CHARLOTTE—The North Carolina State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization announced on December 4 that it had certified Anna Cushman, an attorney with our Battered Immigrant Project, as a specialist in immigration law.
Only 4% of North Carolina attorneys achieve this status, according to the bar. To become a specialist, an attorney must devote an average of 700 hours annually to the specialty during the prior five years, be favorably evaluated by fellow attorneys and judges, pass a written exam, attend continuing legal education seminars in the specialty, and be an active member in good standing with the bar for at least five years.
Anna joined Legal Aid as an attorney with our Battered Immigrant Project in 2019. The BIP is part of our Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault unit. BIP attorneys help immigrant survivors of domestic violence navigate the complex maze of ever-changing immigration laws.
Anna recently helped a domestic violence survivor obtain a work permit, a big step towards achieving financial independence from her abusive U.S. citizen spouse. As a result, Anna’s client is better able to fight for the custody of her minor child in her care and establish a steady employment history.
“It is a privilege to serve immigrant domestic violence survivors as they assert the right to a life free from violence,” Anna said. “I am delighted to be certified as a specialist in immigration law after years of dedication to this practice area and to my clients along the way. Given the complexity of the U.S. immigration system and the high stakes for our clients, it is critical that immigrants have access to competent, experienced counsel. I am proud to say this is precisely the kind of representation that the Battered Immigrant Project provides to our vulnerable, low-income, immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.”
Before joining Legal Aid, Anna spent six years handling immigration cases for a small immigration law firm in Greensboro. She earned her juris doctor from Campbell Law in 2012, and her bachelor’s in political science and Spanish from Wake Forest University in 2008.
She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Mecklenburg Bar Association, and a former member of the Greensboro Housing Coalition’s board of directors.