Tuesday, April 20, 2010

How many clients can they serve?

This question struck me the other day when I was in immigration court. I had my usual one client and was well prepared for what I wanted to do at that hearing. I could not help noticing that some attorneys had many clients for each hearing. That must mean they have good business, or their rates are inexpensive, but I wonder what kind of service their clients receive.

All too often I see attorneys immigration court question their clients when the judge asks them "what language does your client speak?" or "where does your client live?". I know this about my clients before we get to court.

I have heard horror stories about aliens who only know that they are at their final deportation hearing on the day of their hearing. I have heard stories about aliens who met their lawyer twice during their entire case, once when they paid him, and once for the final hearing. By the time I am finished with a deportation case, my clients of often had enough of me. with the assistance of my partner Krista, and my assistant Sasha, we meet continually with our deportation clients up until the final hearing date, always preparing for the final hearing. No client of mine is ever surprised on the witness stand, because they've heard all the questions before, from me. In my last case, my client had a list of 178 questions that I expected he would see that day.

I am much more concerned about quality of representation, then the quantity of my clients, and I think that is the proper attitude to have.