Mr. Lawrence M. Kasen | Attorney

Growing up in Newark, New Jersey, I witnessed first hand the disparate treatment of individuals based on their country of origin, race and station in life. Even before becoming an attorney, I wanted to ensure that the civil rights afforded under the United States Constitution to individuals and business entities were equally and readily available. In furtherance of this objective, I went to Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ and studied the history, religion, languages and culture of many Native American peoples throughout North America as well as cultural anthropology.

Realizing that the study of law would further my objectives, in 1976 I enrolled at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., our nation's capital. While at Howard, I took a constitutional law course under the direction of Herbert Reid, a preeminent constitutional law professor and scholar, who was one of the junior lawyers in Brown v. Board of Education , the famous 1954 civil rights case that led to the nullification of the separate but equal doctrine that had precluded African Americans from attending desegregated schools. This course, together with other civil rights-related courses, prepared me for a 1978 summer clerkship with the Solicitor's Office - Division of Indian Affairs, at the United States Department of Interior in Washington, D.C.

Following a recommendation of the Deputy Solicitor for Indian Affairs, for my third year in law school I embarked on a special fellowship in Indian Law and Natural Resources Law at the University of New Mexico's National Indian Law Center and Natural Resources Law Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

With this educational background and resources, for the next two and one-half years I secured employment representing Indian tribes and individual Native Americans in Nebraska and Arizona. Throughout that time, I realized that to properly represent persons and business entities in pursuit of their civil rights, it was incumbent upon me to diversify my areas of practice to include business, and property law in order to fully assist these individuals and entities to realize their full citizenship rights, which for too long had been denied to them because of their country of origin, race and station in life. Thus, to broaden my practice areas, I have worked as a partner in large law firms and as a sole practitioner, representing clients in complex commercial, and property while still remaining true to my civil rights practice.

In practicing law for over 30 years, I have become acutely aware that one of the most overlooked civil rights issue of our day is the manner in which our government views and treats non-immigrants and immigrants who seek to enter, visit and work in the United States and/or to become lawful permanent residents (holders of "greencards") and naturalized citizens of our country under the United States immigration laws. In furtherance of my initial civil rights objectives, I now primarily practice in the immigration law field to facilitate individuals and business entities to achieve their goal of becoming fully integrated into the U.S. community at large and to hire qualified employees of diverse national origins to accomplish their business aspirations.

I provide a full spectrum of legal services in the field of family and business-related immigration law. Unlike most other immigration law practitioners, I am able to complement the services rendered to my clients with the widespread legal experience that I have attained over the years, which has proven invaluable to my clients particularly when they are in need of ancillary services in the areas of business, corporate, and real estate law to further their immigration law applications with the USCIS and U.S. consular offices.

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

Mr. Kasen currently practices in the areas of Immigration, Business, Corporate, and Real Estate Law, although a substantial concentration of his practice is devoted to immigration law and immigration litigation.  Mr. Kasen has been instrumental in assisting individuals and businesses with their applications for immigrant and non-immigrant visas and in defending individuals in immigration court and federal court when confronted with U.S. government detention and removal proceedings.

Areas of Practice

• Immigration & Naturalization Law
• Business Law
• Corporate Law
• Commercial Law and Commercial Litigation
• Real Estate Law

Bar Admissions

           * Inactive Member