Kiyanoush Razaghi, Esq., is MVLS’ Volunteer of the Year! Kiyanoush Razaghi is an immigration and human rights attorney. His journey to the United States has been shaped by a lifelong commitment to justice, human dignity, and the rule of law.

Originally from Iran, Mr. Razaghi was forced to leave his home country after facing persecution by the Islamic Republic regime because of his human rights activities. After arriving in the United States in 2013, he began the challenging process of rebuilding his life in a new country—learning English, returning to school to study U.S. law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and ultimately passing the Maryland Bar Examination to become a licensed attorney.

Before coming to the United States, Mr. Razaghi practiced law in Iran and remained engaged in legal education and human rights advocacy. In the United States, he established his legal practice focusing primarily on immigration and family law, with a particular dedication to assisting individuals and families navigating complex legal challenges.

Kiyanoush Razaghi has been an MVLS volunteer since 2024 and, in FY26, accepted 14 cases and completed 295 hours for MVLS clients. As a member of our Judicare panel, Mr. Razaghi helps keep families together, stabilizing lives every day. One of his clients described their experience with him, sharing that she was afraid and he was always there for her. She shared that he always took the time to talk through possible outcomes with her and made her feel comfortable. With Mr. Razaghi’s help, she obtained full custody of her son and child support.

Jessica E. Zadjura, Esq., is MVLS’ Mentor of the Year! Jessica has been a volunteer with MVLS since 2011 and has been a steadfast member of our Judicare and family law panels ever since. In FY26, she accepted four cases herself while also mentoring many others.

This year, Jessica took on a leadership role in MVLS’ family law cohort, a training program for newer family law volunteers. For the cohort, she dedicated many hours to preparing materials and leading all three training sessions. She generously shared templates she had created for the mentees. The trainings were well executed and received excellent feedback from attendees.

One cohort attendee shared, “Jessica was phenomenal and her materials were terrific.” Through this work, Jessica made herself available to all 12 mentees who had questions. These mentees will be our next generation of Judicare volunteers. She has already signed on to be the lead trainer for the next cohort scheduled for the coming year and has also volunteered to lead an additional training on Tech Tools for Family Law Lawyers this fall!

Jaime E. Seaton, Esq., is MVLS’ Young Volunteer of the Year! Jaime is an associate with BGS Law with a background in special education and disability law. When the MVLS Special Education Project officially launched in October 2025, she immediately began accepting cases. Her experience in special education law is an immense asset to her MVLS clients. She understands the challenges that families of students with disabilities face and knows how to pursue the best possible outcomes. In the past year, she has accepted seven cases through the Special Education Project and has made a measurable difference in her clients’ lives.

In a recent case, Jaime filed a state complaint with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to address significant legal violations by a school district that prevented her client from receiving an appropriate school placement, as well as necessary academic and behavioral supports. This resulted in a successful letter of findings from MSDE requiring the school district to address its violations and order appropriate relief for the student.

Throughout the process, she communicated regularly and diligently with the client’s parent. When they finally reached a positive outcome, instead of focusing on her own accomplishments, she praised the parent for her perseverance. In an email to the parent, Jaime wrote: “I know this has been a long, exhausting, and at times discouraging journey. Through it all, you never stopped advocating for [your child], even when it would have been easier to give up. As I have often said, the pursuit of justice is not always quick, but it is always worth pursuing.”

Natalie Jean, Esq., is MVLS’ New Volunteer of the Year! Natalie Jean is an Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in the Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for the Department of General Services. Determined and committed to serving the most vulnerable and underrepresented communities, Natalie quickly made sure that her legal career included pro bono service.

She has represented clients in Baltimore City rent court on tenant-landlord disputes and assisted clients with debt collection cases. In May 2026, MVLS highlighted Natalie’s service for Volunteer Appreciation Month.

Natalie’s service doesn’t stop there. As a Haitian who speaks Haitian Creole fluently, Natalie showcased her bilingual skills in Governor Moore’s Language Access Month video project, Maryland Welcomes You, which celebrated Maryland’s diversity. While service is at the core of who Natalie is, the goal of Natalie’s work is not the service she provides to clients, but rather the impact on those clients because of it.

Natalie Jean has been taking cases with MVLS since 2025 and has accepted 14 cases in that time. During FY26, she accepted 11 of those cases and dedicated 27.5 hours to MVLS clients. Ms. Jean primarily accepts estate cases, both by volunteering at clinics and by taking full representation cases. Natalie’s work helps preserve generational wealth and eases the minds of families across Maryland.

Miles & Stockbridge is MVLS’ Law Firm of the Year! Miles & Stockbridge is an Am Law 200 law firm with more than 200 lawyers and offices across Maryland, as well as in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and New York. The firm’s lawyers help global, national, local, and emerging business clients preserve and create value by helping them solve their most challenging problems.

Miles & Stockbridge has been a major supporter of MVLS for many years, providing volunteers and board members. Last year, eight Miles & Stockbridge attorneys across four offices took on 19 pro bono cases. These cases ran the gamut from security deposit return cases and torts to estate planning services. The firm hosted two clinics with MVLS: one with corporate counsel at Under Armour and another spearheaded by Miles & Stockbridge to host an MVLS estate planning clinic in Frederick for the first time. This clinic also served clients at risk of deportation who needed standby guardianships to plan for their children, a critical service.

Additionally, Miles & Stockbridge’s pro bono coordinator serves on MVLS’ board and spearheads our volunteer relations committee, organizing the board’s efforts to recruit and retain MVLS volunteers. It is this kind of initiative that creates meaningful partnerships within MVLS to better serve the people of Maryland.

The Maryland Office of Attorney General is MVLS’ Law Firm of the Year!

The Office of the Attorney General’s Stephen H. Sachs Pro Bono Program is a voluntary initiative that enables Assistant Attorneys General and non-legal staff to provide critical legal services to underserved Marylanders while supporting the Office’s commitment to public service. Through partnerships with vetted legal service organizations, including MVLS, the Program facilitates both direct representation and brief advice clinics across a wide range of civil legal needs. Collectively, the Program demonstrates a sustained commitment to expanding access to justice while fostering professional development and public service within the Office.

In FY26, MVLS had 13 volunteers from the OAG across six offices. Additionally, the OAG conducted a very successful expungement clinic with MVLS, serving 52 clients over the course of a few hours. The increased participation of the OAG is helping Marylanders get a fresh start. The cases handled reflect a diverse portfolio of high-need legal services, including name and gender marker changes, expungements, estate planning (wills, advance directives, and deeds), uncontested divorces, guardianships, bankruptcy, and nonprofit/transactional assistance. Demonstrating his personal commitment to pro bono, Maryland’s Attorney General Anthony Brown personally attended the fall expungement clinic, where he provided assistance to a client. He is currently assisting another individual with a legal matter through MVLS.

In addition, the Program strengthened internal capacity by developing and adding multiple pro bono skills trainings to the Office’s professional development platform, created in collaboration with pro bono partners and in-house subject-matter experts, to better equip attorneys to take on pro bono matters with confidence and competence. The Program continues to identify new ways to expand volunteer opportunities for OAG attorneys and staff and to ensure that more critical legal needs are met for Marylanders who are most vulnerable, including refugees and immigrants.

SPARC Women’s Center (Sex Workers Promoting Action, Risk Reduction, and Community Mobilization) is MVLS’ Community Partner of the Year! SPARC has been partnering with MVLS since 2019 to provide on-site legal services to sex workers, survivors of human trafficking, people who use drugs, and other community members placed at increased risk of exploitation.

Founded in 2017, SPARC ensures community access to judgment-free, low-barrier, free harm reduction services tailored to the specific needs of women and gender-marginalized folks who use drugs and sell sex in Southwest Baltimore through a drop-in center, mobile outreach, and comprehensive clinical program.

A key collaborator with the MVLS Human Trafficking Prevention Project Partnership, SPARC has hosted over 40 legal clinics and community outreach days with MVLS, ensuring community members can easily access help with criminal record relief and numerous other legal issues. By providing a safe space for connection, support, and legal consultation, SPARC is a vital hub for the delivery of services in Baltimore.

Victoria Eve Kelly, Esq., is receiving MVLS’ Special Recognition for her work with our Low Income Taxpayer Clinic!

Victoria Eve Kelly, LLC focuses on tax controversies and estate planning. Ms. Kelly is a former Chair of the Legislation Committee on the Maryland State Bar Association’s Tax Council for the Taxation Law Section, a former Chair of Maryland’s Board of Individual Tax Preparers, a former member of the Maryland Comptroller’s Tax Practitioner Advisory Group, and a Certified Chapter Instructor for the National Association of Tax Professionals Maryland/DC/Delaware Chapter. Ms. Kelly was honored to receive the 2024 J. Ronald Shiff Memorial Pro Bono Award, recognizing outstanding volunteer legal representation in the field of taxation. She writes and speaks frequently on issues in tax and estates. Victoria Eve Kelly has been an MVLS volunteer since 2016 and, in that time, has accepted 28 tax controversy and estate planning cases.

In our Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, she has taken on especially difficult cases involving Innocent Spouse Relief, a complicated process often made even more difficult by circumstances involving abusive partners. These clients, often burdened with the tax debts of their own abusers, are in special need of an expert like her to help them achieve financial freedom and move forward debt-free. Victoria Eve Kelly has developed such expertise in this field that she has written a handbook for other MVLS volunteers on how to best approach these unique and challenging cases.