Biography

Law Offices of Rebecca S. Whitehouse, Austin, Texas

Representing businesses and individuals with obtaining and maintaining proper visa status and work authorization, issues in the recruitment and hiring process, transferring executives and key personnel, permanent residency, labor certification processing, I-9 compliance and sanctions, immigration-related unfair employment practices, petitions to sponsor a relative / fiancé, applications for citizenship.

May 1992 to March 2000

Baker & Botts, L.L.P., Houston, Texas; Austin,Texas

Associate

Employment / Labor Law -- Experience includes conducting all phases of discovery, taking and defending depositions, preparing witnesses, drafting and arguing summary judgment and other pre-trial motions, and participating in arbitrations and mediations.  Practice also involves advising clients on workplace practices, drafting and reviewing employment agreements and employment policies including employee testing programs, responding to EEOC charges and OSHA citations, and representing management at TEC and TWCC proceedings.

Business-related Immigration Law -- Practice includes obtaining visas for foreign national employees and multi-national transfers; maintaining work authorization for employees holding visas; advising employers on compliance with document retention, employment authorization, and non-discrimination requirements.

BAR ADMISSIONS

State Bar of Texas, U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Northern, and Western Districts of Texas.

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

2000 – 2010         Business Immigration Law – Strategies for Employing Foreign Nationals, Law Journal Press ; Chapter Author

April 13, 2011                      “I-9 All the Time - Employment Verification and Immigration Issues”

February 21, 2007               "When Your New Employee Or Relative Is A Foreign National"  

December 18, 2006             "Managing the Complexities of The Overlapping Web of FMLA, ADA, Workers' Comp and Antidiscrimination Laws"

June 24, 2004                       “The Intersection of Immigration Law and Family/Tax/Employment/Probate/Criminal Law”

April 7, 2000                          "Birth and Adoption Unemployment Compensation", Central Texas Human Resource Management Association, Temple, Texas

March 23, 2000                   "Recruiting and Hiring Foreign National Employees; Employment and Labor Law Issues in Texas", Lorman Education Services, Houston, Texas

February 2000                     "Developments in Federally Mandated Drug and Alcohol Testing", The American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law, Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee, 2000 Mid-winter meeting,

October 1999                       "Recruiting and Hiring Foreign National Employees", Texas Association of Business and Chambers of Commerce, Austin, Texas

February 3, 1999                 "Implementing Liability-Free Progressive Discipline Policies; Discipline and Termination Law", Council on Education in Management, Houston, Texas

September 1998                  "Immigration: A Strategic Update", Baker Botts, LLP Labor and Employment Conference 1998, Houston, Texas

October 27, 1998                 "Alternate Dispute Resolution", Lorman Education Services, Houston, Texas

October 1998                       "Emerging Employment Issues", Baker Botts LLP Labor and Employment Conference 1998, Austin, Texas

October 16, 1997                 "Alternate Dispute Resolution", Lorman Education Services, Houston, Texas

April 1996                             "How to Hire, Discipline, and Discharge Employees in Texas", The Cambridge Institute, Houston, Texas

 BOARD CERTIFICATION

1998 – 2007         Labor and Employment Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

 PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

2010-2011                            Solo / Small Firm Section, Austin Bar Association                                                            

• Immediate Past-President

2010-2011                            Rotary Club of Northwest Austin

•  V.P. International Service

2011                                       Animal Welfare Committee, Austin Bar Association

• Committee Co-Chair

2009-2010                            Solo / Small Firm Section, Austin Bar Association

•  2005-2006                            President

2008-2009                            Rotary Club of Northwest Austin

• Director, Club Service

2008-2009                            AILA National Committee – H-2A/H-2B

• Committee Member

July 2007 – 2011                 District Nine Unauthorized Practice of Law Subcommittee, Supreme Court of Texas

• Committee Member

2003 – Present                     Solo / Small Firm Section, Austin Bar Association

•  Board Member and Section Member

1999 – 2000                         Travis County Women Lawyers Association

• Board Member

1999 – 2000                         Texas Association of Business and Chamber of Commerce

• Austin Chapter Officer

EDUCATION:

University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Michigan

J.D., December 1991

Honors and Activities:

Best Oralist Award, Writing and Advocacy, Winter 1990; Family Law Project, Case                                           Supervisor; Child Advocacy Law Clinic, Summer 1990;  Moot Court, Fall 1990

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, August 1988

Honors and Activities:

Graduated with distinction; Class Honors C Fall of 1985, Fall of 1987;

Membership in Psi Chi (National Psychological Honor Society)

ACTIVITIES:   Member of American Immigration Lawyers Association, Rotary Club of Northwest Austin, Animal Welfare Committee of the Austin Bar Association