‘Your secrets are safe with an attorney’
By law, an attorney is required to keep all communications with a client confidential and secret. This is the case even if it is only for an initial consultation, whether or not the attorney is ultimately retained.
Any attorney who would reveal such privileged or confidential information 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. (I know some people are afraid to seek an attorney’s advice, out of fear the attorney will report them to DHS. But an attorney is forbidden, by law, from doing that.)
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 State Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct, 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
These Filipinos were anxious to make a living, so as to be able to send money back home. They are sometimes the sole breadwinner of their family, 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. These people desperately need help, and have suffered enough. They have been fooled, lied to, and tricked. An attorney could possibly help these people. But people should not avoid attorneys out of fear their situation will be disclosed to DHS.
One of the greatest personal joys of any 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, the clients’ “secrets” are always safe with an attorney who is true to his calling.
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