D R A F T (NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION)
Responding to the needs of attorneys in what has become a burgeoning and evolving practice area, the Boston Bar Association today announced the launch of an Immigration Law Section, set to begin on September 1, 2010. The Section will be free for BBA members for its inaugural year.
“Immigration practitioners in Boston see a variety of clients – including vulnerable asylum seekers who have escaped great trauma and who have little resources, U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents who seek status for close family members, foreign national students who pursue studies in the Boston area and U.S. businesses seeking talent from the global marketplace,” said Anita Sharma, incoming Co-Chair of the BBA Immigration Section. Sharma is an attorney working at Political Asylum/ Immigration Representation project here in Boston, and an alum of the BBA’s Public Interest Leadership Program.
Among the specific immigration issues covered by this new section will be business immigration, family immigration, services to asylum seekers and refugees, removal defense, and immigration pro bono. The section will provide immigration lawyers with opportunities to meet with local and national experts as well as one on one mentoring.
“Immigration issues have been at the forefront of our nation in recent years, with passionate stances being taken on both sides of immigration reform and practice,” said Ellen Kief, the other incoming Co-Chair of the Immigration Law Section, and a solo practitioner focusing on immigration and family law. “We are looking forward to a dynamic year.”
