Ban the Burnout
In this blog post, Reid Trautz, director of AILA’s Practice and Professionalism Center, highlights some key ways to reduce the risk of burnout in an incredibly busy “new normal” that immigration attorneys and their firms are facing.
Facing the Pro Bono Challenge Head On – One Perspective
Pro bono work is important. But, maybe keeping your practice afloat while following your conscience to increase your pro bono work is something you struggle with, too. Thinking outside the box of pro bono can help you figure out what YOU can do.
Hurricane Harvey Hit Us Hard but We’re Rebuilding and Helping Each Other
It’s true that natural disasters can strike anywhere, but Texas got hit with an especially devastating one with Harvey. As a proud member of the Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico AILA chapter, I wanted to share some of the efforts by our members to help in the...
One Road to Immigration Law
True confession: I did not take immigration law in law school and I took Latin as my foreign language class. AILA members, reading that, I’m sure you just groaned. But the fact was, I did not become an attorney to practice immigration law. About 20 years ago though,...
Take Action to Combat the Crisis in Post-Release Representation
Since July 2014, when the Obama Administration began detaining women and children crossing the southern border at a makeshift detention center in Artesia, New Mexico, more than 35,000 women and children from the Northern Triangle have been processed at detention...
Avoiding a Practice-Attack
Solo practitioners and small law offices know that understanding the law and knowing where to find the law is only 50% of practice. The lawyer must also be the marketer, the paralegal, the accountant, the auditor, and the customer service representative, all of which...
The Pro Bono Clinic: Nuts and Bolts
You may know that there’s a lot that goes into a pro bono clinic. But planning the AILA Annual Conference Pro Bono Clinic takes it to another level. Here are some insights on the planning and logistics of this year’s event, sharing what we learned at the AC for anyone...
Don’t Ignore the Ethics
Judge Hanen recently refused to lift his injunction blocking the implementation of the president’s expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as well as the new Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program. Many are following the case...
Message to USCIS: Support Your Local (and National) Postal Service
In a little-known practice that has been in place for a number of years, if an application is sent to any of the addresses for the Vermont Service Center by U.S. Postal Service, the postal service does not deliver it to the VSC, but rather, holds the application at a...
Ethics Rules, The Economy, and the Practice of Law
The New Jersey Supreme Court just sanctioned an Immigration Lawyerfor sharing fees with a paralegal. This is a good lesson to be reminded of, particularly in these difficult economic times. As attorneys we are bound by higher standards than regular business people in...
