Dee Um joined the Washington Lawyers’ Committee in Fall 2024 as a Public Service Venture Fund Fellow. As part of the Workers’ Rights team, Dee represents low-wage workers facing employment discrimination, harassment, and wage theft. Her advocacy focuses on immigrant communities and formerly incarcerated individuals.
In law school, Dee interned for the Civil Division of the Public Defender Service and the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defenders in Montgomery, Alabama. She was a student attorney at Harvard Defenders, where she represented indigent clients in criminal show-cause hearings. At the Immigration and Refugee Clinic, she worked on asylum applications and wrote an appellate brief on behalf of an undocumented client facing deportation proceedings.
Prior to law school, Dee spent four years at 1951 Coffee Company, a non-profit organization that provides job training and placement services to refugees and asylum seekers. She taught barista skills to clients from over 37 different countries and mobilized a network of trusted employment partners. Dee’s experiences at 1951 Coffee Company inspired her to become a public interest lawyer.
Education:
- J.D., Harvard Law School
- B.S., University of Southern California
