Interview and Discussion with Canadian Immigration Lawyers Laurie Tannous (Laurie@laurieTannous.com)
Show Notes
01:30 - Introduction and bio (started as customs and immigration officer and does various other work - Kitch Law Firm)
03:15 - About her work as a Customs and Immigration Officer on the Canadian Side (Ambassador Bridge) while studying for law school
03:50 - Issues she saw at the border (smuggling drugs and people) as well as dealing with individuals and gaining the ability to judge people and lying well
05:40 - What she did after graduating law school (Articling with law firms to work in different areas) and growth in referrals in immigration which caused her to work in this area
07:10 - Early start to family and practice with own firm, as well as using her firm in different settings (including cross-border transactions) and doing international trade law in the US, and a customs brokerage
08:30 CEO of institute of border logistics at windsor airport
10:10 - Letter of invitation needed sometimes for temporary work meetings in Canada
10:30 - Canada's immigration programs and the point system
11:55 - The point system and necessity for an Immigration Lawyer and needing to clean up work done by regular people or non-immigration lawyers
13:00 - Her focus is on a few areas of immigration (primarily corporate and family and does not include humanitarian)
13:48 - Focusing and specializing on certain areas of immigration law
14:10 - Canada's investment program - Shut down, but pilot program for a venture capitalist program exists (need net worth of $10M, and be investing $2M with post-secondary degree)
15:05 - Other temporary programs for investors and entrepreneurs are not available right now, but an overhaul is coming to include these programs
15:55 - Canada's equivalent of the TN NAFTA Visa and the Management Consultant sub-category - issues with people doing it themselves and making bad admissions and statements
18:23 - People with DUIs trying to enter Canada - temporary resident permits ("TRP")may be required, or if 10 years have passed (deemed rehabilitated). Can be done at border or Consulate
22:10 - Where is she headquartered? And where her offices are (Detroit and Windsor in Canada)
22:35 - Role of Canadian Provinces in their Immigration programs (Quebec and provincial nominee program)
24:00 - What does a typical week look like for Laurie? How does she set up her time?
25:15 - How she balances her work and her personal life/family. Importance of time management
26:15 - How she prevents work from coming home and carving out time
27:00 - Mistakes she made early on that she has learned from: advice for a new lawyer: learn on honing in on strengths (and avoid weaker areas) and knowing when to say "NO" to clients or cases and know how to manage your time
30:20 - Her proudest moment in her practice: Teaching and helping people through education, in particular a course where a student was able to achieve success on a paper related to human smuggling/trafficking
How to learn more about Laure Tannous: www.Kitch.com Laurie@laurieTannous.com