This webinar will explore ethical issues in representing U visa and VAWA family members by discussing situations where the interests of the derivatives may diverge from the principal, or where victims of the same crime or abuse may have conflicting interests. The panelists will help attendees spot potential conflicts and offer practice tips for how to avoid and address issues throughout the often-long duration of representation, and when deciding to reopen cases at subsequent stages like adjustment, I-929 petitions, and consular processing.
This webinar qualifies for 1.5 legal ethics MCLE credits.
Presenters
Alison Kamhi, Supervising Attorney - ILRC
Alison Kamhi is a Supervising Attorney based in San Francisco. Alison is a dedicated immigrant advocate who brings significant experience in immigration law to the ILRC. Alison provides technical assistance through the ILRC’s Attorney of the Day program on a wide range of immigration issues, including immigration options for youth, consequences of criminal convictions for immigration purposes, removal defense strategy, and eligibility for immigration relief, including family-based immigration, U visas, VAWA, DACA, cancellation of removal, asylum, and naturalization. She leads ILRC’s project on driver’s licenses for immigrants, and also conducts frequent in-person and webinar trainings on naturalization, family-based immigration, U visas, FOIA requests, and parole in immigration law.
She has co-authored a number of publications, including The U Visa: Obtaining Status for Immigrant Victims of Crimes (ILRC); Parole in Immigration Law (ILRC); FOIA Requests and Other Background Checks (ILRC); Hardship in Immigration Law (ILRC); Naturalization and U.S. Citizenship (ILRC); Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and Other Immigration Options for Children and Youth (ILRC); A Guide for Immigrant Advocates (ILRC); and Most In Need But Least Served: Legal and Practical Barriers to Special Immigrant Juvenile Status for Federally Detained Minors, 50 Fam. Ct. Rev. 4 (2012).
Prior to the ILRC, Alison worked as a Clinical Teaching Fellow at the Stanford Law School Immigrants' Rights Clinic, where she supervised removal defense cases and immigrants' rights advocacy projects. Before Stanford, she represented abandoned and abused immigrant youth as a Skadden Fellow at Bay Area Legal Aid and at Catholic Charities Community Services in New York. While in law school, Alison worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, and Greater Boston Legal Services Immigration Unit. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Julia Gibbons in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Alison received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. from Stanford University. Alison is admitted to the bar in California and New York. She speaks German and Spanish.
Jessica Farb, Directing Attorney - ICWC San Francisco
Jess joined ICWC’s San Francisco office in 2011. She got her B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law in DC. She began U-vangelizing in 2003 during her AmeriCorps VISTA year at Casa Cornelia Law Center in San Diego. Jess represents a diverse group of U visa and VAWA clients, provides national trainings on the U visa, regularly appears on Univision, and is a co-author of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s U Visa Manual. She created and oversees the ICWC U Visa Zoho Database, a national and live web-based platform where over 1000 users share information on changing practices related to the U visa.
Brooke Parr, Directing Attorney – ICWC San Diego
Brooke joined ICWC in 2011, helping to introduce ICWC services to the San Diego community. She represents clients in VAWA, U Visa, Adjustment of Status, guardianship, SIJS, and DACA cases. Brooke often provides trainings to local law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations on U Visa and VAWA. Prior to ICWC, Brooke worked at Casa Cornelia Law Center (CCLC) in San Diego, devoting her time to providing free legal services to indigent immigrants. During her time with CCLC, Brooke held various positions, including Pro Bono Program Director and Domestic Violence Program Director. Brooke received her J.D. degree from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Spanish. During her time at USC, Brooke worked as an intern at Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles and participated in USC’s Children’s Rights Clinic. She gained experience assisting families who were adopting children who had been abused, abandoned, or neglected and assisted attorneys with guardianship and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases. She also served as Notes Editor for her honors journal, Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice (RLSJ) and authored a publication for RLSJ, regarding the benefits received by families adopting children from the foster care system who have special needs. Brooke is admitted to the California bar and is fluent in Spanish.