WORK
Immigration
Deportation Defense
We fight deportations before the Executive Office of Immigration Review (Immigration Court), Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and U.S. Courts of Appeal. We practice in Immigration Courts across the deep south and around the country. We assist with obtaining and lowering bonds, seeking custody redeterminations, and pursuing all available immigration relief on behalf of noncitizens facing detention and removal from the United States.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) & Executive Action (DAPA)
We advise applicants in complex DACA cases, including those with prior removal orders, criminal records, and difficulty proving presence in the U.S. We also advise and assist families in preparing for future Executive Actions to offer temporary relief to immigrant communities.
LGBT Immigration
We assist transnational couples in assessing their available options under federal law after the fall of DOMA, and represent noncitizen members of the LGBT community who would face persecution if forced to return to their home countries in asylum, withholding, and Torture Convention claims.
Citizenship and Visas
We applications for U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residents, and temporary visas, with a special focus on obtaining status and a path to citizenship for asylum-seekers, victims of domestic violence, trafficking victims, and others warranting special humanitarian protection under federal law.
Civil Rights
Federal Tort Claims Act & Bivens Actions against Federal Agents
When federal officials exceed their limited law enforcement authority or violate the U.S. Constitution, we investigate and prosecute suits for damages against the United States government and its agents. We focus our practice in particular on the unlawful detention and deportation of United States citizens by the Department of Homeland Security. In addition, we prosecute cases for detainees abused and exploited by private prison contractors.
Police Misconduct and Jail Abuse Litigation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
We litigate police abuse and misconduct cases against state and local law enforcement agents, police departments, jails, and other officials who abuse their power and harm those they are sworn to protect. We file suits under Section 1983 against government actors who violate the Constitution, regardless of the citizenship or immigration status of their victims.
Housing Discrimination
Federal, state, and local laws protect tenants and homebuyers against discrimination in housing based on race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, family status, and certain grounds. Big companies, landlords, and individuals who often eagerly seek low-income or working families as tenants are often all too quick to ignore their reasonable requests for safe, clean, and livable housing conditions once they have the tenant's money. We have successfully prosecuted cases against landlords for colluding with police to violate residents' civil rights, engaging in unlawful housing discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act, and violating local health and safety regulations. We also represent injured parties and their families in premises liability actions.
Workplace Justice
Wage and Hour Litigation
We bring class actions and collective actions to recover unpaid wages for workers pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. This include claims for off-the-clock work, unpaid overtime, meal and rest break violations, and failure to pay the minimum wage.
Employment Discrimination
When bosses unlawfully discriminate against or retaliate against workers, we represent them before the appropriate federal agencies, and, if necessary, in federal court. We have practiced before the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the Department of Labor's Wage & Hour Division, and state regulatory agencies.
First Amendment & Whistleblower Protection
We represent whistleblowers and gadflies who seek to report and end unlawful activities and misconduct perpetrated or condoned by their public and private employers. Through discreet, practical advocacy, we have helped put people back to work after they were illegally terminated for exercising their rights.
Government Accountability
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests & Litigation
We represent journalists, scholars, researchers, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders in our democracy in seeking to obtain records and enforce FOIA's promise of transparency in government. We assist in tailoring FOIA requests and go to the mat for our clients in federal court when agencies fail to comply with the FOIA.
Privacy Act & Administrative Procedure Act Claims
We use federal administrative law theories creatively to protect our clients' rights and expand the protections of everyone dealing with certain federal government agencies.
Tennessee Public Records & Open Meetings Acts
Our firm is experienced in using Tennessee's public records and transparency laws to pursue information regarding important government policies that affect the rights of our clients and their communities. When officials violate governmental gsunshine laws, we enforce the rights of the public by bringing suit against them in state court.