Isabelle Glimcher is an associate in the Litigation Department at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and a member of the VOLS Pro Bono Advocates Council, a VOLS initiative that plays an integral role in raising awareness and support for VOLS’ pro bono programs. We sat down with Isabelle to speak about her start in pro bono work, how it fits into her experience as a lawyer, and the importance of service during difficult times.
What interested you in volunteering with the VOLS Immigration Project?
My interest in migration and international human rights goes back about 15 years. One of my first jobs was working at the International Rescue Committee’s Youth Program; I worked on programming at their headquarters and taught at an afterschool program for refugee students in the South Bronx. I think that was the first time I felt helpful in the face of the profound dislocation and challenges people face. As I started studying those issues in school, I learned more about the human side of world events. More and more, we see how interconnected the major issues facing our world are, so many of which – from climate change to armed conflict to poverty – drive migration. I believe forced migration is going to be one of the biggest challenges facing our world in the next 100 years. So I want to find ways to help at a large scale and at an individual level.
How has your experience as an attorney been enriched by volunteering?
As a lawyer, I believe it’s my responsibility to use the skills and privileges I have to help people who don’t have access to the same things. On a more practical note, many of the most valuable skills I’ve learned have come from my pro bono matters, and those experiences have been so important for my growth as an attorney. At the end of the day, it’s so fulfilling to help someone’s life change for the better. That’s why I became a lawyer.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, why do you think this type of work is particularly important today?
COVID exacerbated and laid bare a lot of issues that were already there. Many people are worse off than they were before the pandemic, but we shouldn’t kid ourselves that these issues are new. Instead, we should use this as a call to action and a chance to redesign some social structures that aren’t working for society as a whole.
If you had a colleague who was on the fence about volunteering, how would you engage them to pursue volunteering with VOLS?
I would tell them there’s so much to be gained from these experiences, both on a personal level and on a practical level. The chance to be someone’s lawyer, where they are counting on you individually, is something you might not get for a while at a firm, and it yields opportunities to challenge yourself and learn new things. And I think that the fulfillment of helping someone, using your skills to change someone’s life, is so personally rewarding, but also should be expected of all of us!