Advancing the justice mission of the Recognition and Accreditation Program through robust, skills-based training

For the seventh time, CLINIC is pleased to announce this court skills training opportunity for partial accredited representatives who want to qualify and apply for full accreditation. The Partial to Full Accredited Representative Initiative will guide participants through activities, webinars, and readings, and will culminate in a 5-day online court skills training (TBD) during which the participants will listen to lectures and then perform direct examination, objections, re-direct examination, closing argument and more in small groups! Faculty will provide individualized feedback after each performance.

Alumni of our 2021 class shared this feedback:

• “This is an excellent training to enhance capacity of legal service providers like Partial DOJ Reps to engage with immigration court cases.”
• “Your belief in us is critical to me feeling able to move forward towards full accreditation and representing clients in court.”
• “Thank you for allowing me to participate in this amazing program. I learned so much and appreciate all the feedback I received from each instructor.”

Prior to attending the court skills training, participants must:

• Arrange for local mentoring on immigration court practice by available attorney(s) and/or fully accredited representative(s) with experience in representing noncitizens in immigration court in order to continue building competency.
• View webinar recordings on removal defense and program considerations for engaging in removal defense available through an e-learning course online platform.
• If possible, observe a master calendar or individual hearing in immigration court and submit reflections in writing.
• Study the training materials, including a case file that we will use during the court skills training, and complete a case assessment exercise based on the case file.

Other initiative requirements:

• Signing and submitting a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, detailing the parties' responsibilities.
• Sign and submit a signed timeline of the training requirements.
• Submit a $250 training fee.
• Participate in the in-person or online court skills training. 
• Upon completion of the in-person court skills training, collect documentation towards your application for full accreditation and work with your CLINIC Field Support Coordinator, or FSC, to finalize and submit the application to DOJ’s Office of Legal Access Programs, or OLAP. CLINIC’s DOJ Recognition and Accreditation Toolkit contains a step-by-step guide to the application process. Specifically, refer to the resource ACTION PLAN for obtaining DOJ Full Accreditation.
• Agree to accept as a client a non-citizen in removal proceedings within three months after obtaining full accreditation.
• Provide CLINIC a written report on the impact of this in-depth training and full accreditation status on you professionally and on your organization’s capacity to serve your local immigrant communities. Alternatively, if you do not obtain full accreditation status or accept a removal defense case, your report should explain why you were unable to complete these requirements.

If interested in this opportunity, please:

• View the informational webinar recorded on TBD.
• Submit an application by TBD.

Email training@cliniclegal.org if you have any questions.

Please use the following chart to contact the appropriate FSC for your area if you have additional questions:

Silvana Arista-Olms	Laura Burdick	Helen Chen	Anna Gallagher	Shaila Rahman	Leya Speasmaker
ALASKA	DELAWARE	ALABAMA	CONNECTICUT	ARIZONA	TEXAS
IDAHO	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	ARKANSAS	MAINE	CALIFORNIA
ILLINOIS	FLORIDA	INDIANA	MASSACHUSETTS	COLORADO
MICHIGAN	GEORGIA	IOWA	NEW HAMPSHIRE	HAWAII
MINNESOTA	LOUISIANA	KANSAS	NEW JERSEY	NEW MEXICO
MONTANA	MARYLAND	KENTUCKY	NEW YORK	OREGON
NEVADA	MISSISSIPPI	MISSOURI	RHODE ISLAND
NORTH DAKOTA	NORTH CAROLINA	NEBRASKA	VERMONT
SOUTH DAKOTA	OHIO	OKLAHOMA
UTAH	PENNSYLVANIA	TENNESSEE
WASHINGTON	SOUTH CAROLINA	VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN		WEST VIRGINIA
WYOMING