About Fatma Essam
Fatma Essam Marouf is a licensed attorney admitted to practice law in the State of California. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 2002. Her license is currently in active status. Ms. Marouf is a professor at Texas A&M University School of Law, where she serves as the founding director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic. The clinic is located at 1515 Commerce St., Fort Worth, TX 76102, and Ms. Marouf can be contacted at (817) 212-4123 or via email at fatma.marouf@law.tamu.edu.
Ms. Marouf earned her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 2002, where she graduated cum laude. During her time at Harvard, she was the Executive Editor of the Harvard Human Rights Journal, Senior Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal, and participated in various fellowships, including the Equal Justice Fellow, Chayes International Service Fellowship, Human Rights Program fellowship, and the Lewis Fellowship. Prior to law school, she completed her undergraduate education at Yale University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature in 1998, graduating magna cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She was also awarded the J. Edward Meeker Prize.
Ms. Marouf specializes in immigration law, focusing on deportation defense, asylum, and humanitarian applications. She supervises students in the Immigrant Rights Clinic, guiding them through cases involving these areas. Her practice encompasses all stages of litigation, including hearings, appeals, negotiations, and trials. She has litigated federal cases involving the constitutional and civil rights of immigrants, such as access to health care in immigration detention, abuses against detained immigrants, and prolonged detention. She has also served as a consultant to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on a report related to LGBTQIA+ immigrants in detention.
Before entering academia, Ms. Marouf practiced immigration law in Los Angeles and clerked for the Honorable Consuelo B. Marshall, then Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She also worked as an attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance. She has been a member of the California State Bar since 2002 and has been practicing law for over 22 years. She is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ms. Marouf is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has been recognized as a Bellow Scholar for her empirical research on the adjudication of immigration appeals in federal courts. She has served on the board of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and has been involved in various community initiatives, including hosting "Know Your Rights" workshops in collaboration with the Texas A&M College of Liberal Arts. She is fluent in English and Arabic, allowing her to serve a diverse community effectively.
