Business Development Series, Part II: What In-House Counsel Needs You to Know
| Live Event Date: 01/14/2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Format | Length | CLE Eligible |
| Web Seminar | 90 min. | Yes |
Practicing business immigration law requires a sensitivity to the unique and varying needs of the companies and organizations you represent. An efficient, day-to-day, substantive practice with robust systems and adherence to protocols can lead to success; there is, however, no “one-size-fits-all” for business immigration. Understanding the unique aspects of your client is crucial, as there are often challenging (and sometimes conflicting) demands on the practitioner. In this intermediate seminar, in-house corporate contacts (speaking personally and not necessarily on behalf of their employers) will discuss what they need and expect from their outside counsel.
Featured Topics:
- Where does immigration sit: law, human resources, or somewhere else? Adapting your approach and services (as needed)
- Negotiating with and engaging the client: the request for proposal (RFP) and the engagement agreement
- Role of corporate procurement in counsel selection and retention
- Dual representation: identifying your “client” and possible conflicts of interest
- How to be a “trusted advisor” to the company and employees
- Communication and timeliness: service-level agreements (SLAs) and tracking quality of services
AILA Membership Benefit – Access to Free Seminar Recordings (CLE Credit Available for $35)
Enjoy access to free seminar recordings (from October 2020–present) as an AILA Member. AILA encourages live attendance for those wishing to ask the speaker questions. CLE credit is included with purchase for live participants.
Recordings will be available approximately two weeks after the live event date. AILA members can access these seminars, with no CLE credit, for free. Recordings are CLE eligible in most jurisdictions and an administration fee is required to obtain CLE credit.
Contact us at cle@aila.org or visit AILA’s Web Seminar Recordings page for more information about receiving CLE credit for a web seminar recording.
Eligible participants can receive up to 1.8 CLE credit hours. AILA will administer CLE credit only to individuals who register and log into the web seminar. AILA cannot verify your attendance and participation in this program unless you register directly for the web seminar and use your name to log in to participate in the program. Therefore, persons who log in or listen in on the web seminar as part of a group will not be able to obtain CLE credit.
Please note that your jurisdiction may limit the amount of distance learning credit you can earn. To view details on your jurisdiction's credit restrictions and CLE requirements, visit the CLE Center.
AILA has filed for CLE and specialized credit in all jurisdictions with mandatory CLE requirements. For details about specific approvals, contact us at cle@aila.org.
- AILA applies for accreditation upon attorneys’ request after participation for the following states: AR, DE, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MS, OR, TN and WY. Programs are typically approved.
- Florida and Rhode Island - Attorneys must apply on their own for approval of seminars in FL and RI. Programs are typically approved.
- The OnDemand Recording format does not qualify for CLE credit in the following jurisdictions: MO and PR. Please note that your jurisdiction may limit OnDemand credit based on the date of the original presentation. View the OnDemand Downloadable Expiration Chart for more details.
To receive CLE credit for the live event, attorneys must record web seminar attendance and the CLE code provided within one week of the web seminar date via webCLE.
Contact us at cle@aila.org or visit AILA’s Web Seminar Recordings page for more information about receiving CLE credit for a seminar recording.
Maria Mejia-Opaciuch (DL), Marysville, OH
Maria Mejia-Opaciuch, a member of the NY bar since 1988, has 36 years’ experience providing comprehensive counseling services in U.S. immigration and nationality law for businesses, families, and individuals. Since May 2022, she has been the Senior Counsel, Immigration for American Honda in Marysville, Ohio, managing a comprehensive Immigration Sponsorship program, including the NIV, PERM and IV processes, while also supporting the transfer of U.S. associates to Japan and Japanese associates to the US on the E-2 visa. She also manages the I-9 and E-Verify program for all Honda work locations.
Fabricio Lopez, Burbank, CA
G. Fabricio Lopez is Assistant General Counsel, Immigration/Minors at The Walt Disney Company; Adjunct Professor of Business Immigration Law at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; and Instructor of U.S. Business Immigration Law at University of California, Los Angeles Extension (UCLA Extension). He specializes in business-based U.S. Immigration and Child Labor Law.
Amanda A. Thompson, West Lafayette, IN
Amanda Thompson has spent roughly half of her career within institutions of higher education and research, and the other half in private practice, focusing on employment-based immigration. She currently serves as the Director, International Scholar Services, for Purdue University. Prior to this, she worked in a comparable role for Fermilab, where she also served as the E-Verify and I-9 administrator. At Purdue, her office is responsible for all “Purdue-sponsored” employment-based immigration matters, including Purdue’s J-1 designation, all work visas and most permanent residence processes, and all assignments of cases to outside immigration counsel. She partners with HR, Office of Legal Counsel, the Provost’s Office and others on immigration-related policies, interpretations and implementations.
Anita Finn, Mobility & Immigration Specialist, Garmin International, Olathe, KS
Anita Finn has been the Mobility and Immigration Specialist at Garmin International for 8 years. She supports new hire transfers, Expats assignments, foreign national hires, I-9 protocol and the day-to-day responsibilities that go along with mobility and immigration. Prior to being the Mobility and Immigration Specialist, Anita was a recruiter for many years for Garmin.