About Me

Mariami Zhorzholiani is a founder of the Foreign Trained Lawyers Association, which is a non-profit organization that aims at ensuring more access to pathways into law education for foreign-trained lawyers in the US. She believes very passionately that neither location nor the absence of information should limit talent, skills, and ambitions.

Mariami was born in Georgia, and she obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree with distinction at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University before pursuing her legal studies in the United States of America. She is also a holder of an LL.M. degree from Penn State University, and her field of specialization includes Corporate Law, Immigration and Migration, and Public Interest Law. Mariami’s academic background reveals her profound knowledge of civil and common laws, together with ethical values within the legal profession.

Her viewpoint is influenced not only through her academic performance, but through personal experience of interacting with the legal system of the United States. Currently, she works as a Law Clerk in Brooklyn, NY, where she is engaged in working on immigration cases and assisting clients’ representation in the legal process. In addition, she is a commissioned Notary Public for the State of New York, authorized to perform official acts within the limits of the law.

Apart from her conventional training in law, Mariami has undertaken further courses at such reputable institutions as Harvard Law School (CopyrightX), University of Pennsylvania, and World Intellectual Property Organization.

The Foreign Trained Lawyers Association was formed in recognition of the consistent problem that exists: Internationally trained attorneys find themselves in a dilemma while trying to cope with LL.M. courses, credentials assessments, license examinations, and other legal obligations. These challenges do not arise from inadequate skills but rather from lack of organized information resources.

Instead of leaving this problem unresolved, Mariami created a website dedicated to solving the problem.
The organization utilizes a variety of methods to assist with the process of becoming an attorney in the United States. This includes educational material, support from community groups, and an expanding global network. The purpose of the association is exclusively educational; it does not provide any form of legal services but helps individuals to achieve their goals through proper education and structure.

Mariami created the Association with an enduring goal: to create a sustainable system that allows internationally trained lawyers to participate in their professional growth. Mariami sees that the future of the legal field lies in its ability to include more voices from different cultures and backgrounds, and that this is crucial in today’s interdependent world.

The work that she does shows her dedication not only to her own success but to creating opportunities for other internationally trained lawyers to participate in the American legal field.