Day 176: Death, Taxes, and Immigration, on Substack
As lawyers, we talk to our clients about many things other than their legal problems. As immigration lawyers, we talk to our clients a lot about how separation and distance from loved ones affects their lives. Often, these problems weigh on them as much as or more than questions about their legal status.
In the Immigration Law Clinic, students learn how to listen, how to develop legal strategies and goals that harmonize with or promote their non-legal needs, and, sometimes, how to refer clients to other professionals (like doctors or social workers) better suited to help with certain problems.
Reading letters to and from immigrants a century or more ago, I’m struck by how similar the challenges of immigration were and remain. The law has changed dramatically in 100 years, but human relationships have stayed much the same.
This week from How We Got Here, on Substack.