Page 94 - NYLJ Professional Excellence 2021

INNOVATION AWARDS

more than 430 and all from a work-from- So instead of just throwing every
home environment. idea you have out there, you’re offer-
We put our heads down, did our jobs, ing up critical changes that are inspired
met every deadline. It was pure survival by what adds the most value for your
mode, but we pushed through know- clients and your team. It’s a great way
ing that our clients have been waiting to generate ideas that are innovative
several years to file these applications. and practical—that stand a chance of
We were motivated to help them realize being executed.
their goals.

What, if any, obstacles stood in the
way of your innovation, and how did
you overcome them? As we began to
develop an integrated process and tech-
Isha Atassi nology for the client, there were basic
technical problems, of course. This
included getting the different data types
PARTNER AT FRAGOMEN, DEL REY,
from the collaborators to ‘talk’ with one
BERNSEN & LOEWY
another—matching up date formats, for
instance, and labeling corresponding
Q&A What are some of your pieces of data in a uniform way.
More significantly, I think we’re help-
proudest achievements
from the past year? This year? My ing our client adjust culturally.
greatest achievement would be sur- Financial institutions have stringent
vival.Immigration lawyers like me and control requirements and expecta-
my colleagues at Fragomen were hit tions. The new data-sharing platform Lisa Bebchick
hard by the pandemic because inter- is all about easing communication and
national travel and immigration suf- cooperation; however, building in con- PARTNER AT
fered profound and incessant turmoil. trol and review capabilities that make a
Presidential proclamations and travel big institution comfortable might slow ROPES & GRAY
bans with little advance notice made it things down. So we’ve been using analy-
difficult to navigate an already complex sis and other tools to help them squeeze Q&A What are some of your
landscape. Each change required a fresh more efficiency from the process. proudest achievements
examination and re-calibration of our from the past year? I am most proud
efforts—how do we protect our clients’ What is the best advice for younger that we stayed connected over the past
employees abroad? How do we get them attorneys looking to advance their own year and that our women attorneys con-
home? Is there any creative way to bring innovative ideas or visions? Review your tinued to pursue growth opportunities
them back, or do they remain abroad? If work regularly and comprehensively. and leverage the training and support
they remain, how do we set up remote Each year, I look back and ask myself: that we offer at the Women’s Forum. Our
work arrangements and all the attendant “What could I have done differently? goal this past year was to continue our
practical needs? What can I do better this year? How do I programming for our women attorneys
The last 12 months have been the change the way I experience my job and despite the remote working environ-
most chaotic year for immigration my profession—how do I shake things ment and we were largely able to do
law in my memory—maybe ever. And up, push further, keep from becoming that without skipping a beat given the
to complicate matters, the volume of complacent?” strong foundation that we had in place.
work was unprecedented as well. Late This annual process ties innovation We have been constantly evolving our
last year, the government advanced the to the actual circumstances of your job. programming each year so when the
green card filing dates, which resulted People often think about innovation as pandemic hit, it was fairly easy to pivot
in a significant number of individuals inspiration—something that just hits to the virtual environment. Our use of
becoming eligible to file their applica- you out of the blue. But I think that it technology, including our internal social
tions. In a normal quarter, we represent comes from knowing your work and your media platform, WF Connect, helped us
employees in a dozen of these requests; profession intimately, in all its practi- remain connected, and we sought feed-
in the last quarter of 2020, we handled cal detail. back from our women attorneys at all

92 October 2021 | Photos: Fragomen; Ropes & Gray