Immigration Article of the Day: Advice without Lawyers? Immigrants, Legal Deserts, and Reflections on Who Can Practice Law by Jayanth Krishnan
Advice without Lawyers? Immigrants, Legal Deserts, and Reflections on Who Can Practice Law by Jayanth Krishnan, William & Mary Law Review, Volume 68 (Forthcoming 2027)
Abstract
The recent immigration surge in Minneapolis evoked deep anger and despair, not just within Minnesota but among many observers across the country. Indeed, the plight of immigrants suffering under such federal enforcement has a long history. Immigrants who face removal do not have a right to government-appointed counsel. For those in detention, their time behind bars can be extensive, and they are often placed in overcrowded and unclean holding cells, disconnected from family and other forms of community support. Today, millions of immigrants remain vulnerable, with their ability to access justice as unattainable as ever.
Unfortunately, immigrants encounter particularly difficult circumstances in “legal desert” communities, where there are effectively no lawyers at all. Alternative nonlawyer advocates have emerged, however, filling the gap and offering valuable legal services. Yet bar associations and attorneys general in many states have responded by prohibiting such assistance on the basis that it constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.
Adding weight to those who oppose nonlawyers is the Second Circuit, which in September 2025 ruled that the state of New York could forbid these workers from participating in the legal services space. The court emphasized consumer protection in its decision and found that the state’s regulations complied with an intermediate scrutiny analysis under the First Amendment. Other jurisdictions, though, have taken a different approach from the Second Circuit and embraced various nonlawyer programs.
This Article sides with those states that have welcomed nonlawyer entrepreneurialism by arguing for a tiered “Justice Advocate” framework. Under this appropriately regulated model, which would protect consumer interests, certified nonlawyers could provide narrowly defined legal assistance. This framework also more justly accommodates the free speech rights of nonlawyers and ultimately delivers greater access to legal services—especially for those immigrants who live in legal deserts.
