Each season Immigration Equality offices welcome interns, legal fellows, and volunteers. Beginning this week, we will be introducing you to some of them with 20 questions. Want to work with us? Find out more here.

 

Name: Lorenz Haselberger
Age: 23
School/Major/Year: Harvard Law School/JD Candidate/2012
Position: Legal Intern
Office: New York Headquarters

 

In one sentence, what do you do all day?

 

I help LGBT/H foreign nationals facing persecution in their home countries win asylum in the United States.

 

How is that going?

 

Fantastic

 

What are you hoping to accomplish while here?

 

My supervisors gave me primary responsibility to prepare the affirmative asylum application of one of our clients, so I hope that I’ll be able to win asylum for that client before the summer is out. I’m also working on a defensive asylum case that’s currently pending before an IJ. I’m writing the brief for that case, so I hope it does the trick.

 

Where are you from?

 

I spent the first years of my life in Munich, Germany. I emigrated to the United States in 1991, when I was about five years old. I grew up in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

 

Who did you root for in the World Cup?

 

I don’t really watch sports.

 

What do you like most about New York?

 

Nighttime walks with my boyfriend along the Promenade in Brooklyn

 

The least?

 

I’ve experienced a bit more homophobia here in NYC than I did in my little bubble in Cambridge, Massachusetts

 

What neighborhood are you living in?

 

Brooklyn Heights

 

Any suggestions for interns trying to live in New York?

 

Don’t waste a lot of money trying to find a place in Manhattan, Brooklyn Heights is just as nice and much cheaper.

 

What do you do in your free time?

 

I like to go rowing, hiking, snowboarding and running. I also like to read.

 

What are you currently reading?

 

Orlando, by Virginia Woolf. I’m also perusing ImEq’s fabulous Asylum Manual, which is a must-read for any attorney working on LGBT/H asylum claims.

 

Favorite TV show?

 

The Wire

 

If you had one superpower what would it be?

 

I’ve always wanted to be able to fly.

 

What's the most surprising part of your internship?

 

The amount of responsibility legal interns get here seems unusual. I was pretty surprised when I got my first case-file plopped on my desk on my second day on the job. It can be kind of intimidating at first, but it certainly forces you to learn quickly.

 

What's the hardest part?

 

Listening to horrific stories of persecution and abuse from LGBT/H clients can be pretty depressing.

 

What's your interest in immigration rights?

 

I’m gay and I’m an immigrant.

 

How did you learn about Immigration Equality?

 

My career advisor at HLS’s Office of Public Interest Advising.

 

Are you at immigration Equality just for the summer?

 

Yes.

 

To whom would you recommend an Immigration Equality internship?

 

Anyone interested in immigration law, LGBT/H rights, or both.

 

What are you planning next after your time with us?

 

I plan to take a short vacation in Virginia, return to Cambridge, and work hard in my second year of law school.