William Z. Reich

Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP
300 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: (716) 854-7525
Fax: (716) 854-0294
Email: William.Reich@abil.com
Web: www.srwlawyers.com

Profile:

William was born in Tel Aviv on October 5, 1947, before the State of Israel was established. In 1958, he emigrated to the United States with his parents and became a United States citizen in 1964. After graduating from the University of Buffalo School of Law in 1974, he joined the Buffalo, New York law firm then known as Serotte, Hailey, Hoffman & Green where he began his legal career in the fields of criminal law and litigation.

In 1975, William introduced the practice of immigration law to the firm. Building on his own background as an immigrant and the fact that he is fluent in Hebrew, Yiddish, Spanish and Polish, William took a serious interest in this emerging and dynamic area of the law. Before long, William began to concentrate his practice solely on U.S. immigration law. More than 30 years later, William is recognized as an expert legal strategist with a specialty toward solving complicated and challenging immigration matters. He frequently mentors other lawyers and is asked to co-counsel with other leading immigration lawyers across the country in complex immigration cases.

Additionally, William is frequently invited to speak at regional and national conferences hosted by American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). He has also given numerous media interviews and published many articles dealing with the trans-border movement of business personnel under NAFTA as well as unique immigration issues faced by border practitioners

Martindale-Hubbell Attorney Peer Review Ratings has rated William "BV" for legal ability and general ethics standard - this is an indication of an exemplary reputation and well established practice. Since 1993, William has been listed in Best Lawyers in America, largely considered the pre-eminent and most reliable referral guide to the legal profession compiled through an exhaustive survey in which thousands of the top lawyers in the United States evaluate their peers on a confidential basis.

Practice Areas:

• Immigration and Nationality Law
• Representation and rehabilitation of applications under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
• Representation in Port of Entry Matters

Education:

• University of Buffalo School of Law, J.D., 1974
• Queens College of the City University of New York, B.A., 1969

Admissions:

• State of New York - 1974
• Supreme Court of the United States – August 15, 1980
• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit – May 19, 1982
• United States of America Western District of New York – November 18, 1974

Professional Activities:

• Member, Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL)
• Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
  • Past Chair, Upstate New York Chapter
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, New York State Bar Association
• Member, Erie County Bar Association
  • Past Chair, Immigration Law Committee
• Former Adjunct Professor in Immigration and Nationality Law – SUNY at Buffalo

Articles/Papers:

• Co-author of chapter entitled Border Problems and Remedies, included in Immigration Law and Procedure, the leading multi-volume immigration law treatise published by Lexis/Nexis Matthew Bender;
• co-author of Processing of Canadian NAFTA Applications at the Port of Entry, included in Immigration Practice and Procedure under the North American Free Trade Agreement, 2nd Edition, published by AILA;
• co-author of The Fundamentals of Canadian Immigration Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, published in the Ohio Northern University Law Review (2002);
• invited to serve as co-editor of AILA’s 3rd edition of Immigration Practice and Procedure under the North American Free Trade Agreement, which, upon publication in the spring of 2006, will also include two articles co-authored by William Z. Reich:
  • Processing of Canadian NAFTA Applications at the Port of Entry in the Post 9/11 Era and
  • The Process for Rehabilitating a Port of Entry NAFTA Denial. [See Lawyers for Lawyers]