Attorney Profile

Sharlene S. Richards, Attorney at Law

Sharlene S. Richards practices in the area of Immigration and Nationality Law. She passed the New York State Bar in 2000 and is qualified and licensed to practice Immigration and Nationality Law anywhere in the United States. Immigration and Nationality Law is one of the most important elements of Federal Jurisprudence and Sharlene is dedicated to assisting all of her clients in expeditiously achieving their goals for immigration and related issues.

She graduated in Law (LL.B Hons) from the University of Wales, United Kingdom in 1991. She attended Lincoln’s Inn, one of the four ancient Inns of Court in the United Kingdom, which can call to the Bar members qualified for the rank of Barrister. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994 as a Barrister-at-Law.

Under the tutelage of Dr. Datuk Cyrus Das, President of the Malaysian Bar Council, she was also called to the Malaysian Bar in 1996. She practiced as an Advocate & Solicitor for the law firm of Shook Lin & Bok, one of the largest and oldest law firms in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for 3 years. There, she specialized in the area of General Litigation for many of the firm’s large domestic and international clients, both corporate and individuals. 

Sharlene is also an immigrant to the United States. She became a United States Citizen in 2003. As such, she has been through the same process that many of her clients are undertaking and therefore has a special empathy and understanding of the many hurdles that arise in the process of immigration, whether the goals are short or long term residence and/or employment in this country.

Professional Organizations

• Legal / Immigration Columnist for the Voice of Asia
• The American Immigration Lawyers Association
• The New York State Bar Association
• The New York State Bar International Law Section
• The American Bar Association
• The American Bar Association Immigration, Pro Bono and Public Interest Litigation Sections and  Committees
• United States Supreme Court 
• Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States Federal District Court for the Southern District of TX
• The Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, London, United Kingdom (Barrister At Law)
• The Malaysian Bar

She is also on the volunteer list of immigration attorneys for pro bono assistance in Houston.