A Tajik Lawyer in St. Louis: Spotlight on Firdavs Mirzoev

Through service in the community, insight in class, and a unique international perspective, one lawyer from Tajikistan left a lasting imprint on the St. Louis University (SLU) community.

Firdavs Mirzoev, a Legal Education and Development Program for Tajikistan fellow from Dushanbe, immersed himself in more than books during the year he spent studying at SLU’s School of Law.

In class, Mirzoev excelled. His academic advisor Constance Wagner, Professor of Law at the SLU School of Law, said one of her colleagues deemed Mirzoev one of her best students in 20 years of teaching.

But beyond academics, Mirzoev added texture to the community as the School of Law’s first Tajik student.

“We knew coming in Firdavs would be talented because he had gone through a competitive process,” Wagner said. “What we thought was outstanding about him was the way he integrated himself into the university community and made a lot of friends. He just has a global personality.”

Off campus, Mirzoev volunteered at the Interfaith Legal Services for Immigrants in St. Louis, providing free legal services to low-income immigrants. Mirzoev said he was able to help by relating to the immigrants’ needs. “The immigrants’ challenges were diverse, depending on their individual situations. But one of the challenges that every immigrant faces is the English barrier. I felt it myself sitting in class.”

Recently returned to Dushanbe, Mirzoev hopes to be part of sweeping changes currently underway in the legal system in Tajikistan. He plans to take what he learned at the SLU School of Law and apply it to commercial law.

“I think he will be a leader in his country when he goes home,” Wagner said. “We were just so happy to have the opportunity to meet him.”

The Legal Education and Development (LEAD) Fellowship Program for Tajikistan is a program of IREX and the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and is funded by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the United States Department of State.