Kathleen Harvey, Attorney

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Noon - 2:00 pm Central Time
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Conference ID–2871

IMMIGRATION LANDMINES --
OR HOW TO AVOID MALPRACTICE PITFALLS WITH YOUR NON-CITIZEN CLIENTS.

What is the first question you should ask your new client?

1. Did you do it?
2. Can you pay my fee?
3. Where were you born?

If you didn't answer #3 -- you and your attorney may be facing a malpractice disaster on the horizon.

Why? Because if your client is not an American citizen, either born one or naturalized, there are numerous aspects of immigration law that will impact your legal analysis and course of action. Immigration Law has been variously described as a "hideous creature," "Gordian Knot," and "more complex that the tax code." Whether your practice area is criminal, litigation, domestic, or corporate you need to know the ten top immigration myths and their accompanying malpractice landmines.

This session will provide paralegals with an overview of those landmines and will dispel common myths about immigration. Ms. Harvey will analyze scenarios where an immigration attorney should be consulted and how to select an expert. The program will also provide a useful checklist for paralegals to incorporate into intake forms for new clients, both individual and corporate.

Ms. Harvey is a solo practitioner of immigration and naturalization law in Overland Park, KS, focusing on business nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, family member immigration, adoption of non-citizen children, and political asylum issues for clients throughout the U.S. She has taught, written, and lectured on immigration law and is a 1992 graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law where she was graduated with distinction. She also has an undergraduate degree in Human Resources Management from Ottawa University, KS. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Missouri and Kansas Bar Associations, the Kansas Women Lawyers Association, and the Christian Legal Society.