By Adrianna Maldonado
On April 12, the Immigration Law Society, along with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), held a career panel. The panelists included Diana Velos Coker, Esq., Tammy Lin, Esq., Nikki Weil, Esq., and TJSL Adjunct Professor Samuel W. Bettwy, Esq. They shared their experiences in private, non-profit and solo practice of Immigration law.
Diana Vellos Coker is a partner with Larrabee Mehlman Albi Coker LLP in San Diego. Her practice focuses on business immigration law for the high-tech, pharmaceutical/biotech and health care industries.
Tammy Lin is the Immigration Attorney for Jewish Family Service (JFS) of San Diego’s Prins Asylum Program. JFS, established in 1918, is a social service agency assisting in the resettlement of refugees to the San Diego community and affiliated with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), one of the oldest international migration and resettlement agencies in the United States.
Nikki Weil runs a solo practice focused on business and family immigration matters. She handles asylum cases pro bono and consistently lobbies members of congress on civil rights issues, including immigration.
Professor Samuel W. Bettwy is an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of California, specializing in immigration law and civil litigation since 1989. He also currently teaches Immigration Law at TJSL. In addition to their practice experience, the panelists also shared how AILA has been an ongoing help during their practice. AILA has developed a student chapter and encourages law students interested in Immigration law to join.
The program will include education in Immigration law as well as a student-attorney mentorship program. For more information, log onto http://www.aila.org
