Course Description

CLE Eligible: Yes

CLINIC and NITA are partnering for the sixth year to offer a three-day court skills training for attorneys and fully accredited representatives who work full-time at a non-profit organization. This training will benefit immigrant rights advocates who have limited immigration court advocacy and want to establish a solid foundation in litigation skills through an intensive training experience with meaningful feedback from experienced litigators and seasoned immigration practitioners, including a retired immigration judge.

CLINIC will choose 28 participants with a maximum of four participants from the same organization. CLINIC will prioritize applicants who are based in California and work for non-profits funded by the California Department of Social Services. 

To prepare for the training, selected participants are expected to:

• View a series of recorded NITA and CLINIC videos on trial skills.
• Review training materials, including the asylum case file and practice advisories, prior to the program.
• Complete a case assessment exercise.
• Attend a 1.5 hour session on case assessment from 2-3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 17.

Selected participants should expect to spend approximately 20 hours preparing for the program in addition to actively participating in every session of the program itself. Please consider and be realistic about this time commitment — for both preparation for the program and the program itself — before applying.

CLINIC will select participants and inform applicants of their application status by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 20. If selected for this training, the applicant must complete the on-line registration, submit the $500 tuition fee to CLINIC (unless you are part of the CDSS network), and sign a certification affirming 1. full-time employment at a non-profit organization where your exclusive focus is on immigration cases, and 2. an understanding of the attendance expectations. Failure to complete these requirements by Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET will result in the selected participant forfeiting their spot in this training.