Attorney Danilov Defends Himself -- He's Accused Of Late Filing Of Papers For Immigrants

Seattle attorney Dan P. Danilov, one of the country's most prominent authorities on immigration law, has made a career and fortune out of providing legal aid to immigrants with hard-luck stories.

But in a hearing yesterday in Seattle, he had to defend himself against assertions that he harmed clients who sought his help.

Danilov, 71, faces monetary sanctions, suspension or disbarment from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court, through its own internal investigation, found that Danilov failed to file timely briefs on behalf of 10 clients, all of them immigrants, whose appeals were consequently dismissed.

Those clients faced deportation because their appeals were dismissed.

The court notified Danilov of its claims against him Jan. 26. Danilov appeared before Appellate Commissioner Peter Shaw yesterday to answer them. Shaw will consider Danilov's comments and issue a report within a few weeks. The report will also contain a recommendation for punishment, if any, which will then be sent to a panel of three circuit-court judges for approval.

If disbarred, Danilov will not be allowed to practice in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. But he will still be able to practice law in other courts.

Danilov, a national expert on immigration law, said in seven of the 10 cases named, he mailed briefs on time to the circuit court and to the Office of Immigration Litigation. But neither office received briefs on or near the dates he claimed to have mailed them.

In the other three cases, Danilov said, he did not file briefs because those clients chose to drop their cases and return to their native countries.

In yesterday's hearing, Shaw asked Danilov several times if the clients in question had been up to date on their bills. Danilov said in some cases, yes, and in others, no, but that the status of his clients' payments had nothing to do with their briefs not arriving on time.

Danilov said the briefs in question were finished, stamped and mailed on time.

"There have been no allegations that he blew off cases," said Kurt Balmer, Danilov's lawyer.

In the coming weeks, Shaw will look into any complaints against Danilov on file with the Washington State Bar Association or with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Shaw also asked Danilov to outline remedial action he and his office would be willing to take to ensure that briefs will be filed on time in the future.

"The system broke down last year," Danilov said. "We'll bring in experts to help us fix it."

One of Danilov's 10 clients, Leuel Mengistu, an Ethiopian immigrant, was jailed by the INS for 38 days after his appeal was dismissed and a deportation order was issued against him.

On Jan. 18, 1997, Mengistu married a U.S. citizen. At about the same time, Mengistu filed an appeal, through Danilov, with the court to be reclassified as a resident alien, according to Mengistu's new lawyer, Carol Edward. The court dismissed the appeal in July 1997, and Mengistu was jailed in November 1997.

His wife, Warreene Mengistu, said she called the appeals court, which told her the couple's lawyer had not filed a brief.

Mengistu's case is pending. Meanwhile, he is still considered a political refugee.

"I felt betrayed," Warreene Mengistu said. "This is a person whom I trusted and he misled me, disregarded my feelings and my husband's feelings."

Nonetheless, Danilov has a distinguished record - one he has unabashedly promoted by reprinting and circulating news articles that mention him and passing out pens, pamphlets and calendars that also bear his name.

He has written several books on immigration law, and has argued immigration law before the U.S. Supreme Court. Some immigration laws have been enacted and others changed because of his efforts. In 1960, he unsuccessfully ran for Congress on the Republican ticket.

He has represented Filipino war veterans, Soviet scientists and Chinese dissidents.

Born in Vladivostok of anti-communist parents, Danilov was raised in Hong Kong. He speaks Russian, English and Chinese. During World War II, Danilov worked for Allied intelligence.

With help from an American Navy officer, Danilov and his parents immigrated to Seattle after the war. He completed law school after briefly working for American military intelligence.

Hugo Kugiya's phone message number is 206-464-2281. His e-mail address is: hkugiya@seattletimes.com