SHELBY MCGUIRE-SMITH (SHE/HER)

STAFF ATTORNEY

Shelby McGuire-Smith joined DC Affordable Law Firm in August of 2021. She came to DCALF with a background in human rights and immigration law and a passion for social justice.

Shelby is originally from central Florida and graduated summa cum laude from Rollins College in Orlando with a B.A. in international relations and a minor in German. After college, she dedicated a year to service in AmeriCorps, where she engaged college students in social justice and community service initiatives in the greater Orlando area. Thereafter, she traveled to South Africa as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, where she spent a year teaching English to high schoolers and refugees in a township outside of Cape Town.

Shelby graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in June of 2021 with a J.D. and a Certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies. While in law school, Shelby was a Public Interest Fellow and Human Rights Associate. As such, she focused her education on gaining hands-on experience in human rights and immigration. She was a research assistant for the Georgetown Human Rights Institute and interned with Accountability Counsel and Freedom Now. As a student, she also represented asylum seekers in the Center for Applied Legal Studies Asylum Clinic and the Women in Immigration Practicum. Shelby also served as a Supervising Editor of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal. She was recognized as an Exceptional Pro Bono Pledge Honoree for completing over 200 hours of pro bono service during her law school career.