Attorney Referral Information
Attorney Heather L. Poole regularly receives referrals from family lawyers, criminal lawyers, and business lawyers, among other types of lawyers, because of her expertise in immigration law & U.S. citizenship. How can immigration foul up your case? Here a just a few examples . . .
- In the family law context, many times a divorce proceeding is held up or a client is not cooperative with an attorney’s strategy and recommended course of action because the client’s immigration status has expired and the client needs to show the right to work in a custody battle or needs to show the right to travel in & out of the U.S. or the client is too afraid of what the government or the opposing spouse could do to their immigration status if they make aggressive or certain choices in their case;
- In the criminal law context, the Supreme Court placed criminal lawyers on the liability hook for failure to inform a client of the immigration consequences of their plea and the effect of certain would be-convictions. It is more important than ever to consult a competent immigration attorney first before a plea or settlement is made, which could affect the client’s ability to obtain or keep their permanent residency (green card)- their right to stay in the U.S.;
- In the business and contracts law setting, small business owners in the middle of continuing employment verification updates often run into snags when social security numbers don’t match up and they are forced to fire a good employee or face liability themselves. Encouraging the employee to contact a competent immigration attorney right away to determine if a work permit is possible, the length of time it would take, and any other options available for the employee to legalize their status could save the business a good employee and potentially help keep the employer detached, with plausible deniability as to the legality of the immigrant’s status, and less liable when it comes to ICE proving that the employer “knowingly” hired an illegal immigrant. Employers turn to their employment lawyers for this advice who are often in a legal conflicts bind, ethically more bound with protecting the liability of the business and the owners interests, unable to focus on the employee.
- Even in the immigration law setting, immigration attorneys often run into conflicts when they start off representing a couple, then later realize when the couple is having marital problems or abuse is happening that they cannot ethically continue representation of both spouses and have to refer the immigrant’s case to another immigration attorney to avoid ethics violations. In addition, many immigration attorneys specialize in areas such as business immigration or deportation defense and do not have the working knowledge and experience to handle a particular type of case and refer to other immigration attorneys with that focus.
These are just a few examples of how immigration can derail your case or your client.
Why refer to a competent immigration lawyer instead of trying to tackle the case yourself if you are not an immigration lawyer?
Immigration law is a highly-specialized area of the law, what many believe is second only to tax law in its complexity. There is a different type of visa for nearly every letter of the alphabet and then various types of visas under those letters. The law changes on a daily basis, with new memos, regulations and court cases affecting all nuances of various sub-practice areas. The law is so complicated that even most immigration lawyers specialize in one or two key areas of immigration (business OR deportation defense OR employer compliance OR consular processing and waivers). Honestly, you will open yourself up to more liability if you try to educate yourself and screw the case up.
Why refer cases to us?
- We pay REFERRAL FEES to a referring attorney, which are based on a percentage of the fees earned in a referred case.
- Heather appreciates your referral and will be honest with your client about their options & chances before going forward if we are able to help them. If we take them on as a client, rest assured that we will take good care of your client, including preping them the entire way through the process, keeping them apprised of deadlines, developments, and ways to strengthen their case;
- Heather has over 10 years of experience in immigration law and has received numerous awards and commendations for her expertise;
- Heather has extremely high overall approval rates on cases;
- Heather regularly represents clients all over the U.S., is often jetsetting to CIS appearances outside of our homebase (CA) as well as represents clients in immigration courts at removal hearings throughout the U.S.(immigration law is all federal law so Heather can practice anywhere in the U.S.)
For more information about our Attorney referral policy or to refer a case to us, feel free to contact us at 877.HUMAN.RTS (486-2678) or 626.432.4550 (M-F 9:15am – 4:30pm PST) or email heather directly at heather@humanrightsattorney.com
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