Empathy: The Key to Immigration Law
My gray heels click against the white tiled floor as the door closes behind me. Walking through the second door of the office, Mr. Ruiz’s puppy husky named Lexi immediately begins nipping at my heels and making walking even harder than before. Samantha, Monique, and Pedro all chirp their hellos through my walk into Mr. Ruiz’s back office. Mr. Ruiz, in a light red checkered button-down, looks up from his yellow note-pad, giving me a silent head nod so as to not disturb the client with whom he is speaking on his phone. Quietly setting my purse and folder down, Mr. Ruiz sets his phone on his dark brown desk, whose surface can hardly be distinguished beneath the piles of notes, files, folders, and sticky notes tilting this way and that. He puts his client on speaker, knowing these conversations excite me to hear. On the other end of the line, the client panics about his situation, going off about how worried and frightened he feels being at home. My mentor comforts him, telling his client that he has it under control, and lists off some legal jargon and dates that go way over my head. Full of professionalism and empathy, the conversation would leave any audience in awe. Finally, the call ends and Mr. Ruiz looks up at me. “Shall we begin?” he starts.
“What interested you in the field of immigration law?” I ask my mentor. He becomes extremely attentive.
“I became interested in the field of law because it's an intriguing and exciting profession. I have always enjoyed helping and working with people to fight for justice.”
Understanding exactly what he is talking about in regards to a home, I ask next: “What is your favorite part of this job?”
“Honestly, the people. These people are coming from multiple different countries just looking for a better place to live. The system is hard to crack through, but I can help them through it, and they all keep a good attitude when they can. Their gratitude – as demonstrated by the man I was just on the phone with – makes me feel like I am doing good in my work, and it is extremely fulfilling,” Mr. Ruiz explains, his eyes bright.
“That sounds like a wonderful system of reciprocity between two people. When you started in this field, what did you hope to accomplish through your work?” I questioned.
Mr. Ruiz’s phone rings from a call. “I’m sorry, give me just a second,” he says to me. His demeanor quickly changes from that of a friendly posture to one of seriousness and preparedness. “I am in a meeting with someone, can I call you back in about half an hour? Great, thanks. Buh-bye,” he says to finish the phone call.
“Sorry about that. What did I hope to accomplish through my work? I really just want to help as many people as I can, which might sound cliché but it is still true for me,” Mr. Ruiz expresses with a small smile on his face.
“Not cliché, just important and true. It is extremely admirable. If there is one most important trait to have to succeed as an immigration lawyer, what would you say it was?” I ask him after.
Mr. Ruiz taps his fingers on his desk, thinking for a moment. The idea goes off in his mind as he points at me and simply says, “Stamina.”
“What do you mean by that?” I ask for clarification.
“Well,” he begins, and gestures at everything on his desk. “There is a lot that goes into this work. A lot of paperwork, a lot of communicating with people who you are not going to get along with or who are going to give you a hard time about things that are out of your control. Everyone in this office works long hours and it is exhausting. But it is always worth it at the end of the day,” Mr. Ruiz explains.
“That actually relates to my next question: if you could change anything about your job, what would it be?” I inquire.
My mentor chuckles to himself, most likely remembering his long evenings and late-night office calls. “If I truly could? The hours. This work is a constant stream of calls and meetings and paperwork and communicating, going into the very late hours of the night. Sometimes I just want some down-time with my family. But I also know that this is part of the job. Immigration and legal problems do not have a strict schedule, so I do not either. And that is alright with me,” Mr. Ruiz concludes, his eyes smiling.
We continue to discuss his work as he tells me about some of the funniest and strangest cases he has ever had in his truly few works of owning his own firm. Clearly, Mr. Ruiz truly cares about his work and the people he represents. With his strong sense of empathy, helping his clients means the most to him, and understandably so. In the constantly changing world where people are forced to cross borders in order to flee the instability of their own homes, we must all help one another. Mr. Ruiz, in his travels when he was growing up (from Maryland to D.C., from Texas to Russia, and more), understands people and loves to hear their stories. Not only does he listen, he solves, demonstrating the validity of his response that the people are his favorite of his work. Undoubtedly, Mr. Ruiz demonstrates the brilliant lawyer, hardworking mentor, and the patient family-man, but he also exemplifies the compassion of humanity the world needs.
“What interested you in the field of immigration law?” I ask my mentor. He becomes extremely attentive.
“I became interested in the field of law because it's an intriguing and exciting profession. I have always enjoyed helping and working with people to fight for justice.”
Understanding exactly what he is talking about in regards to a home, I ask next: “What is your favorite part of this job?”
“Honestly, the people. These people are coming from multiple different countries just looking for a better place to live. The system is hard to crack through, but I can help them through it, and they all keep a good attitude when they can. Their gratitude – as demonstrated by the man I was just on the phone with – makes me feel like I am doing good in my work, and it is extremely fulfilling,” Mr. Ruiz explains, his eyes bright.
“That sounds like a wonderful system of reciprocity between two people. When you started in this field, what did you hope to accomplish through your work?” I questioned.
Mr. Ruiz’s phone rings from a call. “I’m sorry, give me just a second,” he says to me. His demeanor quickly changes from that of a friendly posture to one of seriousness and preparedness. “I am in a meeting with someone, can I call you back in about half an hour? Great, thanks. Buh-bye,” he says to finish the phone call.
“Sorry about that. What did I hope to accomplish through my work? I really just want to help as many people as I can, which might sound cliché but it is still true for me,” Mr. Ruiz expresses with a small smile on his face.
“Not cliché, just important and true. It is extremely admirable. If there is one most important trait to have to succeed as an immigration lawyer, what would you say it was?” I ask him after.
Mr. Ruiz taps his fingers on his desk, thinking for a moment. The idea goes off in his mind as he points at me and simply says, “Stamina.”
“What do you mean by that?” I ask for clarification.
“Well,” he begins, and gestures at everything on his desk. “There is a lot that goes into this work. A lot of paperwork, a lot of communicating with people who you are not going to get along with or who are going to give you a hard time about things that are out of your control. Everyone in this office works long hours and it is exhausting. But it is always worth it at the end of the day,” Mr. Ruiz explains.
“That actually relates to my next question: if you could change anything about your job, what would it be?” I inquire.
My mentor chuckles to himself, most likely remembering his long evenings and late-night office calls. “If I truly could? The hours. This work is a constant stream of calls and meetings and paperwork and communicating, going into the very late hours of the night. Sometimes I just want some down-time with my family. But I also know that this is part of the job. Immigration and legal problems do not have a strict schedule, so I do not either. And that is alright with me,” Mr. Ruiz concludes, his eyes smiling.
We continue to discuss his work as he tells me about some of the funniest and strangest cases he has ever had in his truly few works of owning his own firm. Clearly, Mr. Ruiz truly cares about his work and the people he represents. With his strong sense of empathy, helping his clients means the most to him, and understandably so. In the constantly changing world where people are forced to cross borders in order to flee the instability of their own homes, we must all help one another. Mr. Ruiz, in his travels when he was growing up (from Maryland to D.C., from Texas to Russia, and more), understands people and loves to hear their stories. Not only does he listen, he solves, demonstrating the validity of his response that the people are his favorite of his work. Undoubtedly, Mr. Ruiz demonstrates the brilliant lawyer, hardworking mentor, and the patient family-man, but he also exemplifies the compassion of humanity the world needs.