What happens in Vegas doesn’t necessarily always need to stay in Vegas. Just ask Rivas & Associates project manager Brenda Montes, attorney Braxton Coil, and case manager Jessica Case.
The three Rivas & Associates team members converged in Las Vegas earlier this month to participate in the annual American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Fundamentals of Immigration Law Conference and Webcast.
“I thought the event was great,” Brenda Montes said. It was very informative, and the discussions were great. It was a lot of information to process at once, which left us pretty tired at the end of the day, but hearing suggestions and advice on the work we do from other attorneys was very helpful. I hope to be able to attend more conferences in the future, I feel like every time I learn something new that sticks, it is something that I am able to remember that much easier at my day-to-day job with Rivas & Associates.
Although the coronavirus pandemic negated many travel opportunities for professional development and continuing legal education, now that life is returning to “normalcy” outings like the one Montes, Coil and Case embarked on will become more frequent.
Rivas & Associates attorneys Lorena Rivas and Elissa Stiles recently traveled to New Orleans for the 2021 Appellate Advocacy Seminar.
“It was a great event and a fantastic learning opportunity for us,” Rivas & Associates attorney Elissa Stiles said. “I’ve been to plenty of Zoom webinars and conferences this past one-and-a-half years. Zoom is nice, but nothing replaces in-person human interaction, particularly when you are going over strategies for giving oral arguments.”
AILA Fundamentals of Immigration Law Conference and Webcast Covers Several Topics
In terms of professional development and continuing legal education, there are few opportunities better than attending an AILA event. The American Immigration Lawyers Association is a well-known organization amongst many immigration law practitioners.
Founded in 1946, the organization was “established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.”
The two-day AILA Fundamentals of Immigration Law Conference and Webcast event featured five different breakout sections daily, along with invaluable networking opportunities for conference attendees.
Some of the sessions included:
- Non-immigrant Visa Concepts, Basics, and Alphabet Soup: Don’t Gamble with Your NIVs, Keep The Fundamentals In Your Hand
- H-1B Non-Immigrant Visa Workshop: How to Hit The Jackpot
- Family-Based Immigration: Going All In (For the Green Card)
“I think my biggest takeaway was relearning through other’s experience the importance of our job,” Brenda Montes said. “Immigration work can be very complex and things are constantly changing, but the work we do is so powerful. It was so refreshing to hear from other attorneys their stories, experiences, and advice. Networking with others and creating connections across the country can provide so many opportunities for support and improvement.
“The opportunity to attend the event will help me at Rivas & associates because it was a great reminder to myself to stay open to change, to stay alert to new policies and new opportunities of relief for our clients.”