The U.S. Department of Justice announced that new measures to improve the Disciplinary Action Program against attorneys and other persons authorized to represent clients before the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board of Immigration Appeals) are being implemented effective today.
Among the measures, the following have been made available forms in Spanish to report misconduct by attorneys or legal representatives in the immigration courts.
Among the grounds considered for filing a complaint from an attorney or legal representative:
1. Excessive collection of fees
2. Failure to comply with a customer's instructions
3. Lack of communication with the client
4. Lying about qualifications, certifications or degrees, or about services they can provide.
5. Lack of competent representation for the client
A list more complete rules of professional conduct is available in English.
Any person who believes that an attorney or immigration representative behaved in a criminal or unethical manner during the course of his or her legal practice may file a complaint with the Disciplinary Board of the immigration courts.
Once the complaint is filed, it is investigated. If it has merit, action is taken against the legal representative. Among the measures that may be taken are suspension or removal of the legal representative from the immigration courts.
The Department of Justice publishes an updated list of sanctioned legal representatives. You may want to review it to make sure that the person who is representing you or who you are considering hiring to represent you in immigration court is not on the list.