Minnesota State Bar Association Spotlights Berglind Birkland’s Pro Bono Work

The Minnesota State Bar Association featured litigation counsel Berglind Halldórsdóttir Birkland in a pro bono spotlight recognizing her more than 20 years of service. Birkland discussed her work helping asylum seekers and refugees navigate the U.S. immigration system, including volunteering during the past year with the International Refugees Assistance Project, The Advocates for Human Rights, and Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid.

The feature highlighted Birkland’s work with a large cohort of Faegre Drinker lawyers and staff who urgently represented refugees in Minnesota this year. Birkland also reflected on how an undergraduate internship screening potential asylum applicants inspired her long-term commitment to pro bono immigration work. After joining Faegre Drinker’s Minneapolis office last year, she returned to work with The Advocates for Human Rights as a pro bono lawyer and to the University of Minnesota as an adjunct professor teaching International Refugee and Asylum Law.