Thread: Prominent Phoenix immigration attorney faces disbarment

http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3292804

Prominent Phoenix immigration attorney faces disbarment
May 3, 2005, 10:13 AM

Accused of bungling immigrants' cases so badly that it cost some their legal status in the United States, a well-known Phoenix immigration attorney now faces loosing her legal status to practice law.

Already suspended by the State Bar of Arizona, attorney Dorothea Kraeger faces additional sanctions and even possible disbarment.

Kraeger is accused by 18 clients of filing applications late or improperly, skipping crucial appointments and missing filing deadlines, according to public court documents released by the state Bar.

The clients also accuse her of bouncing refund checks and failing to return phone calls, sometimes for months.

In March, the state Supreme Court accepted the Bar's recommendation to place Kraeger on interim suspension, requiring that she stop practicing until a hearing is held.

A Supreme Court hearing officer is scheduled to hear Kraeger's case May 18.

The state Bar typically receives between 2,000 to 2,500 complaints a year. But so far this year, only one other lawyer out of 12,000 practicing in Arizona has been placed on interim suspension.

"Any time the Bar seeks to have a lawyer placed on interim suspension, it means we think there is a potential for immediate danger to the public," state Bar spokesman Matt Silverman told The Arizona Republic.

If the Supreme Court finds against her, Kraeger faces several possible sanctions, including disbarment, which would ban her from practicing law for at least five years, Silverman said.

After five years, disbarred lawyers may apply to practice again, but the process is rigorous, he said.

The court also could order a public reprimand or suspension, or dismiss the charges, Silverman said. He said the state Bar has decided on a recommendation, but he declined to say what it is.

Complaints about Kraeger's work come as the demand for immigration services is growing rapidly because of the surging immigrant population in Arizona.

The Census Bureau estimated in 2003 that the foreign-born population in Arizona exceeded 757,271 people, or about 13.8 percent of the state's 5.6 million population.

Yet immigration law remains a highly specialized field. Only 110 lawyers in Arizona list immigration as their primary area of practice, according to the state Bar.

Kraeger, a former prosecutor for the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service has more than 15 years of immigration experience.

In public court documents, Kraeger attributed some of the complaints to problems with her staff while she was dealing with "overwhelming personal issues."

Kraeger said she was dealing with several family members who were ill and a staff member who embezzled "significant funds," forcing her to replace staff members "to learn on short notice" the tasks associated with her practice.

Kraeger has taken significant steps to revise her office procedures since the complaints were filed, according to court documents filed on her behalf.

She participated in a state Bar management assistance program, developed new accounting, billing, filing and other office procedures, and hired an accounting firm to monitor her accounts, the documents show. Since making these and other changes, they say, no further complaints have been made.

Sounds like she is doing a great job. Hope she doesn't get disbarred since she has been a great help to the anti illegal alien movement.

Originally Posted by Brian503a

Sounds like she is doing a great job. Hope she doesn't get disbarred since she has been a great help to the anti illegal alien movement.

I was thinking the same thing. However, possibly, she could get in as a legal instructor as a promenent law school, and and specialize in "immigration studies", to help share her knowledge, and instruct ALL other immigration lawyers