Thomas K. Ragland
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
Suite 1000
505 9th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004-2166
USA

Phone: +1 202 776 7814
Fax: +1 202 478 1732
Email: tkragland@duanemorris.com

Thomas K. Ragland is a partner in the Immigration Practice Group at Duane Morris LLP. Thomas Ragland practices in the area of immigration law, focusing on litigation before the federal courts and immigration courts and representation of clients before the Department of Homeland Security. With more than 17 years of experience, Mr. Ragland is a seasoned litigator known for handling complex matters for both individual and corporate clients. He has specific experience in defense against removal, immigration consequences of criminal convictions, asylum, waivers of inadmissibility, citizenship, worksite enforcement issues, and defense against terrorism- and security-related bars to admission. He has been recognized by The Washington Post as one of "Washington, D.C.'s Best Lawyers" and was named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of "Washington's Top Lawyers."

Mr. Ragland is chair of the Federal Court Litigation Section, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and chair of the Litigation Committee, AILA D.C. Chapter, and is a frequent speaker on immigration issues. He is a 1994 cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School, where he was editor in chief of the Boston College Third World Law Journal, and a graduate, with honors, of the University of Virginia.

Areas of Practice

• Immigration Law

Professional Activities

• Maryland State Bar Association
• Bar of the District of Columbia
  - Co-chair, International Law Section, Committee on Immigration & Human Rights
• American Immigration Lawyers Association
  - Chair, Federal Court Litigation Section, 2011
  - Chair, Litigation Committee, D.C. Chapter, 2007-2011
• National Lawyer's Guild, National Immigration Project
• American Bar Association

Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• Court of Appeals of Maryland

Education

• Boston College Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1994
  - Editor in Chief, Boston College Third World Law Journal, 1993-1994
• University of Virginia, B.A., with honors, 1988

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2008-present
• Maggio & Kattar, PC
  - Shareholder and Senior Attorney, 2006-2008
• Elliot & Mayock LLP
  - Associate, 2004-2006
• U.S. Department of Justice
  - Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division
  -- Attorney, 2003-2004
• Board of Immigration Appeals, Executive Office for Immigration Review
  - Senior Attorney Manager, 2002-2003
  - Attorney Advisor, 1995-2002
• U.S. Immigration Court
  - Executive Office for Immigration Review
  -- Judicial Law Clerk, 1994-1995

Civic and Charitable Activities

• Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition
• Immigrant's List
• Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC)
  - BIA Pro Bono Project, 2005-2007

Honors and Awards

• Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2010-2012
• Listed in The Washingtonian as one of the top lawyers in Washington, D.C., 2009, 2011
• Board of Immigration Appeals Outstanding Performance Awards, 1997-2003
• Board of Immigration Appeals Special Achievement Awards, 1998 and 1999

Selected Publications

• Author, "Litigating Immigration Cases in Federal Court," book chapter, What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Immigration Law (American Bar Association) (forthcoming)
• Co-author, "Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds: Litigation Strategies in the U.S. and Canada," Law & Society Association, 2010
• Co-author, "U.S. Supreme Court's Sixth-Amendment Ruling Requires Defense Counsel to Inform Immigrant When Plea May Lead to Deportation," Duane Morris Alert, April 7, 2010
• Quoted in "Why are U.S.-allied refugees still branded as 'terrorists?'" by Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers, July 26, 2009
• "What did Compean Accomplish? The Uncertain Right to Effective Assistance of Counsel in Immigration Proceedings," American Bar Association Section of Litigation, June 2009
• "E-Verify Requirement for Federal Contractors Delayed Again," Duane Morris Alert, June 2, 2009
• "Nken v. Holder: Impact on Stays of Removal and Beyond," American Bar Association Section of Litigation, May 2009
• "Supreme Court Strikes Down Long-Standing BIA Interpretation of 'Persecutor Bar'," American Bar Association Section of Litigation, March 2009
• Mentioned in "Freedom Fighters Need Not Apply" by Anna Kusarska, Washington Post, December 15, 2008
• Quoted in "U.S. allies losing asylum bids over definition of 'terrorist'" by Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers, May 2, 2009
• Contributing Editor, Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook, 11th ed., 2008, 2010
• Quoted in "Stalwart Service for U.S. in Iraq Is Not Enough to Gain Green Card" by Karen DeYoung, Washington Post, March 23, 2008
• "Supreme Court Rules for Thousands Deported: State Felony Drug Possession Offense That Would be Classified as a Misdemeanor Under Federal Law Is Not an 'Aggravated Felony,'" Bender's Immigration Bulletin, December 18, 2006
• "Burma's Rohingyas in Crisis: Protection of 'Humanitarian' Refugees under International Law," Boston College Third World Law Journal 301, Summer 1994
• "Presumed Incredible: A View from the Dissent," 75 Interpreter Releases 1541, November 9, 1998

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, "Recent Developments in Employment Based Adjudication," American Bar Association's 2011 Fall Administrative Law Conference, Washington, D.C., November 17-18, 2011
• Panelist, "The Immigration Consequences of Sex Offenses," American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference, San Diego, California, June 15-18, 2011
• Discussion Leader, "Challenging Consular Decisions," American Immigration Lawyers Association's Federal Court Immigration Litigation CLE Practicum, Atlanta, Georgia, March 3-4, 2011
• Moderator, "The Impact of Immigration Law: What Every Lawyer Should Know," American Bar Association's 2010 Administrative Law Conference, Washington, D.C., November 4, 2010
• Discussion Leader, "Combating the Terrorism Bars Before DHS and the Courts," American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference, National Harbor, Maryland, June 30-July 3, 2010
• Panelist, "The Material Support Bar and Security Inadmissibility: Coordinating Advocacy and Analysis in the U.S. and Canada," Law & Society Association 2010 Annual Meeting, Chicago, May 28, 2010
• Speaker, "Duane Morris' Developments in Workplace Law & Practice 2010," Washington, D.C., May 11, 2010
• Speaker, "Goin' to the Crossroads of Immigration and Criminal Law: Convictions, Removability and Relief," American Immigration Lawyers Association 2009 Fall Topics CLE Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, December 14, 2009
• Panelist, "Asylum for Beginners," Teleseminar, August 26, 2009
• Speaker, "The New Form I-9," Business 21 Publishing webinar, July 21, 2009
• Panelist, "District Court Challenges to Unlawful Agency Action: the APA, Declaratory Actions, Habeas, and Mandamus"; "The Material Support Bar to Asylum and Adjustment," American Immigration Lawyers Association Annual Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, June 3-6, 2009
• Speaker, "Removal for Experts: The Changing Definition of Crimes of Moral Turpitude," Immigration Lawyers Weekly (ILW.com) Teleconference, March 19, 2009
• Speaker, "Motions Practice; The New Era of Litigation Practice" and "Mock Cross-Examinations: Taking it to the Mat," American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), 2008 Fall Topics CLE Conference, New Orleans, December 11, 2008
• Speaker, "Defending Your Client in Immigration Proceedings: Defending Against Security Grounds of Removal," 2008 Annual Conference, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIP/NLG), Detroit, October 15, 2008
• Moderator, "The Sleeping Giant: The Material Support to Terrorism Bar to Admissibility - Who's Covered, Who's Not, and What to Do About It," American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Education Dept. Podcast, October 2008
• Faculty Member, American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) 2008 Litigation Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, September 12-14, 2008
• Speaker, "What Every Lawyer Should Know About Immigration Law: Implications of Criminal Convictions," District of Columbia Bar Association, CLE Program, Washington, D.C., May 27, 2008
• Panelist, "Barriers to International Scholarship," 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), Pittsburgh, May 8, 2008
• Moderator, "Hitting a Homerun: How to Litigate Security Check Issues, Mandamus and 1447(b) actions in Federal Court," 2008 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) DC Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., March 6, 2008
• Moderator, 2008 American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) Litigation Strategy Meeting, Phoenix, March 1, 2008
• Panelist, "International Scholars and National Borders," 2008 Conference of the American Historical Association (AHA), Washington, D.C., January 3, 2008
• Speaker, "Protecting Immigrant Rights: Understanding Policies Affecting Our Community," Fourth National Conference of the Network of Arab-American Professionals, New York, November 18, 2007
• Speaker, "Challenging Documentary Evidence in Applications for Relief," 2007 Annual Conference, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIP/NLG), Washington, D.C., October 31, 2007
• Faculty Member, American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) 2007 Litigation Institute, Louisville, Colorado, July 27-29, 2007
• Speaker, "What Every Lawyer Should Know About Immigration Law: Implications of Criminal Convictions," District of Columbia Bar Association, CLE Program, Washington, D.C., May 29, 2007