Keen on the Law - Immigration Lawyers

J. Christopher Keen, founding attorney for Keen Law Offices, LLC, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Brigham Young University. He attended the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, where he was awarded a Juris Doctor degree. Mr. Keen has been admitted to practice before all Utah state courts including the Utah Supreme Court, before the Federal District Court for the District of Utah, the Ninth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and before the United States Supreme Court. He is also admitted to practice before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Board of Immigration Appeals. He has represented and defended hundreds of immigrants before the immigration courts and the state courts.

Mr. Keen's practice focuses on handling complex immigration issues, criminal defense of foreign nationals, post-conviction work, defending foreign nationals in immigration court, and appeals. He has argued cases in front of courts throughout the state of Utah, and in the Federal District Court for the District of Utah, and has had cases heard before appellate courts including Utah Court of Appeals, the Ninth and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and an appeal to the United States Supreme Court. He has argued in Immigration Courts throughout the Western United States, including in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and California.

Mr. Keen has prepared and provided training to other attorneys in the area of immigration law, including presenting to the Utah State Bar, Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Utah Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Mr. Keen has a variety of prior legal experiences. He has clerked in the Labor Division of the Missouri Attorney General's Office in Jefferson City, Missouri, and at the Criminal Appeals Division of the Utah Attorney General's Office in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has also clerked for two law firms in Salt Lake City, Utah and in Denver, Colorado, gaining experience in litigation, criminal defense, and immigration law.

He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Central Utah Bar Association.

Mr. Keen grew up in Norwalk, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, and attended John Glenn High School. He worked his way through college performing several jobs including bank teller, waiter, store clerk, and software salesman. He has a passion for history, especially family history, and has authored a book on the Keen family. He speaks fluent Spanish, which he learned in school and improved during a two-year volunteer mission among Spanish-speaking migrants in Idaho.

Mr. Keen enjoys sailing, reading, history and spending time with his wife and children.

Published Decisions
Fernandez-Vargas v. Ashcroft, 394 F.3d 881 (10th Cir. 2005), cert. granted, Fernandez-Vargas v. Gonzales, 126 S. Ct. 544 2005 WL 871058 (U.S. 2005), Fernandez-Vargas v. Gonzales, 126 S.Ct. 2422 (U.S. 2006).
Lorenzo v. Mukasey, --F 3d-2007, WL 4111986, (10th Cir. 2007).

Seminars and Presentations
Instructor – Seminar – Basics of Immigration Law, Utah State Bar, August 17, 2006.
Instructor – Utah Chapter of American Immigration Lawyer’s Association – Habeas Corpus and Detained Immigrants, January 26, 2007.
Co-Presenter - "Solo Practice Seminar" at the J. Rueben Clark Law School. Brigham Young University, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Co-Presenter Utah Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers - "Practical Immigration Law Tips For Criminal Defense Lawyers", April 24, 2008.
Co-Presenter Hispanic Chamber of Commerce - "What Businesses Need to Know about Immigration Trends", November 5, 2008.

Edward L. Carter received a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He also holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Brigham Young University.

Mr. Carter’s practice involves representation of clients in appellate matters. Mr. Carter has represented clients in petitions for review before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, including in two published decisions: Lorenzo v. Mukasey, __ F.3d __, 2007 WL 4111986 (10th Cir. Nov. 20, 2007) (No. 06-9505); and Thongphilack v. Gonzalez, __ F.3d __, 2007 WL 3332070 (10th Cir. Sept. 11, 2007) (No. 06-9575). He also has drafted briefs to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and he is admitted to practice before the Utah Supreme Court, U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Carter has authored or coauthored approximately a dozen published articles in academic journals, including on immigration law issues involving asylum: Edward L. Carter and Brad Clark, “‘Membership in a Particular Social Group’: International Journalists and U.S. Asylum Law,” Communication Law & Policy, vol. 12, issue 3 (Summer 2007): 279-312.

Mr. Carter served as a law clerk to Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 2003-04. He also served as Lead Note and Comment Editor for the Brigham Young University Law Review.

Ernest D. Messerly was admitted to practice law in California in 1983. He currently is admitted to practice in all federal immigration courts, and before the Department of Homeland Security. He has represented scores of clients before Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Salt Lake City Immigration Court, and before the Department of Homeland Security in a variety of cases. His practice focuses on helping clients obtain Permanent Residency through family and business immigration and assisting businesses obtain foreign workers through temporary and permanent labor certification.

Mr. Messerly retired after a 33-year career with the Social Security Administration, and moved to Utah in 2005 in part to be near his single, adult children, five of whom were attending college and/or living in the Provo/Orem area. It was at this time that he also sought to use his legal training in pursuing a second career. He has found the practice of immigration law to be just what he had in mind- practicing the kind of law that makes a real and meaningful difference in the personal lives of individuals and their families. He finds his membership in the American Immigration Lawyers Association to be most helpful in this regard.

Mr. Messerly, though born in Provo, Utah grew up in a small town in southern Idaho. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brigham Young University in 1973. He developed Spanish bilingual skills while serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colombia and Venezuela. He later taught Spanish at the Missionary Training Center and one year at Durango High School in Colorado.

Mr. Messerly is married and is the father of 10 children ranging from ages 34 to 14. His outside interests include music and theatre. He sang for some 27 years with the Humboldt Light Opera Company. Currently he is greatly enjoying a return to the musical theatre stage in Utah County. He has always enjoyed sports and presently enjoys officiating high school basketball.

David C. Heier received his juris doctor degree from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida. He also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Mr. Heier has been admitted to practice before all Utah State Courts including the Utah Supreme Court, and the Federal District Court for the District of Utah. He also has been admitted to practice before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which includes the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals. Mr. Heier has been with the firm since May of 2007.

Mr. Heier's areas of practice include representing clients involved in criminal proceedings, post-conviction relief work, and representing immigrants in removal proceedings before the Immigration Courts.

Mr. Heier has represented clients in criminal matters before the First District Court in Box Elder County, The Second District Court in Ogden, the Third District Court in Salt Lake City; the Fourth District Courts in Provo, Orem and American Fork and Fillmore; and the Fifth District Court in St. George.

Mr. Heier has represented clients in Justice Court matters before the Springville, Provo City, Utah County, Lehi, and West Jordan Justice Courts.

Mr. Heier has represented juvenile clients before the Provo and American Fork juvenile courts in the Fourth District.

Mr. Heier has represented clients before the Salt Lake City Immigration Court in removal proceedings. He has assisted clients seeking relief from removal through Cancellation of Removal applications, Adjustment of Status applications, NACARA applications, 212(c) relief applications, and voluntary departure requests. Mr. Heier has also represented detained clients before the Immigration Judge for immigration bond redetermination hearings. Mr. Heier also represents clients seeking appellate relief before the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Mr. Heier is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the American Bar Association. Mr. Heier has lived in Utah, Arizona, Texas, Florida and Ecuador. He is fluent in Spanish.