In his years of legal experiences, Chhetry has been providing legal services to individuals as well as businesses, corporations and has trained novice lawyers under his supervision. He was admitted to New York Bar in 1987 and has extensive experience in immigration law matters, including litigation, divorce, business law, real estate, bankruptcy, corporate law and hydro investment.[break]
Apart from providing help to sort out the legal problems of Nepalis in the US, Chhetry has also rescued many illegal Nepali immigrants who were put into detention. Through the newly opened Nepal branch, he plans to provide services to government agencies in cases of international treaties and create a legal environment for the investors in America to invest in Nepal, and vice versa. Besides that, the Nepal branch will also provide comprehensive legal services in corporate transaction, cross border investment, intellectual property rights and legal outsourcing, to name a few.
The Week met Chhetry to talk more about his legal experience, the situation of Nepali immigrants in the US and the services provided by his company’s newly opened branch.
Photo:Bhaswor Ojha
Tell us about your journey of becoming the first Nepali attorney to be licensed in the US.
I always wanted to be a lawyer, so I studied law in Nepal and then studied further in India. I then took up teaching at law campus in Nepal for a year. I wanted to study in the US, so I pursued my L.L.M in Columbia University in 1984 and received my Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Fordham University. After I completed my education, I was about to return to Nepal but my senior lawyers recommended that it would be better if I understood the legal practices of the US. In that context, I gave bar examinations and I became the first Nepali to be admitted to New York Bar in 1987. Then I started working in association with private lawyers but later I worked as human rights commission lawyer in New York City. In 1994, I started private practice and started Chhetry & Associates which is where I currently work.[break]
What are the challenges that you faced to establish yourself as a lawyer in the US?
It was very difficult for me as initially being a foreigner in the US, it was hard to find a job. In today’s age, the number of Nepalis has increased a lot. Even the Indians population increased after the ’90s, including immigrants from many other countries. It was difficult to enter the legal market and there was a lot of struggle. But I took up those challenges, and after my admission at the bar in 1987, it became easy to work. I then started by working for lawyers in New York City and later practiced law in my own private law firm.
What kind of services does your private company provide?
There are three offices in New York and one in Pennsylvania. Our team has expert lawyers who have excellent experiences in law. We provide legal services to different communities. In the initial days, there were less Nepalis, so we were dealing with cases of Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Chinese and South Americans as well as people from other countries and also for local businessmen and companies. There are lots of lawyers who came to study in the US and I’ve trained a few lawyers as well. There were eight lawyers who worked in my office and they have already started practicing in the US by starting their own offices. I’m currently training few Nepali and American lawyers as well.
How did you come up with the idea of starting a branch in Nepal?
Nepal’s population is growing. In the US, there are more than 150,000 Nepalis, and at the same time, the number of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese population is also increasing. Those Nepalis who are settled there want me to provide them with services while some want to look after the legal problems they have in Nepal from the US. So, in such cases I had to search for lawyers in Nepal and sometimes there would be problems in providing references as well. That’s why we wanted to create a platform where we can provide services from Nepal itself.
The main objective is also to open up a branch to create a legal environment for the investors in America to invest in Nepal. The sectors that they can invest in are hydroelectricity, business, and telecommunication. We also provide legal framework and recommendations for those who want to invest in America from here regarding where they can invest, the requirements and we also make sure that they don’t lose their money.
What are the other services that you look forward to providing?
We also want to help Nepal government by providing services to government agencies in cases of international treaties, contracts and negotiations. When we look historically, Nepal government has suffered a lot in cases where legal drafting wasn’t done properly and they lost millions of dollars in those deals. We aren’t saying that Nepali lawyers aren’t competent but sometimes they may not be aware of the culture of how deals are made. Since we have lots of experience, we want to help in such matters.
What are the differences between law practices in Nepal and the US?
There is a huge difference between the legal systems in the US and Nepal. Lawyers are identified in different ways here. In order for the lawyers to make legal profession respectful, they need to try to make this profession better. There are good and bad lawyers as well in the legal profession of the US but the regulations are so strong that if you are a bad lawyer you can’t continue working, and that’s why lawyers are trusted. That kind of practice hasn’t been developed here yet, so it’s difficult for people to trust lawyers. So Nepali lawyers should make their profession respectful in public so that the public also trusts them and it helps in the rule of law as well.
What’s the situation of Nepali immigrants in the US?
The number of Nepalis illegally going to America has increased, and as a lawyer I’ve rescued many who were in detention for illegally entering the US. There are many sad stories that we get to hear as well, like many coming to the US without any basic idea and just dying there due to various circumstances. Historically, there weren’t cases of Nepalis entering illegally but now I can see and hear lots of such cases. We’ve heard many sad incidents where people have suffered in car accidents and those suffered from emergency and personal injuries as well. In such circumstances, we’re trying to create a legal framework where we can help the families here to get the information. Recently, two Nepalis died in New Jersey as they didn’t know that they should use the zebra crossing and crossed the roads haphazardly. Similarly, in one case, a young person was working alone in a night shift at a gas station and wasn’t aware that the area was dangerous and he was shot to death. Such cases could have been avoided if they had proper idea about the safety issues system of the US.
What could be done to make Nepalis aware to avoid illegal entry in the US?
America has invested lots of money and resources for border control but even then many cross borders illegally every year. I think that those Nepalis who go from here should get educated about the system there as many are not even aware that there are strict actions taken in the US and the situation can get more complicated than you expect. Many choose to go illegally even after knowing the consequences. But if they are made aware of the difficulties ahead, a lot of complications can be prevented from happening.
Do you have any suggestions for those lawyers and other Nepalis who are looking forward to come to the US?
For those who want to do business in the US and want to invest for long terms, they should first learn about the legal framework in the US and also learn about due diligence and be informed about how much you should invest. Not only us but there are many lawyers one can go to for recommendations.
It’s a struggle for every Nepali in the US and if the person is ready to take up hardships and struggles, then they will make a successful story. If they aren’t ready, then it’s hard to succeed. If you’re uneducated and unaware, then it’ll be difficult for anyone from any age group. During my time, there were fewer Nepalis and it would be hard to get information about important things and I had to put in a lot of effort. But now there are lots of Nepalis there with lots of facilities, so even a person who can just speak Nepali can survive there which wasn’t the scenario until a few years back.
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