1. Phillip Clark
03/15/12
Professor Lazarus
Law Office Practices/Legal Ethics
Interview with Immigration Attorney Sheela Murthy
As I was scanning CCBC’s website one afternoon I noticed that an immigration attorney,
named Sheela Murthy, had been appointed an honorary chair of the school’s Global Education
Committee. This greatly intrigued me. Even though I do not think I would want to work within
the immigration sphere specifically, the fact that this area of the law dealt with helping people
made me pay attention. In my future work as a paralegal I would very much like to do
something that would be impacting, and making a difference in, the lives of individual persons,
as opposed to a corporate entity. Public interest, civil rights, and international law remain the
areas where I have the most curiosity. Given that the issue of immigration is somewhat
intertwined with international law, Sheela Murthy seemed like the ideal candidate for this
interview. As I learned more about her, and her ambitious and dramatically influential career, I
became even more inspired by the living testimony she exercises daily on behalf of those who
have no voice.
PC: What is a typical day at the Murthy law firm like?
SM: In termsof my day, because of our size and because of our operation, and how we’ve set it
up, I do less of actual real, legal cases. I do more of mentoring other lawyersand speaking with
clients, on consultationsand helping with the management of the firm. A lot of fun stuff. First
you have to learn the knowledge;you have to be really good asa lawyer, and that’staken for
granted.Then if you’re not good then there’sno way you can go to the next level. And once
you’re outstanding at that level you then move to the next level, and then the next level, and then
the next level…
So I’d like to think it took a long time but it waswell worth it. So, a lot of the day I spend talking
to clients, making strategies, drawing the outline of the case, and then once the client hiresus

2. then the other lawyerstake it on, and then work the cases, work thefiles, with paralegalsdoing
most of the work, and then the attorney supervisesthe work of the paralegals.
Every single case isreviewed with importance, paralegalsdo a lot of the preliminary information,
they’re allowed to communicate with clients, they’re allowed to do a lot more at thisfirm than
most other lawfirms, whereparalegalsare given very littlehandson experience and direct
contact with the client,we allow our paralegalsto have a lot of contact with the clients.
PC: What do you think would be the most important skill to bring to the table when
working for a law firm?
SM: Well, there’snot one necessarily very important skill, I think it’sa combination of skills. The
ability to look at raw data,look at the factsof the client’scase, have a very strong knowledge in
the law,and if you don’t have theknowledge then go hit the books, study, read. So, theability to
work really hard, to juggle different issues that pull you in ten directions, because there may be
ten clients all demanding that you file their case within the next week.
So, how do you juggle it? Howdo you maintain your sanity and calmness? How do you stay
focused and howdo you help,and mentor, and guide,and inspire the next youngergeneration –
whether it’slawyers, or the paralegals, or other support stuff – to keep remembering the mission
of why we come to work each day, what we hope to do,and the liveswe hope to change,howwe
help people to realize their great American dream of living and working in thisfabulous, great
country, called theUnited Statesof America. It isa nation of immigrants.
So, keep pointing out the vision, the mission, the policy,the philosophy of the firm. Keep
maintaining your balance with thework, pulling you in ten directions. Try to inspire different
levelsof peopleand stay focused on what’sthe goal. Thegoal at the end of the day isto get our
clientswhat they need, and if we are calm and focused then we can help them to accomplish their
goal, and we can have,hopefully,an opportunity to make them realize theirdreamsand to have a
good lifein the bargain.
PC: During the years that you’ve practiced law,what do you think have been some of
the most challenging experiences that you’ve encountered?
SM: Well, we get a lot of caseswhere a lot of otherlawfirmshave gotten denials, or haven’t been
able to deal with it, or they say, ‘Oh no, you can’t do that’ and we’re like,‘Well thelawisgrey. If
you want to take a chance we can fight foryou,’ and most people say, ‘Well I’m caught between a
rock and a hard place, fine I’ll do what I need to do,’ and then we takethe case, and we fight it,
and we win it.

3. So, we win a lot of really difficult cases. Some of the fun caseshave been suing the U.S. federal
government by filing writsof mandamusin the District Court in Washington, the federal
District Court in Washington D.C. We’re like apparently numberone in the country to file
lawsuitsagainst the U.S. government forwritsof mandamus, to demand the government to
produce the document within a certain timeframe.
That’sbeen challenging, very difficult casesthat othersget denials, getting those casesapproved.
Caseswhere people have complex criminal issues, sometimesits mistakesthey made, and
sometimesits stuff that they didn’t intend to make,but it’shappened – partial things. I don’t
want to say anything istotally unintentional.People alwayssay, ‘If you choose to drink and
drive, then you choose to kill people,’ but,you know, a lot of people say, ‘Well they were
depressed, they had a coupleextra drinks, they got drunk,’ and then they killed somebody.They
didn’t even kill somebody actually, it’sa DUI offense, you can be deported forlife, from getting a
green card with just a small ticket, a DUIticket, for a person who’sbrilliant,and smart, and an
asset for America, to think that we could kick them out…
Sometimeswe take casesthatare a little bit uphill,steep uphill battle,but we try to win it, at the
end of the day that’swhy we’rehere,to serve the client, to follow the laws, to be ethical, to be just
and to be right, but never forget our goal,which isto make a difference in the livesof people.
PC: How exactly did you personally become involved with immigration law?
SM: I went through the process, had a horribleexperience, and so decided that if thislawyer’s
going to treat me,a fellowcolleague asa lawyer,in such a poor fashion, I tried to think howhe’s
going to treat other doctors, and engineers, and otherpeople in the country.So, I decided that,
‘You know what, maybe we should start…’ because I wasdoing other law, real estatelawand
business law, and I said, ‘You know, I wonderif I should do immigration?’ and I’m so glad that
we did it because it wasthe best decision in the world,to do it and corner that whole market.
PC: How did you become involved with the Global Education Committee?
SM: Dr. Sandra Kurtinitiscame in here with one of her peopleand said that,‘We really,really
would like you to be involved, we think you’d befantastic,’ and they tried to talk me into it. I
thought about it, and said, ‘Aslong asI’m not expected to attend any meetings, regular stuff, and
introduce people I’m willing to bean honorary chair, aslong asthere are other people who are
running the consciousness, running the meetings, scheduling meetings, and doing a lot of the
work, and I’ll show up once in a while and ask questions, and move people, and give them
assignments, and they said that would be fine.

4. So I got involved again, because I believe in – and they, I think they really impressed me when
they said they help,thereare asmany as76,000 studentsthat get an education from CCBC,so a
fair number of them are from other partsof the world,other countries. And I thought, you know,
it would begood if we can try to create a win-win partnership where a lotof theforeign students
who don’t have optionssee that there’soptionsfor them to stay here,and be legal, and make their
life here, and see how I could have an impacton the students.
I came through the process; I went through being a student, and then working on a J1,and then
an H1, and getting the green card,and becoming a citizen. So, I feel like, if I can help others, why
not?
PC: With all the problems that the world at large is facing today, how do you think
those in the legal profession could help solve and mitigate those problems?
SM: Well, you have to have passion and desire in what you do. I’ve gone on anti-bride burning
dowry marches; I’ve gone on the women’smovement marchesthat happened in America, 1980,
1990. My goal wasalways – never – remember I studied law in a country like India initially, I
came to America only to do my mastersin law. So, I did my lawin a country wherelawisnot
well respected, it’sone of the poorest paid professions. I wasguaranteed a lifeof poverty and
hunger, or, just a little above that asa lawyer. So, it didn’t bother mebecause I knew wasgoing
to fight for justice, I wasgoing to fight against injustice, I wasgoing to help thedowntrodden
and underprivileged. So, if you don’t have a passion and a desire to makea difference and to truly
fight for justice, then you shouldn’t become a lawyer.You have to believe in helping,supporting,
and being a voice for people who don’t have a voice.
So you solve it, you go, you do, you can only bewho you are,you can only betrue to your inner
self, and your inner conscience. So, if you have a burning desire to go make some noise and shake
people up, maybe law isa great profession for you.
And how can you besuccessful and do it? You do it, just be true to yourself, don’t tolerateany
kind of injustice when it’sbeing done towardsyou or against you, or you watch it being done to
somebody else. A couple timesmy husband hassaid to me,‘Somebody may true to kill you
because you’re so vocal,’ I said, ‘That’sfine, I just want you to know honey I’ll bethrilled, it’ll be
an honor and privilegeto die knowing I fought for something,or believed in something and died.’
And it may sound like a great martyr,I don’t think it is. I think if you don’t believe in what you
believe in, and you don’t fight forwhat you believe in, you don’t stand up against injustice, then
we deserve injustice to be done to us. We have to stand up and say,‘Excuse me! Hello! What are
you doing? Wheredoesthiscome from? Howdoesthiswork? Why are you doing thisto this
person?’ and then say, ‘Who are you to pokeyour nose when I’m talking to thisperson?’ and you
say, ‘I’m so sorry, officer, I’m really sorry,but thisisreally not right.’

5. And they’re going to be pissed atyou at times, and it’spossible somebody would kill you if they
get pissed enough. If that’sthe price you pay forbelieving in justice and fighting for what you
believe I think it’sa small price to pray,but I think the more people do that the lesspeople in
power or authority will misuse and abuse that power in waysto harm people.The reason that
they do it and get away with it ismost people just stand on the side and don’t do anything. Every
time you see a cop doing something wrong you call 911 and say,‘There’sa cop misbehaving,
violating the law, violating thepolice rule of ethicsand code.I’m a lawyer, or officerof law you
can say, ‘I’m a paralegal, and asa paralegal I’ve studied enough lawto know that thislooks
wrong, thisis not what our Constitution protects.’
If nothing else, someone when they file a Freedom of Information Act request on thatphone call
will find out that they were given notice that there wasa problem with the behaviorof their
officers.
But if you just keep quiet and don’t do even a littlebit,then we deserve all the thingsthat are
happening wrong to ussometimes.
PC: What ultimately motivates you every day to continue doing your work?
SM: Just the thrill and the excitement, to knowthat I’m changing, every single day I come in, I
know the livesI’m changing,the liveswe’re impacting, the dreamswe’re helping, the American
dream to be realized for all these families, to live and work permanently in America. And even
giving a job to my fabulousstaff of around 85 people,right herein Baltimore County, Owings
Mills. But most important, the fact that we are truly helping all of our clientsall acrossthe
United Statesand all acrossthe world to come and live and work legally here, to realize their
American dream,to provide for themselvesand their families, financially, emotionally,
spiritually, they can provide peaceof mind.
Many of them send money back to theirhome countries, to support their parents, and
grandparents, and siblings. We complain all the timethat we don’t have enough money for
ourselveshere, but with the same money that we make, so many immigrantssend 30%, 40%,
50%, 60%, 70% of thatmoney back to their families, whether it’sin India, or Mexico, or any
other part of the world, so that their siblingscan get married, their siblingscan get an education,
their mothersor fatherscan get medical treatment. And thefact that we arehelping the world
economy and the world to become more successful, and for peopleto have a slightly better life,
that’swhatinspiresus every day to keep coming back to truly know that we aremaking an
impact in the livesof these people. That’sso exciting!