declares Unlawful and Vacates Government’s Asylum Seeker “Credible Fear” Standards November 2, 2020 Press Releases Asylum, Kiakombua vs. McAleenan, Litigation FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 2, 2020 PRESS CONTACT Henrike Dessaules, IRAP, 516.838.1269, hdessaules@refugeerigh...

10/15/2020

New records show huge ICE contracts with Lasalle Corrections, a company notorious for human rights abuses, including allegations of forced hysterectomies.