The forum included presentations by nationally prominent scholars and practitioners of immigration law, covering topics such as gender-based asylum and the impact on immigrants of the recent U.S. Supreme Court term.
The annual seminar organized by the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic at Elon Law provides law students, Elon Law alumni and members of the broader immigration law, policy and services communities of the region with expert insight into legal developments related to immigrants.
“With the ever-changing nature of immigration law, it is crucial for any immigration attorney to stay up to date on local procedures and practices as well as larger changes in policy matters,” said Allison Lukanich L’13 an attorney with Vásquez Law Firm, PLLC. “The seminar hosted by Elon Law’s Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic successfully engaged practitioners and students in these procedures and the practice of immigration law locally as well as nationally.”
Presentations at the seminar included:
- “Problem Solving with the Office of the Ombudsman: U, T, TRIG, I-730 and Asylum” – By Peggy Gleason, Esq., Senior Advisor /Assistant Chief, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman
- “The Supreme Court Term and its Impact on Immigrants” – By Lucas Guttentag, Esq., Robina Foundation Distinguished Senior Fellow in Residence and Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School and Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School
- “Demystifying Nunc Pro Tunc Asylum” – By Heather Scavone, Esq., Director of the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic and Assistant Professor of Law at Elon University School of Law
- “Provisional Adjudication of Unlawful Presence Waivers” – By Deborah Smith, Esq. Senior Attorney, Training and Legal Support, at Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Oakland, CA
- “Advanced Issues in Gender-Based Asylum” – By Morgan Weibel, Esq., Supervising Immigration Staff Attorney, Tahirih Justice Center, Baltimore, MD.
Law students and alumni of Elon Law said they appreciated the forum.
“The seminar hosted by the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic was exceptional,” said Benjamin A. Snyder L’12 an attorney with the law firm of McKinney Perry & Coalter. “Many of the speakers would be rightly considered ‘celebrities’ in the immigration law world. They provided insight and guidance on complex immigration law issues that I have already been able to use to improve my practice immensely.”
“The immigration field is constantly growing and evolving, and the speakers at the seminar provided us with great practice-related insights and summaries of key recent developments in this area of law,” said Lavanya Jagadish L’14. “Attending a seminar like this is especially useful for law students. With so many immigration attorneys in attendance, it made for an excellent networking opportunity.”
More information about the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic at Elon Law is available here.