Exclusively Mentoring Federal Immigration Litigation

Lacy Brinson McAndrew is a veteran federal immigration litigator and legal educator with more than 20 years of experience spanning private practice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Most recently, she served for nearly eight years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, working primarily as the Civil Immigration Coordinator, where she handled complex federal immigration litigation involving habeas corpus, mandamus and APA claims, citizenship and naturalization, denaturalization, FOIA, and related federal claims. She also represented the United States before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as first chair in several cases, including oral argument in a case of first impression. Her name appears on a variety of precedent decisions out of the Fifth Circuit interpreting the scope of a district court's jurisdiction to hear and provide relief in certain civil immigration matters. 

Previously, Lacy spent six years as a DHS Assistant Chief Counsel, litigating removal cases before the Immigration Court and the BIA, and served as a Legal Instructor at the ICE Academy at FLETC, where she developed curriculum and trained federal agents. She began her career in private practice working directly under nationally recognized immigration authority Ira Kurzban, including editing multiple editions of Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook, where her name can also be found in acknowledgements.

Through private mentoring and advanced training, Lacy gives attorneys something difficult to obtain from traditional CLEs: the perspective of a senior litigator who has practiced immigration law over 20 years from both sides and can teach attorneys how an experienced government attorney analyzes, defends, and litigates cases. She helps practitioners pressure-test difficult cases, identify overlooked jurisdictional and strategic issues, strengthen written and oral advocacy, and develop the judgment and confidence to handle complex federal immigration matters independently.