Linda Kenepaske

When someone disparages immigration lawyers or the legal profession in general, it simply means that they never met Linda Kenepaske.  A native of Kansas and a graduate of the University of Kansas Law School, Linda practiced immigration law in New York City for some 38 years.

Linda left us on July 18, after a lengthy battle with cancer.  Her loss is devastating.   

Linda was one of the most knowledgeable, caring, respected, and well-prepared lawyers anywhere.  Her countless accomplishments on behalf of her clients were earned with the most warmth, manners and class imaginable.  Soft-spoken and unshakeable, Linda always made those around her feel that everything would be OK, that all was under control because she was there.

Linda was ever available as a resource to others.  She was a frequent lecturer at conferences and events of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the Practicing Law Institute.  Linda was active in AILA, serving as a chair or member of several local and national committees, and served on the board of the FBA’s Immigration Law Section.   Linda  also served as chair of the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

In her last years, Linda co-founded and co-chaired the Association of Deportation Defense Lawyers in New York City, through which she helped pass on her extensive knowledge to younger generations of immigration lawyers.  Earlier this year, the ADDA created an award in Linda’s name for lifetime achievement in immigrant advocacy, and fittingly chose Linda as its first recipient.

Linda was one of the first immigration lawyers that I met when I began my legal career.  I am just one of the many, many lawyers for whom Linda served as a role model and source of emulation.  Her wonderful spirit will live on through her loving husband, John; through her law firm partner and nephew, Robert Scott; through the continuing work of the ADDA, and through the memories of all whose lives she touched.

May her memory always be a blessing.