E-learning Course: Immigration Legal Skills 

How and where do you find immigration laws, and once you find them, how do you use them?  Knowing how to find the law, and how to write clearly and effectively are essential parts of every immigrant advocate's job. This hands-on, four-week e-learning course will focus on building fundamental legal research and writing skills.  Through readings, webinars, and exercises, participants will learn methods for conducting legal research using primary and secondary immigration source books and the Internet.  Students will practice writing persuasive letters and declarations, and will receive substantive feedback from the instructors.  The instructors will also discuss client interview techniques and how to advocate for clients before DHS.  The course is aimed at practitioners who have had little experience with legal writing and research.

Topics include:

            Sources of Immigration Legal Authority
            How to Find Immigration Legal Authority
            Persuasive Legal Writing
            Advocating for Clients with DHS
            Client Interview Techniques

The course requires a time commitment of approximately four hours per week for each of the four weeks of the course.   This time will be spent in different activities, including reading assignments, exercises, and participation in five webinars conducted on consecutive Wednesdays, as listed above.  The course will be interactive, with opportunities for online discussion among students, and between the students and the instructors.  The instructors for this course will be CLINIC attorneys Jennie Guilfoyle and Charles Wheeler.  For questions about the course content, please contact Jennie Guilfoyle at jguilfoyle@cliniclegal.org.

Our e-learning webinars are hosted through Adobe Connect. You can listen to the webinars through your computer speakers or by plugging headphones into your computer