Course Information
Course Description
Immigration attorneys often struggle with the demands of practicing in a highly complex area of law in which the stakes are extremely high for their clients. These demands are particularly difficult for those new to this area of law, who must grapple with an entirely new set of ethics-related questions: What rules govern the practice of immigration lawyers? What types of conduct are most likely to result in attorney discipline, and how does discipline occur? How can small- and solo-practitioners manage their practices a manner consistent with the relevant rules of professional responsibility?
This course, led by immigration attorney Matthew Blaisdell, will provide an overview of the various regulatory schemes governing the conduct of immigration lawyers and apply them to basic areas of litigation and practice management, with a close analysis of specific, practice-related issues that immigration attorneys should become familiar with.
Learning Objectives:
- Examine the rules to which immigration lawyers are subject within the Code of Federal Regulations and their counterparts in the ABA Model Rules, with a focus on those most relevant for immigration attorneys
- Review the disciplinary procedures and mechanisms in the Executive Office of Immigration Review and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security related to the conduct of immigration lawyers
- Explore the conflict of laws between the federal regulations and local laws of professional responsibility, and when each applies
This course originally appeared as a part of our December 2016 Bridge the Gap Event.
Credit Information
Faculty
Matthew Blaisdell
Matthew Blaisdell, Esq.
Matthew Blaisdell is an attorney Brooklyn, New York, with a full concentration in immigration law. He is the former Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National Consumer Protection and Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and is current Chair of AILA’s Consumer Protection Rapid Response Team. He frequently writes and presents on the topic of consumer protection and immigration fraud, and he has provided testimony to several cities considering legislation to protect immigrant consumers.
He also regularly provides trainings and lectures on topics related to attorney ethics, practice management, prosecutorial discretion and advocating before various government agencies, immigration legislation and policies, constitutional issues, immigration options for youth and unaccompanied minors, LGBTQ immigration issues, immigration consequences of criminal activity, humanitarian forms of relief, and non-immigrant visas.
He received his juris doctor, as well as an LL.M in environmental law, from Pace Law School, and is a graduate of the New York City Environmental Law Leadership Institute (NYCELLI).
Reviews
This was a great class
This was incredibly helpful for pro bono beginners. Thanks
Excellent presentation.
Very thorough presentation. Thank you.
Excellent overview.
Again, I find Matthew Blaisdell's presentations especially informative and interesting.
Very Good presentation
Good
complex, but through. Excellent
Very informative. Thank you.
Outstanding!
The Professor was extremely informative and covered all the questions that i had. Great course!!
Very informative; I did not realize how much more complex this area of law had become.
Interesting course!
Well-prepared and well-presented course by a speaker passionate about the topic. Clearly, immigration law is complicated, but this program reassures and inspires attorneys to consider learning about it.