ETHICS PANEL Moderator HARRY GEE, JR., Houston Harry Gee, Jr. & Associates WAFA ABDEL ABDIN, Houston Supervising Attorney Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance, Catholic Charities JOHN W. OWENS, Houston Managing Attorney, Houston Consumer Protection Office Office of Attorney General Submitted by: JOHN W. OWENS, Houston Managing Attorney, Houston Consumer Protection Office Office of Attorney General State Bar of Texas IMMIGRATION LAW 2004 May 6-7, 2004 Houston CHAPTER 12 Moderator HARRY GEE, JR. EDUCATION Harry Gee, Jr. graduated from Rice University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Economics in 1960. Thereafter, he enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law and attained his Bachelor of Law degree in 29 months when he graduated in January of 1963. PROFESSIONAL He was licensed to practice on April 30, 1963 and in May was appointed as Assistant Attorney General of the State of Texas where he served in the taxation; bonds, insurance and banking; and the highway divisions under Attorney General Waggoner Carr. In 1966, he began the private practice of law in Houston, Texas. When the State Bar of Texas adopted board certification, he was among the first group of attorneys to be qualified as a Board Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law in 1979. He has chaired the Examination Committee for Immigration Board Specialization for five years. Mr. Gee has been recognized as an authority in the field of immigration law, having lectured at seminars and institutes conducted by the University of Texas, Rice University, University of Oklahoma, Texas Tech University, University of Houston and the American and the Texas Immigration Lawyers Association. PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Actively involved in various legal organizations, Mr. Gee served as President of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, 1990-91, an organization comprised of more than 6,000 attorneys of Asian ancestry throughout the country. He has also served as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Chairman of the Texas Chapter of AILA for two years, Chairman of the Immigration and the Law Day Committees of the Houston Bar Association, and as President of the Asian American Bar Association of Houston. In 1993, he was honored by his colleagues in his election to the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas. His family has established a Presidential Scholarship at the University of Texas in the field of Immigration Law. CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS Mr. Gee has also served the community as the President and Chairman of the Friends of the Houston Public Library. For two years, he served on the Advisory Board of the Child Abuse Prevention Council. He has also served as President of the Chinese Professional Club and during his term of office, the club raised and made its largest contribution to its scholarship fund. Harry Gee, Jr. Page 2 For two years, he had also served as President of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance and also as a Director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and of the Mickey Leland Kibbutz Program. He presently serves as a member of the board of the Greater Houston Community Foundation, the Institute of International Education, the University of Houston Law School Advisory Board and the Rice University Alumni Association Board and on the Advisory Board of Chase Bank, Houston. Mr. Gee was also a founding member of the Asian American Coalition and the Institute of Chinese Culture. He is a member of the Greater Houston Partnership Board and served as chair of the Asian Business Group. He is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum In 1999, Mr. Gee was elected as chair of LEAP, a national organization promoting the advancement of Asians into positions of leadership within their companies, educational institutions and communities and instituting research and publication of public policy analysis germane to the Asian community. He also has been selected to join the prestigious Committee of 100. He is presently serving as President of Sister Cities of Houston, Inc., an organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural, educational and economic interests between Houston and its thirteen sister cities throughout the world. He had previously served as president of the Houston Taipei Society for three years. Also, he is Chair of the Houston Council on Foreign Relations. Because of his concern about education, he has served as a member of the Board of Directors of St. Thomas University, the Annenberg Challenge, the Concerned Houstonians for Effective and Superior Schools Committee, the Citizen's Initiative for Higher Education, Class Chairman of the Rice University Alumni Fund Drive, President of the Rice University Chinese Alumni Association and as an Executive Advisory Committee Member of the University of Houston Creative Partnerships Campaign. Mayor Bob Lanier appointed Mr. Gee as a founding member of the Steering Committee of Imagine Houston and appointed him as the first Asian to the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Mayor Lee Brown had appointed Mr. Gee to the Board of Houston 2012, a non-profit foundation which promoted Houston as the site of the 2012 Olympics. FAMILY Harry has been happily married to the former Antje Wuelfrath for more than 30 years and they are the proud parents of three children: Andrew, Claudia, and Sonja, who are 1997, 1999 and 2001 graduates of Rice University respectively. w:\home\hgee\resume\hg-bio Rev. 05/2002 Wafa Abdin Wafa Abdin is the supervising attorney at Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance at Catholic Charities. She graduated from the University of Houston with a J.D., and also holds an M.A. from Lamar University and a B.A. from the University of Jordan. Ms. Abdin represents low- income Immigrants in removal proceedings, asylum, VAWA, citizenship, and family petition cases before the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Immigration Court, and the Board of Immigration appeals. Among her clients are detained adults and juveniles and victims of crime seeking immigration benefits. Ms. Abdin supervises two staff attorneys, three accredited representatives, and three caseworkers in their immigration work. She gives rights presentations to the public, both on site at Catholic charities and off site at schools, community centers, and hospitals and speaks about immigration law and the rights of immigrants at conferences, trainings, and lectures. JOHN OWENS John Owens is currently the Office Manager of the Houston Regional Office in the Consumer Protection Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office. John graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981 with an Economics degree and then attended Baylor University School of Law, obtaining his law degree in 1984. After law school, John was twice elected as County Attorney of Henderson County where he maintained a private practice in addition to his prosecutorial functions. In May of 1991, John became an Assistant Attorney General, working in the General Litigation Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office in Austin. In October of 1994, John accepted a position in the Consumer Protection Division, operating out of Houston, where he currently resides. John received his board certification in Civil Trial Law in December of 1997. Consumer Protection from the Unauthorized Practice of Immigration Law Chapter 12 CONSUMER PROTECTION FROM THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF IMMIGRATION LAW Tex. Gov't Code § 406.017 (2003) § 406.017. Representation as Attorney (a) A person commits an offense if the person is a notary public and the person: (1) states or implies that the person is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state; (2) solicits or accepts compensation to prepare documents for or otherwise represent the interest of another in a judicial or administrative proceeding, including a proceeding relating to immigration to the United States, United States citizenship, or related matters; (3) solicits or accepts compensation to obtain relief of any kind on behalf of another from any officer, agency, or employee of this state or the United States; (4) uses the phrase "notario" or "notario publico" to advertise the services of a notary public, whether by signs, pamphlets, stationery, or other written communication or by radio or television; or (5) advertises the services of a notary public in a language other than English, whether by signs, pamphlets, stationery, or other written communication or by radio or television, if the person does not post or otherwise include with the advertisement a notice that complies with Subsection (b). (b) The notice required by Subsection (a)(5) must state that the notary public is not an attorney and must be in English and in the language of the advertisement and in letters of a conspicuous size. If the advertisement is by radio or television, the statement may be modified, but must include substantially the same message. The notice must include the fees that a notary public may charge and the following statement: "I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN TEXAS AND MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE." (c) It is an exception to prosecution under this section that, at the time of the conduct charged, the person is licensed to practice law in this state and in good standing with the State Bar of Texas. (d) Except as provided by Subsection (e) of this section, an offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. (e) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has previously been convicted under this section. (f) Failure to comply with this section is, in addition to a violation of any other applicable law of this state, a deceptive trade practice actionable under Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code.