Ethics in the Practice of Immigration Law

Earn one and one half hours of ethics credit in this program which will examine ethical scenarios that commonly arise in the practice of U.S. immigration law. Attorneys Lindsay Curcio and Lewis Tesser will explore how to effectively represent your clients while fulfilling your ethical obligations. They will begin by discussing which federal, state, and local entities can bring disciplinary or complaint actions against attorneys practicing immigration law. Other topics to be covered include being candid to the tribunal, requesting withdrawal of representation in Immigration Court, and ethical challenges that arise when providing clients advice regarding developments in the law, preparing clients for immigration hearings, or providing advice to persons in the United States without lawful status.

Curcio and Tesser will also review how to manage issues that arise during dual representation in family-based and employment based cases, including disclosure, limiting the scope of representation, confidentiality and or lack thereof, and continuing or terminating representation if conflicts arise. Lastly, the course will discuss ethical concerns that may arise with pro bono representation of clients in immigration matters, such as limiting the scope of representation, managing expectations, competency, and, whether an offer of pro bono services can be considered attorney advertising.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand which entities can bring disciplinary actions against attorneys practicing immigration law
2. Manage issues that arise during dual representation in family-based and employment-based cases
3. Identify best practices when disseminating information about developments in immigration law via social media
4. Discuss how to ethically withdraw from representation of a client
5. Review ethical concerns that arise when providing advice to a person who does not have lawful status in the United States