Attorney Recommendation

[RunningWithScissors]

Now that *most* of my process is completed, I'd like to offer two recommendations, one positive and one negative. These are my opinions, your mileage may vary, objects in mirror are closer than they appear, etc etc etc.

 

Positive Recommendation:

For an immigration attorney, I highly recommend a gentleman named Bart Klein, located in Seattle WA. Bart is very knowledgeable, easy to work with, competent, fast, and also just generally a nice person. His staff is friendly and he doesn't require you to make an appointment to come to his office. At last count I think he said he'd done 20,000+ immigration cases. Several of my friends are also working with him and have nothing but good things to say about him. "Highly Recommended".

 

Bart Klein

605 1st Ave Suite 500

Seattle WA 98104

TEL: 206-624-3787

FAX: 206-624-6371

 

 

Negative Recommendation:

I cannot in good faith recommend Lisa Ellis, of Ellis, Li, & McKinstry. In my opinion she did not serve me well, does not know family immigration law well, is unfamiliar with the process of immigration as it relates to the real world, and her paralegal, "Yvonne MacGregor", is surly, condescending, and was generally unpleasant to work with. Yvonne made mistake after mistake after mistake in my paperwork; when the mistakes were pointed out to her she became very upset, said she was "offended" by my "uncooperative attitude", and then refused to work with me anymore.

 

Here's one example of what I consider (in my humble opinion) to be her poor advice: Ms Ellis advised me to wait for six months before filing any paperwork. I understand her reasoning as she explained it, but as it turns out, she was full of crap. NO ONE waits 6 months, and I mean NO ONE. I've since spoken with dozens of people and numerous attorneys and they ALL uniformly scream "WHAT?!?!" when I mention Lisa Ellis' insistence on waiting 6 months before filing.

 

Another example: The paperwork that Ms Ellis and Yvonne MacGregor provided to me had quite a few serious, potentially "fatal" mistakes, and contained a lot of extraneous "junk" (cover letters and other crap) that my subsequent attorney removed, terming them 'needless' and 'distracting'.

 

More importantly, the paperwork DIDN'T contain some items that should have been included. Turning the paperwork in as provided by Ms Ellis would, in my humble opinion, almost certainly have resulted in big problems and long delays.

 

In my opinion, Lisa Ellis of Ellis, Li, & McKinstry charges a premium for her services but delivers very little. I would never EVER recommend Lisa Ellis to anyone for any immigration matter. In my opinion, equally competent (or more competent) representation can be had for much less than what she charges.

 

And yes, I keep saying "in my opinion", because we all know that some lawyers have a pathological need to sue anyone who utters simple declarative sentences about them that might touch on their shortcomings. Now, we all know that all attorneys are perfect, God-like beings who walk on water and can heal injured swans just by touching them, but (unbelievable as it may seem), some of them aren't good at what they do, just like auto mechanics, plumbers, and house painters (try to contain your shock, kids!).

[Smitty]

Being somewhat new to this, what did you need a stateside attorney for?

[RunningWithScissors]

Being somewhat new to this, what did you need a stateside attorney for?

I simply wanted to have the best chance at making sure everything was done correctly. If you can afford an attorney I'd recommend retaining one, if not you can certainly do it yourself. An attorney isn't mandatory by any means.

[ed and ying]

Per the OP's experience, if you retain a attorney, you better be ready to double check them, which means you do the the same work as them. In that case why would you hire a attorney ? This is not difficult. No one will look after your own situation better than yourself !! I think you will find most folks will say it is best to do it yourself unless you have some special situation.

[RunningWithScissors]

Per the OP's experience, if you retain a attorney, you better be ready to double check them, which means you do the the same work as them. In that case why would you hire a attorney ? This is not difficult. No one will look after your own situation better than yourself !! I think you will find most folks will say it is best to do it yourself unless you have some special situation.

For what it's worth, I've heard both sides of this argued passionately, lol.

 

When I was waiting outside of the embassy while my fiance had her interview I spoke with about a dozen other guys who were also waiting....and to a man, they all said using an attorney was a good idea. A couple of them them said they did the paperwork on their own and they had screwed it up rather badly, learning as they went. They each said they should have gotten an attorney involved at the outset.

 

So....I'd say if you can afford an attorney, go for it. I understand that due to financial considerations this isn't always an option.

 

Yes, you should always check what they do but I'd consider it another chance to make sure things are done correctly (assuming the attorney is any good).

[Randy W]

Based on what I've read, I'd say that about half of our members who have hired attorneys swear by them. The other half swear at them.

[Guest Mike and Lily]

Based on what I've read, I'd say that about half of our members who have hired attorneys swear by them. The other half swear at them.

 

It really doesn't make a difference as to the success of the case, the only issue is whether you would rather do the work yourself or shell out the cash, but even if you hire an attorney, you still need to check his work, because no attorney will care about your case as much as you do.

[Smitty]

Ok, I was just wondering if there was a greater reason for hiring the attorney, than proper processing of the paperwork.

[credzba]

I think hiring an attorney or not depends on your willingness and ability to read forums online, read government documentation, and follow the process.

 

For my wife, if our roles had been reversed, I would have insisted on a lawyer. She doesn't like to deal with paper work, doesn't like to read the government instructions, and gets bored of the forums quickly.

 

Since I was the US citizen though, I don't mind reading a lot of junk to glean the information I need. So, in our case I believe it was faster without an attorney.

 

It really depends on the petitioners abilities.

[C4Racer]

Ok, I was just wondering if there was a greater reason for hiring the attorney, than proper processing of the paperwork.

 

This is all an attorney does for 95% of all cases. So it depends on if the government and massive forms intimidate you or not.

 

The only time you need an attorney is when your case has extenuating circumstances and ends with a white slip (denial). Then an attorney in the States is not the way to handle this. Working with USCIS adds a year or more to your case. You would do best hiring an attorney like Peter Paget (King) in Guangzhou. He knows how to have that type of case held and processed at GUZ.

Edited June 19, 2008 by C4Racer (see edit history)