In Memoriam: Henri M. Gueron

The City Bar Justice Center mourns the loss of Henri M. Gueron, who died on May 1 of Covid-19.

Following a career as a nuclear engineer and then senior Con Edison attorney, Henri volunteered for more than 20 years as a pro bono attorney with the Justice Center’s Immigrant Justice Project. In 2018, the Justice Center honored Henri with its first-ever lifetime achievement award “as an individual who exemplifies our best pro bono traditions and the highest standards of our legal profession.” He represented clients at the asylum office, in Immigration Court, and before both the Board of Immigration Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. “With clients hailing from countries as varied as the Democratic Republic of Congo to Kyrgyzstan, Colombia to Tibet, Dr. Gueron has won asylum for almost 25 individuals – a number that would be the envy of many New York City law firms. Each client has benefited from his passion, brilliance, and unparalleled commitment,” the Justice Center wrote in honoring Henri.

“Henri Gueron was an incredible volunteer for the City Bar Justice Center and our asylum clients for more than two decades,” said Lynn Kelly, Executive Director of the City Bar Justice Center. “I know he found joy and meaning in working with the Justice Center to change the trajectory of his client’s lives and the generations to follow. Rest in peace, Henri Gueron. What a pro bono hero!”

“He was a lion of an attorney,” said Jennifer Kim, Co-Director of the Immigrant Justice Project. “A deeply compassionate person, he recognized the humanity in all of our clients and did his utmost to defend their rights.  He was a uniquely wonderful person, and I’m so glad that many of us at the Justice Center had the opportunity to work with him, learn from him, and call him a friend.”

Henri Gueron with Jen Kim at the City Bar Justice Center’s 2018 Jeremy G. Epstein Awards.

Read more on Henri:

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/henri-gueron-obituary?pid=196131659

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/new-york-ny/henri-gueron-9165511

https://www.citybarjusticecenter.org/pro-bono-heroes/lifetime-achievement-henri-gueron/

https://www2.nycbar.org/email/44StreetNotes/03_05.pdf