Attorney, State Bar of California No. 212199 · Vice president of Immigration Relief Group, Corp.

Gary P. Royle

In 2015, Gary P. Royle admitted to the State Bar of California that in six immigration cases from 2007–2010 he took advance fees, missed hearings and abandoned clients.A He was suspended in California and barred from the immigration courts for six years.B From 2021 to 2023 he was executive director of Mil Mujeres, Inc., which handled cases of Russian-speaking asylum seekers.CD Today he is the vice president of Immigration Relief Group, Corp.E Below is his record, taken from official documents.

His record, year by year How to check a lawyer Mil Mujeres Sources

His record, year by year

Everything below comes from State Bar Court decisions, U.S. Department of Justice and federal court records, Mil Mujeres tax filings, the Florida business registry and archived copies of websites. Royle stipulated that the facts about his 2007–2010 cases are true.A

  1. Admitted to the State Bar of California, license No. 212199.A

  2. – 

    Six immigration cases

    Takes advance fees, misses hearings, fails to file documents and stops answering clients. A court orders one client removed to El Salvador in absentia; two clients are denied cancellation of removal.A All six cases, date by date

    No-show

  3. Switches his license to inactive status without telling clients who have hearings scheduled, and moves to Russia for medical treatment.A

  4. The Los Angeles Superior Court assumes jurisdiction over his law practice and directs the State Bar to take possession of his clients’ files, records and property.H

  5. The State Bar Court orders him involuntarily enrolled as an inactive member: he may not practice law in California.H

  6. Suspended from immigration courts

    The U.S. Department of Justice suspends him from practice before the immigration courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals and DHS.I

    Suspended

  7. Convicted in Orange County Superior Court, California, of a misdemeanor: possession of an assault weapon, Penal Code § 12280(b). The State Bar transmits the conviction to the State Bar Court. Royle answers that it involves no moral turpitude and warrants no discipline. On March 2, 2015, on the motion of the State Bar’s prosecutors, the State Bar Court dismisses the proceeding without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled.JKL

  8. Admits misconduct

    Signs a stipulation with the State Bar re facts and disposition: six months of actual suspension, a two-year stayed suspension and three years of probation. Ordered to pay six clients $18,390 plus interest in restitution.A

    Admitted
  9. – 

    Suspended from practice in California.F

  10. The Board of Immigration Appeals issues its final order of discipline.M

  11. Reinstated to practice before the immigration courts.B

  12. Immigration Relief LLC, Florida: the registry lists Royle and Natalia Mikhailova, at 99 King St #1071, St Augustine.N

  13. – 

    Mil Mujeres, Inc.

    Executive director of Mil Mujeres, Inc., a Washington, DC nonprofit that began handling cases of Russian-speaking asylum seekers in 2022.D In March 2023 he declared under penalty of perjury that he had held the position for a year and a half and was responsible for assigning and supervising the organization’s immigration cases.C The Mil Mujeres website also listed him as legal director.O More about Mil Mujeres

  14. The State of Florida administratively dissolves Immigration Relief LLC: the company never filed an annual report.N

  15. According to a federal court’s findings, “Mil Mujeres attorney Gary Royle” gives a Russian-speaking woman a free consultation. Afterward, a Mil Mujeres paralegal sends her a retainer agreement with a $6,000 legal fee.D What the court recorded

  16. Mil Mujeres, Inc. v. Rubic, LLC

    Verifies under oath Mil Mujeres’s defamation suit against Rubic, a Russian-language outlet that had written about its Russian-language services. He signs as “Executive Director and authorized agent” of Mil Mujeres, Inc.C

  17. Immigration Relief Group, Corp. is registered. Royle is vice president; Mikhailova is president and registered agent.E

  18. His address of record with the State Bar is still Mil Mujeres, Inc., Washington, DC.P

  19. – 

    Not eligible to practice law in California: suspended for failure to pay fees and placed on administrative inactive status for noncompliance with CTAPP, the client trust account protection program. These are administrative measures, not discipline. Active again on August 19.Q

  20. Today

    His California license is active, and he is not on EOIR’s current list of suspended practitioners. His address of record with the State Bar is Immigration Relief Group, 99 King St #1071, St Augustine, FL — the address of a USPS post office.FR

How to check a lawyer yourself

  1. Look up the license. Royle’s State Bar of California profile, No. 212199, shows his status and his full disciplinary history.F For lawyers from other states, search the registry of the state that licensed them.S

  2. Check the Justice Department’s lists. EOIR publishes lists of suspended and previously disciplined immigration practitioners.B

  3. Find out who your lawyer is on paper. The attorney who represents you in immigration court files Form EOIR-28; before USCIS, Form G-28.TU Ask for a copy: it shows the lawyer’s name and license number. If there is no such form, nobody formally represents you in that case.

  4. Check your hearing date yourself. Enter your A-number at acis.eoir.justice.gov or call 1-800-898-7180.

Complaints about a California attorney go to the State Bar of California; misconduct in immigration court can be reported to EOIR. What to do if you are already a client of the firm