March.11.2013
A litigation team is representing a very sympathetic client who is a lawful permanent resident since 1990 and who pled guilty to two serious counts, considered aggravated felonies for purposes of immigration law. In 2002, her child’s father ensnared the client in a money laundering scheme relative to narcotics from Columbia. She assisted with a few transactions, and was arrested when she delivered the currency to an undercover officer. She promptly agreed to cooperate, and provided substantial assistance to the government. She pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to launder and received a probationary sentence. It is clear that her attorney was aware that these convictions could lead to deportation but it is not clear that he understood or conveyed that these would result in automatic deportation with no relief eligibility. The client’s immigration case has been dragging out in part because the immigration judge does not appear to want to order her deported. She has extensive family here, who depend on her heavily, and an excellent employment history. Absent the aggravated felonies, she is an excellent candidate for cancellation of removal, a form of immigration relief that if granted, would allow her to remain in the US. The objective of the client’s putative federal court petition is getting the convictions vacated with a re-plea to non-aggravated felony charges.
The team consists of New York litigation associates Hanchu Chen and Matthew Pickel, and San Francisco securities litigation and regulatory enforcement managing associate Katie Stowe, supervised by New York securities and regulatory enforcement partner Richard Martin.