A guide to conducting effective and fulsome initial client consultations in immigration matters.
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Andrew Carvajal and Lisa Middlemiss
May 26, 2026 at 12:00pm EST
$60
2 hours
Attend Live Online and On-Demand Recording
The initial client interview sets the foundation for every successful immigration case. This course provides an in-depth look at best practices for conducting effective, compliant, and client-focused consultations in Canadian immigration law. Participants will learn how to prepare for consultations, structure the interview, manage documentation, and ensure cultural and ethical sensitivity throughout the process. The course also explores the nuances of “second opinion” consultations, strategies for different case types—from study permits and LMIAs to family sponsorships and refugee claims—and the crucial steps that follow before formal engagement. Designed for both new and experienced practitioners, this session will help you elevate the quality, professionalism, and efficiency of your client consultations.
• Required information from client(s)
• Source of referral if applicable
• Conflict checks
• Intake questionnaires
o General and matter-specific questionnaires
o Are retainers required at the consultation stage?
o Risk of making the intake process too burdensome
• Documents to request from client(s)
• Pre-interview research and preparation
• Advice regarding limits of a consultation in a restrictive immigration context
• Setting up the room for an in-person or video call consultation
• Cultural considerations
• Point of first contact
o Applications involving employers and employees
o Applications involving multiple family members
• Having family members and friends at the consultation
• Use of interpreters during the consultation
• Confidentiality of information provided during a consultation
• Main elements of an initial consultation
o Information gathering
o Exploring various immigration alternatives
o Explaining the legal test for specific programs
o Assessing strengths and weaknesses of the application
o Understanding past refusals
o Screening for potential inadmissibilities
o Explaining documentation that will be required in the application process
• Joint consultations with colleagues with different specialties (Co-counsel)
• Clients who are still on retainer with a different representative
• The limits of a second opinion consultation
• Not jumping to conclusions
• Speaking with the other representative
• Advising clients of their rights
• The “I want to move to Canada” general consultation
• Family sponsorship consultations
• Refugee and humanitarian applications consultations
• Visitor visa consultations
• Study permit consultations
• LMIA and work permit consultations
• Appeal and judicial review consultations
• Consultations regarding inadmissibility issues
• Citizenship consultations – proof and grant
• Recordkeeping – notes or video recording
• Follow-up communications
• Retainer agreements
• Non-engagement letters
• ATIP requests
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Managing Partner
Carvajal Law
Andrew is a Toronto immigration lawyer and the Managing Lawyer of Carvajal Law. He received a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill University. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2011.
Andrew’s immigration practice focuses on all types of business immigration, including the relocation of foreign workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program. This involves the representation of employers and employees on all types of Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications and Canadian work permit applications. He also assists professionals and entrepreneurs around the world with permanent residence applications under federal and provincial economic programs.
Having been involved in the international student industry for over 10 years, Andrew also assists clients with study permits and visitor visas. He is the CEO of the education consulting firm mobility.study.
For over 10 years, Andrew has taught at the university and college levels, as well as professional development courses to immigration lawyers, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants and paralegals. He is the Curriculum Developer for LPEN and an instructor of multiple online courses and workshops dealing with labour mobility programs, permanent residence and study permits. He is also a frequent contributor to several publications dealing with immigration law and has been invited to speak about immigration changes on local and national news segments, as well as to testify before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.
Prior to practising law, Andrew was a sociology professor at McGill University and a university researcher in projects dealing with criminal justice, equality laws, family transformation and social research methods. He is also the host of the biweekly wine and immigration podcast “Vivir Afuera”.
Principal Lawyer
Middlemiss Immigration Law
Lisa Middlemiss is the principal lawyer at Middlemiss Immigration Law which she founded in September 2024. Previously, Lisa worked at Gomberg Dalfen, a boutique immigration law firm in Old Montreal for 11 years, first as Associate and then as a Law Partner. She initially joined the firm as a student in 2010 and subsequently articled at the firm. Called to the Quebec Bar (Barreau du Québec) in August 2013, Lisa has been practising exclusively in Canadian immigration and citizenship law ever since.
Lisa completed civil law and common law degrees in 2012 at McGill University’s Integrated Law Program in Montreal. She was awarded her bachelor of arts in polit- ical science in 2008 from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia and completed a related university exchange in 2006 at l’Institut d’Études Politiques in Lille, France.
Throughout her practice in immigration and citizenship law, Lisa has been involved with the Canadian Bar Association (CBA). She initially served as vice-president and then president of the Quebec Branch of the CBA’s Immigration Law Section. Subsequently, Lisa was elected as a table officer of the CBA’s National Immigration Law Section’s executive, holding the lock-step positions of secretary/communications officer, vice-chair, chair, and immediate past chair.
Lisa has co-authored with Amandeep Hayer the Emond publication Maintaining Permanent Residence and Acquring Citizenship.
Before attending law school, Lisa worked for the International Policy and Agreements Division of Human Resources and Social Development Canada in Ottawa, which gave her an appreciation for the civil service.
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