On Wednesday, February 1, 2023, the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel of the District of Columbia disciplined attorney Jason A. Dennis through a letter of informal admonition.
The case is entitled “In the matter of Jason A. Dennis” with case no. 2022-D135.
The charges cited District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1(a) and 1.4(a) which state:
A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client.
A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information
The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.
Allegedly, while representing a client to prepare and submit an Adjustment of Status (AOS) petition based on her marriage to a U.S. citizen, the respondent failed to inform the client that the latter cannot reenter the United States without first filing a Form I-131 (Application for Travel Document).
The filing states:
“On August 26, 2019, another associate at your firm represented your client at his individual merits hearing. At the hearing, the immigration judge denied your client’s asylum application and offered him voluntary departure. Your client accepted voluntary departure and reserved his right to appeal. On August 28, 2019, your client hired you to file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals on his behalf. His deadline to file an appeal with the BIA was September 25, 2019.”
The filing continues:
“You did not timely file your client’s appeal with the BIA. Instead, you directed one of your associates to file a motion to reopen his case with the immigration court, which she did on September 5, 2019. We do not fault you with filing the motion to reopen, only your decision to not file the BIA appeal within the deadline. On September 27, 2019, the immigration court judge denied your client’s motion to reopen, two days after the deadline to file his appeal with the BIA had expired. On October 7, 2019, you filed a motion with the BIA to accept your client’s appeal late. On April 3, 2020, the BIA denied your appeal because it was untimely filed.”
The Office of the Disciplinary Counsel stated that they have taken into consideration that the respondent took the matter seriously and cooperated with the investigation and accepted their informal sanction. Nevertheless, the former admonished the respondent.
The Disposition states;
“This office has completed its investigation of the above-referenced matter. We find that your conduct reflected a disregard for certain ethical standards under the District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct (“Rules”). We are, therefore, issuing you this Informal Admonition pursuant to D.C. Bar Rule XI, §§ 3, 6, and 8.”
Ms. Miller attended the University of Spiru Haret in Bucharest, Romania, graduating in 1998. She is licensed in the District of Columbia. Her info can be found on dlgimmigration.com.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
