Samantha Hechtman
Biography
Samantha Hechtman, Senior Associate Attorney, has practiced immigration law since 2013. Ms. Hechtman graduated cum laude from Rhodes College in 2007 where she earned her B.A. in International Affairs. She graduated magna cum laude in 2013 from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. She was a member of the Loyola Law Review and served as the Practicum and Substance Editor on the Law Review Board for 2012-2013. Ms. Hechtman was also an active member in the law school's chapter of the National Lawyers' Guild and volunteered her time to the law school's immigration and worker's rights clinics. She is highly proficient in Spanish.
Ms. Hechtman joined the firm in 2013 and primarily works on employment-based permanent residence cases as well as family-based immigration cases, humanitarian relief, and defense in removal proceedings. She also contributes significant amounts of time to the firm's pro bono cases and speaks at conferences about a wide variety of immigration topics. Ms. Hechtman is a member of AILA and previously served as the Mid-South Chapter New Members Division Liaison.
In the Spring of 2015, she was awarded the Loyola University Gillis Long Poverty Law Center's award for commitment to public service.
Education
- Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, New Orleans, Louisiana
- J.D. - 2013
- Honors: magna cum laude
- Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee
- B.A. - 2007
- Honors: cum laude
- Major: International Studies
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 2013
Professional Associations
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- State Bar of Texas Immigration Section
- Practicum and Substance Editor on the Law Review Board, 2012 to 2013
- Member of the National Lawyers’ Guild
Membership
- Membership: Practicum and Substance Editor on the Law Review Board for 2012-2013
- Membership: Member of the National Lawyers’ Guild
Research and Writing
- Domestic Human Rights Project, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, August 2012 – May 2013
A collaborative project with the New Orleans Worker’s Center for Racial Justice to complete and submit a shadow report on the status of discretion in removal proceedings for immigrant community and civil rights activists. Submitted to the United Nations for the United States review of its obligations under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights
- Immigration Handbook for Criminal Defense Attorneys, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Immigration Law Clinic, Summer 2012
Conducted legal research on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions in support of a handbook published for criminal defense attorneys.