Fry & Elder intern Danya Mahjoub did not enter the University of Tulsa with aspirations of becoming an attorney. Instead, she wanted to become a doctor and received a B.S. from TU in biology. Somewhere along the way, however, Mahjoub had a change of heart and decided law school was in her future and is now a final-year TU Law student.
“I wanted to be a doctor, but my brother went to law school at TU and that interested me,” said Mahjoub a Jenks High School graduate. “I knew I wanted to help people, and Asylum Law and Procedure appealed to me.”
Fast forward a few years later and Mahjoub now finds herself working on Fry & Elder trial lawyer Lorena Rivas’ highly-regarded immigration law team where she is putting her fluent German and Arabic speaking skills to good use. She recently began assisting the firm on a new Syrian refugee case.
“Our client came to us through Mr. (Robert G) Fry and is part of a minority group in Syria,” Mahjoub said. “The case is more religious than political, which some might find a bit surprising. Asylum cases from Syria really began to interest me when I began law school. My mom is German and my dad is Syrian. We grew up speaking both languages at home and then learned English in school.”
Though possessed with a unique-skill set, Mahjoub is far from the only member of the Fry & Elder staff to be multilingual.
Fry & Elder attorneys Ruth Calvillo and Rivas, along with personnel Rosie Renteria, Esther Icu, Stephanie Garay and Amy Figueroa each speak Spanish. Fellow Fry & Elder intern Elissa Stiles speaks Portuguese, while Mahjoub possesses the unique double of being able to speak German and Arabic.
“The ability to communicate effectively with clients and in court has always been a vital skill attorneys and legal personnel need to possess,” Rivas said. “As our world becomes more interconnected and immigration law services become in greater demand, having a well-rounded, multilingual legal staff is becoming more and more paramount. Fry & Elder is a firm that has always sought to grow and diversify its ability to help clients. The number of people who are multilingual here is a direct sign of the firm embracing that culture and movement forward.”
Whether it be family law, immigration law or criminal law issues, Fry & Elder has advocated and helped clients throughout the United States and the world – much of that is due to the firm’s diversity and its staff’s ability to speak multiple languages.
The acclaimed Oklahoma law firm has experienced significant growth in the past two years, as evidenced by the firm opening offices in Oklahoma City and growing its roster of trial lawyers from five to 13. Though primarily known for its highly-regarded family law services, the firm also offers immigration law, criminal law and personal injury legal services throughout Oklahoma.
Fry & Elder has made the U.S. News & World Report’s exclusive Best Law Firms list from 2014-2017 and features some of the most decorated attorneys in the state. They include:
- Two 2018 Best Lawyers® Selections
- One of only 19 attorneys in the state to be a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
- Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year for Family Law in Tulsa 2016
- The 2016 Oklahoma Family Law Attorney of the Year by the Oklahoma Bar Association Family Law Section
- Five attorneys recognized by Super Lawyers®
- Four attorneys AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®
- Three of the past four Oklahoma Bar Association Family Law Section Chairs
- A Cherokee Nation District Court Judge
Contact Fry & Elder Tulsa or Fry & Elder Oklahoma City today to set up a personal consultation with a proven Oklahoma trial lawyer.
