‘Your secrets are safe with an attorney’

There are a lot of rumors and misinformation going around that attorneys turn their clients in to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Sometimes my office receives telephone calls from people who desperately want to seek legal advice, but are afraid to make appointments. They are worried because they heard that attorneys report clients to the USCIS.

By law, an attorney is required to keep his communications with a client confidential and secret, even if it is only for a legal consultation, and whether or not the attorney is ultimately retained.

Any attorney, therefore, who would reveal such privileged information (or threaten to do so), would be violating the State Bar rules. If a client places his trust in an attorney, that attorney should never betray that trust. An attorney should never disclose a client’s legal problems to anyone, without the client’s express permission.

However, be aware that so-called immigration consultants are not covered by the rules of confidentiality. In fact, anyone can call themselves a "consultant", without having any knowledge or experience in immigration laws, and they are not bound by the Rules of Professional Conduct by the State Bar, as attorneys are.

Furthermore, since consultants are not licensed to practice law (as attorneys are), there is no attorney-client privilege, and such information you disclosed to that consultant may not be considered confidential.

In the course of my immigration practice, I have seen the anguish and the tears of people who are frustrated, desperate, and scared, because of their immigration situation. Many of these people sold their life’s most precious belongings back home in the Philippines, just to reach the "Land of Opportunity".

These Filipinos were anxious to make a living, so as to be able to send money back home. They are sometimes their family’s sole breadwinners, and the family’s survival rests on their shoulders. Many, out of desperation, will do anything to get a work permit, just so they can get a job and earn a few dollars that they immediately send back home.

Sometimes these poor people are tricked by immigration consultants or fake employers, or assured by "friends", to file for immigration benefits for which they are not entitled (i.e. political asylum, CSS/LULAC). Out of sheer desperation, they hand over their life savings, hoping and trusting that "some day" things will eventually work out.

These poor people have endured the pain and suffering of separation from their families, all for the sake of making a better life for them back home. It is simply wrong for other people to take advantage of them. These people desperately need help, and have suffered enough. They have been fooled, lied to, and tricked. An attorney should be there to help these people – not cause them any additional worries, fears, or anxiety.

One of the greatest personal joys of an attorney is when he is able to help his clients solve their immigration problems, help them be reunited with their family, and help them be able to work at a job equal to their level of education and experience. These people have trusted the attorney, and I think it is very important for all of us in the legal profession to never betray their trust. Simply put, a clients’ "secrets" are always safe with an attorney who is true to his calling

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WEBSITE: www.gurfinkel.com

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Four offices to serve you:

LOS ANGELES: 219 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, California, 91203 • Telephone: (818) 543-5800

SAN FRANCISCO: 601 Gateway Boulevard, Suite 460, South San Francisco, CA 94080

Telephone: (650) 827-7888

NEW YORK: 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 2101, New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 808-0300

PHILIPPINES: Heart Tower, Unit 701, 108 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati, Philippines 1227

Telephone: 894-0258 or 894-0239