The Importance of Bilingualism in English and Spanish as a Family-Based immigration lawyer.

Angel Simmons is a senior at Murray State University double majoring in Spanish and Public Relations with a minor in Legal Studies. Mostly known as a coffee addict, she also enjoys reading and taking spontaneous trips to Nashville, and she enjoys going to concerts as often as my schedule will allow. After graduation, she plans to further her education to become an Immigration lawyer in Tennessee. The Importance of Being Bilingual in English and Spanish as a Family-Based Immigration Lawyer With the number of immigrants who have to go through the immigration process, it is important to make them feel as comfortable as possible. For the immigration lawyer, this can be achieved by acquiring the language the immigrant is most comfortable speaking. Scholarly articles state that immigration lawyers often underestimate their own knowledge of Spanish and their understanding and ability to speak to the client in Spanish, which can lead to critical misunderstandings when they communicate with their clients in the legal language of the immigration system. Using scholarly articles, peer-reviewed journals, and an informal survey (to gain anecdotal evidence), I discuss the different aspects that assist lawyers in creating a client-centered connection with the immigrant such as comfortable communication, the building of trust, and guaranteeing safety. This project explains the comfortability of the client, how client-centered the relationship will be and why it is important, and the importance of trust. I argue that the importance of being bilingual in English and Spanish as a family-based immigration lawyer firstly is an effective way to create client-centeredness and allow for communication barriers to be broken. Secondly, being bilingual encourages the lawyer to listen more carefully to the needs and wants of their clients who are going through the immigration process. Without lawyers who can effortlessly speak Spanish, this comfortability and client-centeredness can be difficult to achieve