February 14, 2017
Willkie associate Shaimaa Hussein was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer for her crucial role in successfully reuniting 12-year-old Iranian national, Alma Kashkooli, with her mother at JFK Airport. Alma was in a race against the clock to come to the U.S. for vital eye surgery following the temporary halt of President Trump’s Executive Order barring entry by Iranian nationals. Click here for a full description of the matter.
Shaimaa met Alma in Istanbul and accompanied her to the U.S. Just minutes before the Ninth Circuit was going to announce whether it would act on the Administration’s request to lift the stay, Alma and Shaimaa landed at JFK. There, Fahimeh – joined by her team of Willkie lawyers, a host of supporters and friends from Fordham Law (where she is a law student) and reporters from CNN, Reuters, the New York Post and other media outlets – had a joyous and tearful reunion with her daughter. The morning after the reunion at JFK, Fahimeh, Richard and Shaimaa appeared on Chris Cuomo’s CNN morning program. Click here to view the segment.
In addition to Shaimaa, the Willkie team included partners Gordon Caplan and Richard Mancino; counsel Amir Ghavi; associates Casey Donnelly, Hayley Tozeski, Matthew Dollan, Christina Perpignano and Nicole Guntner; and Henry Kennedy, William McKay and Sera Idoko of Willkie’s Managing Attorney’s Office. Additionally, over the past few weeks, dozens of Willkie lawyers have been out at NY and DC airports contributing to a huge legal effort to help immigrants in need of legal assistance.
Read "Litigator of the Week: Shaimaa Hussein of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP,"The Am Law Litigation Daily.
