Amara Conteh, Esq.
“In my mind ensuring access to justice means service and stewardship. I say stewardship because to ensure justice for people experiencing poverty means you are almost being a steward of human dignity by helping those who do not have the resources, and I say being of service because you are leveraging your skills and time to ensure people can experience and know dignity.”
From Washington, D.C., with love (for pro bono and ensuring access to justice).
That’s the spirit behind Volunteer Lawyers for Justice’s February 2024 Volunteer of the Month, Amara Conteh. An associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Amara’s enthusiastic embrace of volunteering her legal talent not only represents the firm’s dedicated partnership with VLJ, it demonstrates the transformative power one person can have even hundreds of miles away.
Based in Wilson Sonsini’s Washington, D.C. office, Amara’s practice encompasses a variety of antitrust matters, including civil and criminal litigation, merger reviews, and government investigations. She received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, cum laude, from American University and a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School. While in law school, Amara was an associate at the GW Journal of Energy and Environmental Law (JEEL), and prior to starting her legal education, Amara was a research associate at Cambridge Associates.
Since beginning her volunteer story with VLJ in 2021, Amara has generously volunteered over 163 hours, valued at $57,085, supporting VLJ’s New Jersey Human Trafficking Survivors Legal Assistance Program. What do those numbers mean? For a recent case Amara worked on, they mean a victim/survivor of human trafficking was granted a T-Visa and is in the process of securing legal status for their child.
Whether supporting a victim/survivor of human trafficking with VLJ or working on a landlord-tenant case in New York City, ensuring access to justice resonates with Amara, specifically, “In my mind ensuring access to justice means service and stewardship. I say stewardship because to ensure justice for people experiencing poverty means you are almost being a steward of human dignity by helping those who do not have the resources, and I say being of service because you are leveraging your skills and time to ensure people can experience and know dignity.”
A legal and pro bono powerhouse through and through, VLJ is grateful Amara is part of our extended volunteer family. Her being our February 2024 Volunteer of the Month comes as no surprise and neither does her being on the 2023 list of “Top 40 Under 40” by The National Black Lawyers (our volunteers are really the best of the best!). VLJ’s gratitude to and for Amara abounds even more because she never hesitates to encourage others to undertake pro bono, adding, “I absolutely recommend attorneys try pro bono. I think it is a great opportunity to explore your skills and expand your practice beyond your day-to-day. It is an opportunity to work with different folks and backgrounds, and it gives you an incredible opportunity to help someone.” And helped someone she has.
To Amara, VLJ’s February 2024 Volunteer of the Month, thank you for harnessing the power of pro bono to change a life!
Connect with Amara on LinkedIn