Elliott Ozment

Elliott Ozment
Founder
Elliott Ozment graduated from Vanderbilt Law School in 1975 and obtained a Certificate in the Program for Instruction for Lawyers from Harvard Law School in 1990. He focused his practice in immigration law since 1998. He was a member of American Immigration Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, Nashville Bar Association, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. He served as the Chair of the Immigration Law Committee of the Nashville Bar Association and is the legal counsel for the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He provided initial consultations to over 1000 individuals and families and has represented hundreds of clients before the INS and USCIS (successor agency to the INS). He also tried hundreds of immigration cases before numerous Immigration Courts (Memphis, Oakdale (LA), Atlanta (GA), New Orleans (LA), San Antonio (TX), York (PA),) and the Board of Immigration Appeals in Washington, D.C. He has also represented immigration clients in numerous U.S. District Courts (usually involving law enforcement and ICE violations of constitutional protections) and has represented immigration appellants before the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Fifth Circuit (New Orleans), the Sixth Circuit (Cincinnati) and the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco).
He was a key player in numerous nationally-prominent cases, including Juana Villegas (mom shackled during child birth) and Daniel Renteria, which ultimately led to the shutdown of the notorious 287(g) Program in Metro Nashville. He served as the Designated Legal Advisor for the entire State of Tennessee to the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Ozment was recognized as the 2012 Lawyer of the Year by the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild for his outstanding contributions to protecting immigrants’ rights. Mr. Ozment received the Tennessee Bar Association’s Public Service Award 2012 Harris A. Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year. Most recently, the Tennessee Human Rights Commission named Mr. Ozment as the 2013 recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award. He served as a Representative in the Tennessee House of Representatives and was a Political Analyst for local and state political affairs for Channel 2 News in Nashville.
Bar Admissions
Tennessee, 1976
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Tennessee
U.S. District Court Middle District of Tennessee
U.S. District Court Western District of Tennessee
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
Education
Vanderbilt University School of Law, Nashville, Tennessee
- J.D. – 1975
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
- B.S. – summa cum laude
- Major: History and Political Science
Published Works
Motions to Suppress — Protecting Immigrants’ Constitutional Rights, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, 2nd Edition, 2013
Representative Clients
Mexican Consulate in Atlanta, GA
Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Juana Villegas (Shackled During Labor)
Classes/Seminars
Legal History of U.S. Immigration, Vanderbilt Law School (LLM Class)
Challenging ICE Detainers, American Immigration Lawyers Association
Honors and Awards
Harris A. Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year by Tennessee Bar Association
Lawyer of the Year Award from National Immigration Project
Professional Associations and Memberships
American Immigration Lawyers Association
National Immigration Project
Mexican Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia, Abogado Consultor (Legal Advisor)
Nashville Bar Association, Immigration Law Committee, Chair
Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Legal counsel
Languages
English
Spanish