New York and Connecticut Business Litigation Lawyer & Attorney : Rogers & Tartaro Law Firm : Commercial Litigation : Westchester County NY, Fairfield County CT

A law firm is being audited because it allegedly instructed its clients to contact the firm before hiring U.S. workers, according to a post by Dan Slater (“Do Lawyers Help Companies Find Reasons Not to Hire U.S. Workerson the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, citing a story in the Wall Street Journal by Nathan Koppel.”)

The audit was initiated, apparently, because the U.S. Department of Labor does not consider it proper for an employer to consult counsel before turning down a U.S. worker. when sponsoring a foreign national for permanent residence (“green card”). The issue is described more thoroughly in the LB post.

A quotation in the LB post from an immigration attorney caught our attention:

The audit, according to immigration lawyers, could deter companies from asking attorneys to help them decipher Labor Department rules. “Attorneys need to be involved in [the green-card] process,” said New York immigration lawyer Philip Kleiner. “It’s more complicated than tax work.”

Tax attorneys may argue Mr. Kleiner’s last point. But I think that a consensus is reachable: aspects of both Immigration Law and Tax Law can be complicated and the assistance of counsel is important to achieve compliance. 

Thus, the story raises a concern because the audit seems to discourage employers from seeking counsel when they most need it. Actually, the issue is more subtle than that because there are specific regulations governing the role of counsel in the process being audited and the audit is about whether there was compliance with these specific regulations.

For our business clients, the “lesson” from this story is simpler. Both Tax Law and Immigration Law have another aspect in common. In both, the complexities often (and we will concede, not always) arise when you seek the advantages or benefits of the laws. After all, many people file short-form 1040’s and the Tax Law is not that complicated for short-form filers. But, if you seek to benefit from a tax shelter, you should proceed cautiously and with the advice of counsel. 

Similarly, there are benefits to be gained for both employers and foreign nationals from the provisions of the Immigration Laws. But, the process can be complicated and, despite the audit described in the LB post, it is best to proceed with the advice of counsel.

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RIDGEFIELD PRESS

Dec 13, 2007
Business Update: 12/13/07

Rogers & Tartaro expanded law practice to immigration

Rogers & Tartaro, LLP, in Ridgefield has expanded its law practice to include services in immigration law for employers, families and individual clients.

Attorneys Beverley Rogers and Angelo D. Tartaro, the firm’s partners, said immigration law is a natural extension of their employment law practice and an opportunity to meet a growing and essential need.

Born in Italy and fluent in Italian, Mr. Tartaro emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was six years old. He graduated from Brooklyn College with a bachelor of arts in economics, and he holds an master of business administration from the NYU’s Stern School of Business.

He graduated magna cum laude from Pace University School of Law, where he was on the Law Review. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, as well as the New York and Connecticut Bar Associations, and the Westchester County Bar Association.

Attorney Rogers, born in Brooklyn, is returning to college to earn a degree in foreign languages.

“Immigration is a dynamic area of law that can be as challenging and as complex as our tax laws,” she said. “Our secretary-paralegal was born in the Portuguese colony of Angola, Africa and speaks Portuguese and Spanish. Angelo speaks Italian. I thought it would be fun to round out our ‘United Nations’ law firm and become fluent in another language.”

Attorney Rogers received a bachelor of arts, cum laude, from Pace and a jurisprudence from Pace University School of Law. She is an active member of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association Judicial Screening Committee, and she is a member of the Connecticut Employment Lawyers Association and the New York Employment Lawyers Association.

She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association and the Ridgefield Library. She is co-president of the Ridgefield Discovery Center.
With offices in Ridgefield and White Plains, Rogers & Tartaro, LLP, is a full service law firm specializing in business and not-for-profit law, commercial litigation, employment law, real estate and land use law, immigration law, and wills, trusts and probate.

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