Opinion ID: 1057635
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Margarita Kennen-Sanchez Matter

Text: In 2005, Margarita Kennen-Sanchez retained Sneed to represent her in an immigration matter and paid him $1,500 to appear with her at an immigration hearing in Memphis. According to Kennen-Sanchez, Sneed was late for the hearing, which had to be rescheduled because he failed to advise her that her husband also needed to be present at the hearing to resolve questions about their marriage. Apparently believing that she had received nothing of value from Sneed, Kennen-Sanchez complained that he should have refunded the fee she paid him. The Board alleged that Sneed was incompetent to handle immigration matters, failed to communicate with his client, and charged an excessive fee. The Panel resolved most of the issues in favor of Sneed. Specifically, the Panel determined that the Board failed to prove that Sneed was incompetent to handle immigration matters, charged an excessive fee, or that he failed to communicate with his client. However, in deciding that Sneed had assisted Ceja Enterprises and Carmen Ceja in the unauthorized practice of law, the Panel noted that Kennen-Sanchez testified that her immigration petition had been prepared by Carmen Ceja, that Ceja gave her legal advice concerning a domestic matter, and that Ceja prepared correspondence to immigration authorities on her behalf.