I originally began the Asylumist for several reasons: I wanted to diversify and grow my law practice; I needed an outlet to complain about the asylum system (we lawyers love to complain), and I hoped the blog would serve as a forum to discuss asylum and related issues. After 8+ years, it’s time to take stock.
When I started the Asylumist in 2010, there were already plenty of blogs related to immigration (there still are), but there was no other blog that focused on asylum (there still isn’t, as far as I know). My main interest as an attorney has always been asylum, and so I felt a blog on the subject would be a good way to grow my business in that direction. Back then, I didn’t really know what a blog was. I viewed it as the equivalent of standing on a milk crate in the town square and yelling over and over, “I’m an expert!” Eventually, I figured, people would look at me and say, “That’s the expert.”
In a sense, I was right. To the extent that I am known professionally, people view me as an expert on asylum, and that has helped to diversify my practice. In 2010, the majority of my asylum clients came from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Afghanistan. These days, my clients come from all over (though perhaps this is more a testament to the sorry state of the world than anything else).
From a purely business perspective, however, I cannot say that the Asylumist has been a great success. First of all, no businessperson with any sense would consider asylum law as a profession. It simply isn’t that lucrative, especially when compared to other legal specialties. And so attracting more asylum clients is not necessarily a path to Easy Street. Also, the amount of time invested in managing a blog, at least my blog, is not even remotely commensurate with the business generated. I’d probably be better off handing out flyers in the subway.
But of course, none of the asylum lawyers I know went into human rights law for the money (except for the terrible ones). We practice asylum law because we believe it helps people. It is interesting. The clients are generally wonderful, intelligent, and accomplished people. Some of us view our work as an extension of our moral or religious values. So while it is not particularly remunerative, there are plenty of rewards for people practicing asylum law.
And in that sense, I think the Asylumist has been successful. It has allowed me to be part of the conversation on asylum. It has also allowed me–and others–to air our complaints about the system. In short, I am lucky to have had the opportunity to work on this blog, and I feel I have gained professionally and personally from the time invested here. I hope it has also been useful to the readers.
With all that said, I just wanted to note some changes that have been made and that are coming. The platform I had been using for the last eight years had become obsolete, and so it was necessary to change the format of the website. I should have made these changes years ago, but I am good at procrastination and bad at change. Anyway, better late than never. Implementing the updates took some time (hence we were down for a few days), but now we are back. We’re not done. There are still kinks to be worked out, and hopefully some bling to be added. The new website should be more user friendly, more accessible to mobile devices, and hopefully more secure.
These days, more than ever, asylum seekers and their supporters need to stand strong. Morality, justice, and history are on our side. I hope to continue to do my part in this great struggle. Thank you for reading and contributing. En la lucha, Jason