Sherrard Conversation | Legal Heroes in the Trump Era

[Bookings will open at 10:00 AM on Wednesday 31 March]

All members of the Inn are welcome to attend - please book a ticket

Tahmina Watson, a member of Middle Temple, currently resides in Seattle, Washington, United States, where she practices US immigration law at her firm Watson Immigration Law established in 2009. Tahmina was Called to the Bar in 2002 in the UK. She is dual qualified and was admitted to practice law in New York (2006) and Washington State (2019).

During the Trump administration, Tahmina, an eminent expert in the field of immigration law helped her local community with creative solutions for the acutely increased requirement for access to immigration lawyers. Her work between 2016 and 2020 is documented in her new book Legal Heroes in the Trump Era: Be Inspired. Expand Your Impact. Change the World. In addition to her compelling account, Tahmina highlights 13 other lawyers who stepped up during these immensely challenging times to protect the rule of law and the rights of the vulnerable. The Attorney General of Washington State, who was the first AG to challenge Trump’s infamous Muslim ban fearlessly, is one of the 13 leading inspiring advocates for justice included in the book. She will also provide much valued legal insights into the recent US election. During challenging times, lawyers need to be the beacon of hope and the protectors of the rule of law.

In this Sherrard Conversation, Tahmina, in conversation with Master Elaine Banton, will describe the legal and practical challenges that arose between 2016 and 2020 in the United States in the field of immigration law. She will explain the challenges she saw in her community and her practice and describe the various solutions she co-created, including Airport Lawyers, Washington Immigrant Defense Network, and low bono legal clinics.

Click here to see details of the QS Requirements and how to be credited with the QS for this session

Learning Outcomes:

After this session, students should be able to:

• Acquire knowledge and understanding of the range of organisations created to support the administration of justice in the US and how this was used effectively to challenge matters such as the Muslim ban.
• Analyse and compare the mechanisms for the challenge of such laws in the US. For example, the use of judicial review in England to challenge public functions compared to the challenges brought in the US. 
• Evaluate, assess and critique the effectiveness of lawyers in the US having galvanised against the Trump era particularly in the field of immigration.
  • What lasting effects, if any are left by such social justice solutions being created within the legal community?  

Links to the Professional Statement, wider workings of the Bar, administration of justice or a public interest matter

This QS is a public interest matter. It will cover and illuminate the issues faced by lawyers in the US during the Trump ERA and how they worked together to uphold justice and rule of law in a time of great and urgent need. 

Click here to view the BSB's Professional Statement