Attorney At Law Magazine interviewed Bruce Buchanan about his contributions to immigration compliance. Bruce Buchanan is an accomplished attorney, a captivating speaker and a respected Adjunct professor.
AALM Why did you choose a legal career?
BB My goal was to become a lawyer in high school. I never changed my mind. At first, I was motivated to become a lawyer because I wanted be a politician. My motivation shifted eventually to a desire to help others.
AALM How have you developed your expertise with employment-based visas and family-based petitions as well as naturalization, asylum and U visas.
BB At the time, I was working in labor law for a Nashville firm. I was asked to assume this practice when the immigration lawyer left. I had no idea what immigration law was and joked with the senior partner about my ignorance. After a month of reading immigration books I began practicing immigration law. We handled a variety of cases as we represented both employers and family cases.
AALM What are some of the toughest cases that you have faced in your career and how did you overcome them?
BB While I was a prosecutor at the NLRB I was the lead lawyer for a nine-year-long case, including a trial that lasted 13 weeks over 13 months. It was a case involving a refusal of over 100 employees to be hired and a refusal by the employer to bargain and recognize an existing union. I had to overcome hurdle after obstacle in this case. I filed numerous long briefs (including one that was over 200 pages), appeared before administrative law judges, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. (I am among the few NLRB field attorneys who have ever argued before a Court of Appeals.) And finally, litigated a compliance trial before reaching a settlement. To navigate through the obstacles and to litigate that long took a lot of personal sacrifice and perseverance. It was worth it to gain the experience and resolve the matter. Over 50 discriminators (many of whom retired or died), were reinstated, and over $12 million in backpay, including pensions and health benefits, was awarded.
In my private practice, I have faced some of the most difficult cases involving Notices of Intents (NIF), in which ICE sought to collect $767,000 or $505,000. My compliance background and my understanding of federal attorneys’ operations helped me to lower the fines. In the two cases, I was able to reach an agreement with my clients to reduce the fines in each case by $267,000 (33%), and $230,000 (43%).
AALM Tell me a bit about your experience as an adjunct faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.
BBI worked for the NLRB from 1991 until 2003 and taught adjunct classes for 12 years. UALR had two law schools, one day and the other night. I could teach two nights a while, working for the NLRB in the day. In order to keep up with the classes I was taking, I worked weekends and evenings. I loved teaching so much that it became my passion. I taught labor law and then created and taught other courses, including employment law (which included FLSA, FMLA and OSHA) and professional sport law (which taught how to negotiate a NFL contract with NFLPA, creating fake player stats).
AALM : Could You tell us more about your role as editor of the Tennessee Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Newsletter?
BB : Since 18 years, I’ve been the editor. This summer, I will step down. Each quarter, I choose four cases or laws to be discussed. I have attempted to provide a wide range of cases – Supreme Court decisions and Sixth Circuit Decisions, NLRB Decisions, Tennessee Judgments, or new state or federal laws. I have learned a lot from great attorneys and editors.
AALM Why did you co-author “I-9 and E-Verify Handbook” and what valuable insights will it offer employers and legal professionals in terms of the book?
BB :At that time, I had the good fortune to work with Greg Siskind who was the author of the original edition. After blogging on immigration compliance regularly for several years, I was delighted to be asked to write the second edition. As an adjunct professor or a lawyer, writing a book can help you become better.
This book provides answers to compliance questions for both employers and lawyers in a format that is easy to understand. We also have a section on state laws that impact employer immigration compliance. (i.e. state laws relating to E-Verify). As states like Tennessee and Florida changed their E-Verify legislation, I had to update this chapter via internal memos. A third edition is coming in the future. With so many changes in the last six years, the USCIS will soon release the new I-9 and permanent virtual verification.
AALM What are your future challenges and opportunities for immigration compliance? How will you prepare to meet them?
BBIn the 17 years that I have been practicing immigration compliance, this field has evolved constantly. Currently, employers struggle with whether or not their electronic audit trail passes muster with ICE, when ICE offers little guidance. They also struggle with how to properly complete physical reverification following the end of virtual verification.
Employers will also soon have to deal with a new I-9 and a rule regarding permanent virtual verification. By the end of the summer, employers should have more information about the new I-9 form and the virtual verification.
I am prepared to face these new challenges. I will continue to educate my clientele on immigration compliance, and represent them tenaciously before federal and State agencies.
AALM : What is your involvement in the local community like?
BB During my 20 years of living in Nashville, I served on the boards of many local nonprofit organizations including Be About Change and the Lupus Foundation. I also served as a board member for the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, United Cerebral Palsy, a cause that is close to my own heart, since I suffer from CP. I also served on the executive committees of the Tennessee Bar Association Labor & Employment Law section and Immigration Law section.
AALM Tell me a bit about your outside life.
BB I and my wife love music and sports, so we bought season tickets for the teams of my alma matter – Florida State Football and Vanderbilt Baseball – as well as season tickets for the symphony. We love to travel, especially to beaches, historical places, and foreign countries. We also enjoy spending time with our grandchildren since only one lives in Nashville. We also enjoy spending time with two of our senior dogs.
AALM What would surprise your colleagues to know about you?
BBI am a collector of political buttons, memorabilia and posters. My collection is so large that it takes up a whole room in my home. It includes thousands of buttons and posters. In my solo practice I had a wall filled with presidential campaign posters, paintings, and bandanas. It was an excellent test to determine how much history the applicants for citizenship knew.
AALM : Anything to add?
BB :Joining Littler in the summer of last year was a wonderful way to continue my legal career. I have the opportunity to work with top-notch lawyers and focus on two areas of law that I am passionate about: immigration compliance and employment law. What else could you want?
The first time Attorney at Law Magazine published the post Bruce Buchanan, The Intersection of Labor & Immigration.