AILA University
FREE FOR AILA MEMBERS; NO CLE: Enjoy these short tutorials (3 to 6 minutes in length), free to all AILA members, covering real-world issues in an easily searchable format. Get the answers you need quickly and efficiently! New content will be continuously added to this growing “how-to” video library. When you select a video, click the “Register” button on the right, then select “Watch Video” to view the tutorial. New tutorial videos are added every Wednesday. Check back for new content!
This Week's New Tutorial Video
This 10 minute video with AILA member Jennifer Howard guides through breathing and mindfulness exercises that can help with feelings of grief and loss.
Speaker: Jennifer Howard
Breathing Meditation for Grief and Loss with Jennifer Howard
This 10 minute video with AILA member Jennifer Howard guides through breathing and mindfulness exercises that can help with feelings of grief and loss.
Six Minute Breathing Meditation with Laura Kelley
Watch this short 6 minute meditation with AILA member Laura Kelley to release stress in different parts of your body.
Breath and Body Meditation with Laura Kelley
Watch this ten-minute meditation with AILA member Laura Kelley to establish a simple sense of presence and notice our bodies and surrounding environment.
Ethics Check: The Initial Conversation About Joint Representation
What should we say to clients about dual representation at the beginning of the relationship? We can’t just expect them to understand this concept solely from reading our fee agreements. Watch this 5 minute video for sample language for how to explain this crucial concept to your clients and avoid future misunderstandings.
Ethics Check: Writing a Clear Scope of Representation
One of the most common mistakes in fee agreements and engagement letters is not having a clear scope of representation. This 3-minute Ethics Check video explains how to set appropriate expectations with clients and avoid overly broad or vague promises, while also emphasizing the value you provide as their lawyer.
Ethics Check: Working with Interpreters
This short Ethics Check video walks through the ethical and practical risks that come with using an interpreter, what to look for when you’re hiring a professional, and how to set the ground rules for the conversation with the client.
Ethics Check: Who Owns the File?
This short Ethics Check video explains what ethical obligations you have when a client asks for their file. Must you really give them every scrap of paper related to their case? What is the rule, and are there any exceptions? Let’s talk about who owns what and discuss how to make file disclosure as simple and streamlined as possible.
The Five Most Common Immigration Cases Facing MAP Servicemembers
AILA’s Military Assistance Program (MAP) offers pro bono immigration assistance to active-duty service members, recent veterans, and their close family members. Immigration attorneys do not need specialized skills to represent MAP servicemembers, as most MAP cases are common family immigration cases. Watch this short 5-minute video to learn more.
Meditation for Anxiety with Dyan Williams
Watch this five-minute meditation with AILA member Dyan Williams to help you reflect on your emotions and get anxiety in check. Brought you by your AILA Lawyer Well-Being Committee. Also, check out the new Lawyer Well-Being Center and make a commitment to your wellness today.
Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping Meditation) with Dyan Williams
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which comes from traditional Chinese medicine and other ancient healing systems, helps you tap into the energy flow channels within your body. Watch this 22 minute video from Lawyer Well-Being Week for an introduction to this meditation technique.
Ethics Check: Protecting Confidences From Inadvertent Disclosure in the Age of Technology
It’s time to take data theft seriously. It’s our obligation as lawyers to protect confidential information, and data can be stolen in a myriad of ways: lost and stolen laptops, hacking and ransomware attacks, and even rogue employees. Watch this Ethics Check video for 7 tips to start today to protect your firm’s information.
Breath Focus to Center Self with Ritu Goswamy
Set aside your phone and your to-do list, and join Ritu Goswamy for a 12-minute meditation focusing on breath work and body scans to relax and recenter. This was originally part of the 2021 Lawyer Well-Being Week daily meditations.
Ethics Check: The Sacrosanct Independence of a Lawyer
Have you ever gotten instructions from your employer that made you feel a little weird? It’s human nature to want to just go along with what the boss says, but ethics rules don’t support that way of thinking. This short ethics check video gives guidance on why lawyers’ independence of thought is essential to the profession, and how to speak truth to power in a respectful and effective way.
Heart Centered Meditation with Donusia Lipinski
It’s time to cleanse and release ourselves from the attachments of worries, frustrations, and insecurities, and welcome our higher self, who we are at the core. Take a journey through your inner being and open your heart to limitless possibilities with this 20 minute meditation guided by Donusia Lipinski. This was originally part of the 2021 Lawyer Well-Being Week daily meditations.
Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing) with Danielle Polen
This mindfulness practice meditation, guided by Danielle Polen, leads viewers through a cleansing breathing exercise that is designed to bring balance to the two sides of the body and the two hemispheres of the brain. This was originally part of the 2021 Lawyer Well-Being Week daily meditations.
Visualization Meditation
In this video, AILA Lawyer Well-Being Committee Member Diana Santos walks members through a guided morning meditation.
AILA Committee Pages
This quick video provides tips on how to learn more about AILA’s Liaison Committees, access committee resources such as minutes, practice resources, and comments, and report problematic trends or issues to the committee's attention.
How to Use AILA's Group Directory Page
This video tutorial explains how to utilize AILA’s Group Directory page to locate the contact information for AILA Liaison Committees and local agency liaisons.
Laughter Yoga Meditation with Diana Santos
Laughter yoga meditation helps the immune system and relaxes us. At the start of January 2021, the Lawyer Well-Being Committee had a roundtable that celebrated social well-being through BINGO and laughter meditation. Here is the meditation for you to enjoy and use in your daily life.
How to Build Relationships with Reporters
Best way to get press attention when you want it is to build relationships with reporters beforehand. This video provides tips on how to reach out to reporters and offer yourself as a resource for immigration stories.
Ethics Check: The Conflicts Everyone Forgets (PPC)
In this quick Ethics Check video, learn the purpose behind a conflicts check system in immigration law and get several sample conflicts checks in Excel, from the Practice & Professionalism Center.
Ethics Check: Staying in the Hypothetical with Mentors (PPC)
In this quick Ethics Check video, learn a common breach of confidentiality point, ethics resources AILA offers, and how to stay on the right side of ethics when talking about cases with colleagues.
Responding to RFEs When External Circumstances Make Them Impossible to Fulfill
This video discusses when emergency circumstances outside your control, like the covid-19 pandemic, make it impossible to fulfill an RFE and what should you do.
Options When a Client Can’t Travel Before Their Immigrant Visa Expires
What can you do if your client was issued an immigrant visa and will not be able to enter the U.S. by the deadline?
LCA Requirements for H-1B Employees Working Remotely
What needs to be done to meet the requirements of the Labor Certification Application for H-1B beneficiaries who work remotely?
J-1s in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic
This video discusses the current restrictions on the J-1 program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Share AILA.org Content on Social Media
Do you want to start a conversation on social media about a recent policy change, or share a great AILA resource with your community? All public documents on AILA.org have social media sharing tools. Watch this video to learn how to take advantage of them.
Litigation Resources on AILA.org
This video provides information about where to find litigation resources on AILA.org.
Picking a Forms Program
Comparing costs, value, what best fits your type of practice? Can you get by with a basic program or do you want a cloud based program? Are you and your staff able to use the more technological programs? Is tech support available easily?
When to File Affidavit of Support (I-864) in Connection to an I-140 Immigrant Visa Petition
In very limited circumstances, an Affidavit of Support (I-864) is required in connection to the I-140 immigrant visa petition. This video will cover when the I-864 is required for an I-140 as well we when and where to file the I-864.
Succession Planning for Solos: What Does Your Retirement Look Like?
This video is part of a three-video series on succession planning for solos. It will discuss retirement planning.
Succession Planning for Solos: How to Prepare Your Practice for Death or Disability
This video is part of a three-video series on succession planning for solos. It will discuss preparing your practice for death or disability.
Succession Planning for Solos: Backup Attorneys for Vacations and Emergencies
This video is part of a three-video series on succession planning for solos. It will discuss backup attorneys for vacations and emergencies.
F-1 Filing
This video will present information about putting together the filing for an F-1 visa: which documents to include, tips on presenting them, and where to submit the filing.
Replying to an H-1B RFE on Specialty Occupation Challenges (4): Duties Are Specialized and Complex
This video will cover how to reply to an H-1B RFE that claims the job is not a specialty occupation on the basis that it does not fulfill the requirement of subsection (4) “The nature of the specific duties are so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree.”
Replying to an H-1B RFE on Specialty Occupation Challenges (3): Employer Normally Requires a Degree
This video will cover how to reply to an H-1B RFE that claims the job is not a specialty occupation on the basis that it does not fulfill the requirement of subsection (3) “The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position.”
Replying to an H-1B RFE on Specialty Occupation Challenges (2): Degree Is Common in the Industry
This video will cover how to reply to an H-1B RFE that claims the job is not a specialty occupation on the basis that it does not fulfill the requirement of subsection (2) “The degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations or, in the alternative, an employer may show that its particular position is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree.”
What Is Needed for a Motion to Substitute?
If an attorney is taking over representation of a client in removal proceedings from another attorney, a motion to substitute is needed. This tutorial will explain what is needed in a motion to substitute.
Ethics Resources on AILA.org
In this AILA Resources Tutorial, learn how to use AILA Ethics resources like the AILA Ethics Compendium to help you effectively research and find answers to complex questions.
