Nj Ayuk Cameroonian attorney
Cameroonian-born NJ Ayuk is the managing partner of Centurion Law Group, LLC, a New Jersey-based law firm that specializes in immigration and general law. NJ Ayuk received her Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law.
Ayuk has crafted her legal career by focusing on immigrant rights and the rights of those with criminal records, who find themselves at odds with the US justice system. Her current work pertains to assisting individuals in the country legally or illegally, who are seeking asylum protection from persecution or torture within their home countries. NJ Ayuk helps these people receive a status in which they can remain lawfully and permanently in the United States through an application for asylum or withholding of removal petitions pending. She also assists individuals who are already in the US legally or illegally, who want to seek a temporary stay of deportation or to green-card issuance.
Ayuk’s work with non-citizens in need of legal assistance is particularly significant because most federal agencies that assist with immigration cases do not provide legal aid services and she has found many people throughout her career have been willing to have their cases handled by attorneys they never meet, but instead communicate with over the phone as NJ Ayuk serves as their advocate. She shares her experience helping immigrants seeking asylum and other forms of relief with students both in person and via video conferences at Rutgers University.
Ayuk is an active member of the New Jersey Bar Association and a fellow of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. In addition to practicing immigration law, she is a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel for the state of New Jersey and serves as a judge pro tempore for appellate cases. Ayuk was also nominated by Rutgers University School of Law Alumni Association to be part of their alumni Hall of Fame in 2013.
Ayuk regularly writes op-eds on issues pertaining to immigration and criminal justice reform in publications including the “Newark Star Ledger”.
In January 2014, NJ Ayuk, along with six other attorneys, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey charging that Guam allowed the U.S. military to detain Guantanamo Bay prisoners without charge, on the “unlawful basis that they threatened security and stability in Guam”.
In December 2012, NJ Ayuk was appointed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to serve as a judge pro tempore for appellate cases in Mercer County Superior Court. Along with four other lawyers at Centurion Law Group NJ Ayuk also regularly monitors legal issues affecting immigrants in New Jersey’s live-streamed court proceedings streamed on a smartphone app or website.
NJ Ayuk received a “New Jersey Law Journal” award in 2009 for her commitment to pro bono legal services.
She was also recognized by the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association for her dedication to the local community and for her outstanding service as an advocate for women’s rights. Ayuk has also been included on the “New Jersey Monthly” magazine’s list of New Jersey’s Super Lawyers in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Ayuk is a native of Douala, Cameroon. She moved to the US in 2004. Ayuk is fluent in both French and English.