Panelists provide a thorough breakdown of managing clients with a law enforcement history, including client interviews, background checks, obtaining and analyzing criminal court records, and the categorical and modified categorical approaches. They also will cover post-conviction relief (PCR) strategies, issues with nunc pro tunc orders, and research tools for statutes and case law.

Featured Topics

• Key questions to assess a client’s criminal history, plus strategies for reluctant or confused clients
• Review of essential documents: certified judgment/sentence order, charging document, and plea/sentencing transcript
• Conducting background checks (fingerprints, FBI FOIA), considering ethics, and obtaining court records (state and federal via PACER) and law enforcement documents
• Analysis methods: the categorical approach and the modified categorical approach
• PCR best practices: discussing with clients and consulting with criminal defense counsel
• Research tools to identify the operative statute at the time of the offense: relevant BIA and circuit court precedent, and crimmigration charts by state

Faculty

Lisa Chun (DL), Chicago, IL

Mary E. Kramer, AILA Author, Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity, 11th ed., Miami, FL

Michael S. Vastine, AILA Removal Defense Section Steering Committee, Gulfport, FL
Michael S. Vastine is Assistant Dean for Clinical and Experiential Education at Stetson University College of Law. A widely published clinical educator and litigator specializing in the immigration consequences of crimes, Michael has served as AILA amicus curiae counsel in matters ranging from the BIA to the U.S. Supreme Court, on the steering committees of the AILA Federal Litigation and Removal Defense Sections, and as Chair of the South Florida Chapter. AILA awarded him with the 2013 Elmer Fried Award for Excellence in Teaching. Michael is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, Temple University Graduate School of Music, and Georgetown Law Center.

Merle D. Kahn, San Jose, CA
Merle D. Kahn is a senior consulting attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) in San Francisco, where she focuses on criminal immigration – including providing legal advice to criminal defense attorneys and immigration attorneys on the immigration consequences of pleas. At the ILRC, she organizes and presents at webinars and trainings, writes practice advisories, and updates immigration practice manuals in addition to providing legal advice to immigration and criminal defense practitioners.

CLE Credit

Eligible participants can receive up to 1.8 CLE credit hours. AILA will administer CLE credit only to individuals who register and log into the web seminar. AILA cannot verify your attendance and participation in this program unless you register directly for the web seminar and use your name to log in to participate in the program. Therefore, persons who log in or listen in on the web seminar as part of a group will not be able to obtain CLE credit.

Please note that your jurisdiction may limit the amount of distance learning credit you can earn. To view details on your jurisdiction's credit restrictions and CLE requirements, visit the CLE Center.

AILA has filed for CLE and specialized credit in all jurisdictions with mandatory CLE requirements. For details about specific approvals, contact us at cle@aila.org.

• AILA applies for accreditation upon attorneys’ request after participation for the following states: AR, DE, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MS, OR, TN and WY. Programs are typically approved.
• Florida and Rhode Island - Attorneys must apply on their own for approval of seminars in FL and RI. Programs are typically approved.
• The OnDemand Recording format does not qualify for CLE credit in the following jurisdictions: MO and PR. Please note that your jurisdiction may limit OnDemand credit based on the date of the original presentation. View the OnDemand Downloadable Expiration Chart for more details.

To receive CLE credit for the live event, attorneys must record web seminar attendance and the CLE code provided by October 1, 2026 via My CLE. CLE certificates will be available for download the day after the deadline reporting date.

Contact us at cle@aila.org or visit AILA’s Web Seminar Recordings page for more information about receiving CLE credit for a seminar recording.

AILA Membership Benefit

AILA Membership Benefit – Access to Free Seminar Recordings (CLE Credit Available for $35)
Enjoy access to free seminar recordings as an AILA Member. AILA encourages live attendance for those wishing to ask the speaker questions. CLE credit is included with purchase for live participants.

Recordings will be available approximately two weeks after the live event date. AILA members can access these seminars, with no CLE credit, for free. Recordings are CLE eligible in most jurisdictions and a $35 administration fee is required to obtain CLE credit.

Contact us at cle@aila.org or visit AILA’s Web Seminar Recordings page for more information about receiving CLE credit for a web seminar recording.