Greg Boos and I participated on speaker panels last week at the 2012 American Immigration Lawyer Association’s Northwest Regional Immigration Law Conference in Seattle, Washington.
The conference was a success, by all reports, with nearly 300 attorneys in attendance, and two full days of immigration law panels. The conference was held at Seattle University’s School of Law. As a condition of practicing law, lawyers are required to regularly take continuing legal education courses, with a required minimum in ethics.
Greg’s panel was entitled “Border Issues and Solutions,” and featured Greg, Diane Butler of Lane Powell, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Supervisors Shari Barnes and Jonni Galarza. The panel discussed such things as expedited removal, the Beyond The Border agreement between the U.S. and Canada, and possible coming changes to entry/exit documentation (I-94s).
My panel was entitled “Ethical Issues In Immigration Practice.” My co-panelist was Steve Crossland, Washington State Bar President. Steve and I discussed a number of hot topics in ethics for immigration lawyers, including disclosures regarding dual representation; limited representation agreements and fee agreements; a licensing fee referendum; and a proposed change to the Rules of Professional Responsibility.