Texas State hosted a panel presentation with three potential candidates for the full-time immigration attorney position which has been vacant since Oct. 8, 2019.
The three candidates each gave individual 20-minute long presentations, Feb. 18, Feb. 19 and Feb. 21, about a topic pertaining to law of their choice. The remainder of the hour-long discussion was reserved for questions between the members of the immigration attorney search committee, put together by the Dean of Students Margarita Arellano and each candidate.
The first candidate, Adriane Jaeckle Meneses, St. Mary’s University School of Law graduate, founded her own law firm Buzgova, Meneses and Wellington Smith, LLP, where she works as an immigration attorney.
Meneses’ experience ranges from working as a legal assistant at the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center to working at the St. Mary’s School of Law’s Immigration and Human Rights Clinic.
“I think that at my core, I enjoy more of a nonprofit background,” Meneses said. “I really miss being able to be in an environment where someone’s ability to pay is not a factor.”
The second candidate Ethan Chou, University of Texas School of Law graduate, works as a legal secretary and is a practicing attorney for the University of Texas’ Legal Services for Students.
During his time at Legal Services, Chou has advised and counseled over 400 students annually on topics such as immigration, consumer law, insurance, debtor and creditor laws.
“Often I have to tell students, unfortunately, legally, they don’t have a whole lot of options… But of course, always leaving them feeling heard, letting them know that they have someone who empathizes and knows what they’re going through and leaving them with something so they can try to get to a better place,” Chou said.
The third candidate, Nicholas Buttry, graduated from the Ave Maria School of Law and currently works as an attorney at law for the Cynthia V. De Los Santos Law Office.
In his capacity as an attorney at law, Buttry represents clients in Travis, Hays and Comal counties in criminal defense, personal injury and probate matters. Buttry said he also has experience working as a law clerk for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“As an attorney, I like to help people and I like to figure out problems,” Buttry said. “Working in private practice, you get to do that but then you also have to worry about getting paid. You have a little bit more to it than just the service aspect.”
According to the Dean of Students Immigration Search Committee, a final decision should be made in the coming weeks. The selected candidate will have to go through a background check and accept the position before the final pick is publicly announced.
News Reporter Daniella Carrera contributed to this article.