Immigrant Client Facing Criminal Charges?

This video features Cory Forman, an Immigration Law attorney based in New York.

NYC “Crimmigration” Attorney Can Assist as Co-Counsel

Video Transcript:

Cory Forman: 

When you're dealing with a criminal arrest or conviction, you have to be very careful in terms of how you navigate either the criminal or immigration field.

Tom Mustin: 

How does immigration law intersect with other fields of law, and how can attorneys work together to give clients the best representation possible? We're gonna talk to New York attorney, Cory Forman about that on today's episode of Ask The Lawyer. Cory, thanks for joining us today.

Cory Forman: 

Thanks so much for having me, Tom.

Tom Mustin: 

There are a lot of great immigration attorneys in New York City and legal aid clinics that assist non-citizens with complicated paperwork. However, do all immigration attorneys handle cases involving criminal charges?

Cory Forman: 

No, and actually, I'm glad you bring that up because there's only a few of us really around the country that have that specialized knowledge, and it's very important to have both. Me, I was... Before I was an immigration attorney, I was a criminal attorney, and part of my motivation to get into immigration was having that specialized knowledge. So there are many immigration lawyers, like you said, some excellent ones, but they just don't feel comfortable taking on the cases that have that criminal component, and vice versa for that. Same thing with criminal attorneys who don't feel comfortable representing non-citizens or don't have that unique knowledge of immigration.

Tom Mustin: 

Have you seen situations where immigration attorneys, even if they're really good ones, have had problems seeing where immigration law intersects with criminal law?

Cory Forman: 

Yeah, it's a very complex area of law, and a lot of times immigration attorneys will contact us to bring us along on a case because we do have that specialized knowledge. When you're dealing with a criminal arrest or conviction, you have to be very careful in terms of how you navigate either the criminal or immigration field, because it's a whole area of law that really requires specialized knowledge in what we call crimmigration.

Tom Mustin: 

Well, let's talk about that. What are some of the consequences that can occur when there's mistakes made in some of those cases?

Cory Forman: 

Well, for instance, what seemed... What is a very minor offense in the criminal system could have significant consequences in the immigration. The example I use is a marijuana violation, especially in a time where it's being decriminalized across the states. It is still a federal criminal offense and a federal controlled substance offense. So if someone pleads guilty to a marijuana violation and they pay a fine, they could be... Even lawful permanent residents could be subject to severe immigration consequences of that. And a lot of criminal or immigration attorneys wouldn't know that unless they practice in those areas. Even more serious, but still relatively light cases like assault, misdemeanor assault cases, again, in the criminal system, you could walk away with a fine and some community service, but they could have devastating life altering consequences for non-citizens, including lawful permanent residents.

Tom Mustin: 

So how can attorneys like you protect yourself and your clients when the client's facing both criminal charges and immigration charges?

Cory Forman: 

Well, for us, we're fortunate at Cohen Forman Barone because we have in house, we handle both. So we have a knowledge of... Indepth knowledge in the criminal and the immigration fields. If there's a firm that doesn't handle both, it's always a good idea to bring on a criminal attorney if it involves an immigration removal proceeding, or if it's a non-citizen that's worried about a criminal case and how it's gonna affect their future immigration, and vice versa. If you are representing a criminal defendant who is a non-citizen and you want to be careful to protect that immigration status, you should bring on an immigration attorney to consult. Again, at Cohen Forman Barone, we're fortunate that we have knowledge in both those areas, and we have teams of lawyers in both those areas who could handle both aspects.

Tom Mustin: 

So you just talked about why you're unique, but can other immigration attorneys come to you if they have questions about their cases?

Cory Forman: 

Oh, of course, and they often do, especially here in New York. We have a reputation of being one of the top crimmigration law firms. So we work with a lot of immigration attorneys in helping them analyze criminal statutes, working on plea bargain deals that will protect their clients, working on allocutions during pleas. And again, we work with a lot of immigration attorneys in terms of advising them what the consequences of criminal conviction or arrest are.

Tom Mustin: 

Well, Cory, nice job. Always great to talk to you. We appreciate you joining us today.

 Cory Forman: 

Great to be back. Thanks for everything, Tom.

Tom Mustin: 

So that's gonna do for this episode of Ask The Lawyer. My guest has been Cory Forman. If you'd like to ask Cory questions about your situation, call the number on this video. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin for Ask The Lawyers.

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