CLINIC’s Convening is going virtual this year!

Registration opens Wednesday, Feb. 10

Now accepting applications for the Lily Gutierrez Memorial Scholarship

What is Convening?

Convening is CLINIC’s annual conference that brings together legal practitioners, advocates and nonprofit leaders from all over the country to network, learn and gain insight about the current state of immigration law. CLINIC’s Convening is the only conference that provides a comprehensive education on immigration law, program management and advocacy. We come together not only to educate and share our work in immigration, but also to celebrate the impact and contribution of immigrants through this country’s history. 

 

Workshop Tracks

Over four days, industry experts lead workshops for learners of all levels on how to navigate the United States’ complex immigration legal system. More than two dozen workshops on a variety of legal subjects, policy updates and program management tools focus on the following tracks: 

  • Humanitarian
  • Building Your Skills
  • Family
  • Selected Issues
  • Removal
  • Community Outreach & Advocacy

 

Registration Rates

Type Rate
Early Bird (CLINIC Affiliates only) $175
CLINIC Affiliates $200
Nonprofit Agency Staff $250
Government Employees $275
Law Students $275
Private Attorneys and Staff $325

 

Continuing Legal Education

Convening offers continuing legal education, or CLE, credit for attorneys who attend the conference. Attorneys barred in California are eligible to claim CLE hours; attorneys barred in other states must submit a request to their state bars. Live workshop attendance is required to obtain your CLE hours. 

 

Lily Gutierrez Memorial Scholarship

About the Scholarship

In memory of Lily Gutierrez, former CLINIC Regional Director and longtime Board Member, who devoted her life to serving migrants and newcomers, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. has created the Lily Gutierrez Memorial Fund. 

Contributions to the Lily Gutierrez Memorial Fund provide scholarships, covering the cost of registration, to the staff of CLINIC affiliates whose organizational budgets prohibit them from attending CLINIC’s Convening. 

About Lily Gutierrez

Lily Gutierrez, a native of El Paso and accredited immigration representative, was a vital figure in the Catholic Church's work with newcomers for 40 years, working at CLINIC since its inception in 1988 until 1998, and subsequently serving two terms on its board of directors from 2001 to 2007. Her legacy includes the countless individuals she helped immigrate to the United States, the families she reunited who now have made their lives in the United States because of her assistance, the foundation she laid for CLINIC’s network, the charitable immigration programs she established and the working relationships she nurtured with immigration agencies nationwide.

Lily was well-known and well-loved throughout the country. She began her career as an immigration legal services provider with the U.S. Catholic Conference. A familiar face at the ports of entry, she welcomed newly arrived immigrants processed through the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, upon their first entry through the El Paso ports.

She led the resettlement of Vietnamese refugees arriving in El Paso in the late 1970s and became a national expert in the resettlement process throughout the next three decades. She played a lead role in the refugee resettlement program in El Paso, welcoming people from Ethiopia, Cuba, China, Iraq, Iran and many other countries.

Her message was always clear: people are more important than laws; migration is a reality, especially in the U.S.-Mexico border region; and no matter their reason for migrating or immigration status, the human dignity and rights of people must be protected at all costs. CLINIC has chosen to honor Lily’s legacy by extending (in her name) the work she did so devotedly to create charitable immigration programs through the nation.

To submit an application, please fill out this form. The application period will be open from Jan. 11-29, 2021.

 

Sponsorship & Exhibiting

CLINIC Convening’s most successful sponsors and exhibitors are organizations that provide resources or services to immigration attorneys, community-based organizations, nonprofits, religious institutions or advocacy groups. Past sponsors and exhibitors have included, but are not limited to:

  • Government agencies 
  • Associations for legal professionals 
  • Consulates 
  • National religious organizations 
  • Immigrant advocacy groups 
  • Volunteer service organizations 
  • Legal research subscriptions 
  • Legal technology 
  • Translation services 
  • Visa service providers 

For questions, or to become a sponsor, please contact convening@cliniclegal.org.

 

Convening Over the Years

For questions and inquiries, please contact convening@cliniclegal.org.