Johnny Sinodis is a partner at Van Der Hout LLP who joined the firm in August 2019. His practice focuses on removal defense, appeals, the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, and federal court litigation. Johnny is currently co-counsel in Rosario v. USCIS, a nationwide class action requiring USCIS to adjudicate asylum applicants’ initial (first time) applications for employment authorization documents within 30 days pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 208.7(a)(1) (2018), and Aleman Gonzalez v. Sessions, a class action mandating prolonged detention bond hearings for individuals within the Ninth Circuit who are detained under 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(6). Johnny advises criminal defense attorneys and public defenders on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions and provides mentorship and training for practitioners and pro bono attorneys. He has also presented Continuing Legal Education seminars on various topics, including habeas petitions in federal court, post-conviction relief, and the representation of undocumented workers charged with Identity Theft and other fraud-related offenses.

Prior to joining Van Der Hout, Johnny practiced at Salvatierra Law Group in Phoenix, Arizona, where he handled criminal and immigration cases, and regularly represented individuals who were subjected to racially discriminatory policing practices in Maricopa County, Arizona.

In addition to practicing law, Johnny is an Executive Board Member for the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Chapter. He also serves as an Office of the Principal Legal Advisor co-liaison for AILA’s Northern California Chapter.

Johnny received his J.D. from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in 2011. As a law student, he participated in the Immigration Law and Policy Clinic, advocating for unaccompanied minors seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. He externed at the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Phoenix Immigration Court and authored articles for the Law Journal for Social Justice and the Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, where he also served as an Editor.

Recent Presentations and Speaking Engagements

  • Bar Association of San Francisco and American Bar Association ILS International Refugee Law CommitteeDefense for Children International – Palestine v. Biden (May 20, 2024)
  • AILA Waivers Online CourseModule 3: Criminal Waivers, Virtual (Mar. 2024)
  • ABA National Conference on Equal Employment Opportunity LawImmigration in the Workplace: Ensuring the Protection of Worker Rights, Las Vegas, Nevada (Mar. 30, 2023)
  • Criminal Trial Lawyers AssociationImmigration Law Update, San Francisco, California (Mar. 16, 2023)
  • UC Law San Francisco National Lawyers Guild ChapterSocial Justice Lawyering, San Francisco, California (Mar. 15, 2023)
  • 2022 AILA Annual Conference on Immigration LawWicked: Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude (What does It Mean To Be Inherently Base, Vile, and Depraved?), New York, New York (June 18, 2022)
  • Bacon Immigration Law & Policy Speaker SeriesLessons from the Front: The Fight for Immigrant and Latinx Rights in Arizona; Driving While Brown: Sheriff Joe Arpaio versus the Latino Resistance, Tucson, Arizona (Jan. 28, 2022)

Board Work & Community Engagement

  • Executive Board Member for the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Chapter
  • Office of the Principal Legal Advisor Co-Liaison for the American Immigration Lawyers Association Northern California Chapter