黑料福利社

Dozens of people gathered at the former Alexandra Lozano Immigration Law office in Yakima on Wednesday afternoon, huddling around the building鈥檚 locked doors to read a paper sign taped to the glass.

“Our law office has permanently shut down and is no longer providing services,” the sign read. “For more information, please visit .”

Just a few weeks after prominent immigration attorney Alexandra Lozano resigned and gave up her law license in lieu of discipline from the Washington State Bar Association, the firm she left behind has shuttered its doors 鈥� leaving clients in Yakima and across the state with more questions than answers.

The Tukwila-based firm has locations across the country. According to an 11-page statement of misconduct from the bar association, it has more than 35,000 clients, and Lozano鈥檚 signature is on nearly鈥�54,000 petitions pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.鈥疐ollowing Lozano鈥檚 resignation, the firm rebranded as Luz Legal with the promise of continued legal services under a new name. That change, however, was short-lived.

On Wednesday, the firm posted a statement on its website announcing its closure.

鈥淎s many of you know, our firm has faced increasing difficulties and unfair scrutiny in recent years. After careful reflection, we have come to the conclusion that closing the firm is the best option,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淭his decision has not been taken lightly. Our clients have always been at the center of everything we do, and making this announcement is one of the most difficult times in our firm's history.鈥�

Yakima concerns

Among the dozens of people outside of the Yakima law office Wednesday was public notary Cristina Gonzalez Torres. Gonzalez Torres said she made her way to the crowded parking lot off of North 39th Avenue around 3:30 p.m. after hearing about the closure from family friends.

鈥淭his is people's lives, and some people have paid a lot of money 鈥� thousands of dollars,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd then to come to a place that you trusted, and they're no longer here. I can only imagine.鈥�

Gonzalez Torres said she was there to try to compile a list of names of people affected by the closure so she can get them connected with the lawyers spearheading a class action lawsuit against Lozano. Although she isn鈥檛 an attorney and can鈥檛 give legal advice, she said was also trying to help people find where their cases were using their receipt numbers and refer them to a trusted attorney.

Within an hour of arriving, Gonzalez Torres said she had spoken with at least 50 people 鈥� many of them Violence Against Women Act or asylum cases.

鈥淎ll of these individuals have the same thought,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey're like, 鈥榃e're gonna go and see if we can get our file.鈥� When they showed up, as you can see, there's no one in the office. The office is cleared up.鈥�

One woman, who asked the 黑料福利社 not to use her name due to concerns about an active immigration case, said she had received a text message from the firm around 2:30 p.m. that day, including a link to Luz Legal鈥檚 online statement.

When she arrived at the Yakima office not long after, it was already closed.

Just two weeks ago, the woman said she had received assurances from Luz Legal not to worry about her case. Now, she鈥檚 uncertain about the future for her and her husband, who have already spent around $14,000 with the firm. She added that she鈥檚 concerned about other law firms taking advantage of their situation, especially after they鈥檝e already paid so much.

Moving forward, Gonzalez Torres said her next step will be to reach out to Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown.

鈥淚 would like to see him come to Yakima and talk to these individuals, because these aren't the only people that you see, there's people all throughout Washington and throughout Yakima County,鈥� she said.

More information

In addition to its statement, Luz Legal also posted information about what clients can expect following the closure. The firm said it aims to send all clients their files within 60 days. It also said it is viewing all cases internally to determine whether a refund is appropriate.

The firm encouraged people to find new legal counsel as soon as possible, to keep their address up to date with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and to pay close attention to all deadlines and notifications, noting that missing deadlines could lead to serious consequences for their immigration matters.

This is a developing story.