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

For the sixth time, CLINIC’s Defending Vulnerable Populations Program and Capacity Building Section are pleased to announce this court skills training opportunity for partial accredited representatives who want to qualify and apply for full accreditation in order to represent clients in immigration court. 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 from Nov. 29 through Dec. 3 during which the participants will perform direct examination, objections, re-direct examination, closing argument and more in small groups! The Defending Vulnerable Populations Program faculty and a retired immigration judge will provide individualized feedback after each performance.

Alumni of our 2020 class shared this feedback:

• "I really cannot say enough about how beneficial this training was for me. I continue to think about the skills that were shared and I really am so grateful to have been able to take part in this program."
• "All the instructors were so great in my opinion. The presentations and plenary discussions were great and illuminating and in our small groups the instructors were both encouraging while giving excellent critique at the same time. I only have positive things to say."
• "I wish you ran this training 6 times a year and it was twice as long :)"

If interested in this opportunity, please:

• Register and join us for a live informational webinar on Aug. 4, 2021, at 2 p.m. ET (following the webinar, we will post the webinar recording on this page)
• Submit an application by Aug. 18, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. ET

Applicants will receive notification of their selection status from by Aug. 23 and, if selected for this training, your organization must 1) submit a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) detailing the parties’ responsibilities and 2) submit the $250 training fee by Sept. 1. For a complete timeline of the training requirements, please click here.

Prior to attending the court skills training, participants must:

• View webinar recordings on removal defense and program considerations for engaging in removal defense available through an e-learning course online platform.
• 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.
• 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:

• Participate in the online five-day court skills training that will be held via Zoom Nov. 29 through Dec. 3 from 12:30 to 5 p.m. ET.
• 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.

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	Minyoung Ohm	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