“Dynamic.” “Innovative.” “Collaborative.” “Cohesive.” 

These were the words that Shaila Rahman, associate director of Training and Technical assistance, used to describe her team’s work in 2024.  

CLINIC’s Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) department focuses on providing legal training and program management support to the CLINIC network and other partners.  

Across the CLINIC network, made up of 430 Affiliate offices in 49 states in 2024, immigration legal services professionals work hard to provide the best services possible to low-income immigrant clients.

But with constant immigration policy changes and given that immigration is one of the most complex areas of law, the network relies on CLINIC to train new staff and keep more seasoned staff up to speed, so they can provide the best services possible. The TTA team does this through online and in-person trainings, written legal resources, and direct legal mentorship of network staff.  

After hiring 10 people in 2023 in response to a huge demand for CLINIC services, Rahman said 2024 was a year of learning to work together as a team. 

“In 2024 we had a team with many new faces, as well as veterans, and our challenge was to get organized and become cohesive as a team to respond as effectively as possible to the needs in front of us. We asked ourselves, what were the strengths of our new team? What insights did new members have?” 

2024 saw the CLINIC staff offering many new and innovative trainings and publications as they responded to emerging needs. The TTA team created over 30 new written resources. In 2024, CLINIC offered 83 trainings (34 more than in 2023) and there were almost 40,000 attendees of CLINIC trainings.  

One primary way the TTA team learns the needs of the network is through the Ask the Experts (ATE) and Affiliate Support Forms. These are web forms that Affiliate staff members can use when they run into roadblocks on the most complex immigration cases that come across their desks. With immigrant families relying on them, and with no other answers, they turn to CLINIC experts for help.   

In an average week, TTA receives over 100 messages through the web forms, which they respond to as a team.  

“When a complicated immigration policy change comes up or new questions come across our desks through the forms, our staff take the time to read and distill voluminous amounts of information so that our Affiliates can understand and apply it in their work,” Rahman explained. “That’s a huge service to the community and I know it is really appreciated.” 

The new members of the team helped them identify emerging needs in the network as well.