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DALLAS, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (BAL), the leading corporate immigration law firm with nine offices in the U.S., will add its third new office in as many years by launching in Chicago.
“Chicago has always been on BAL’s radar, and the timing couldn’t be better,” said Maria DeLapp, BAL Senior Counsel who will lead the new office at One South Wacker in the heart of downtown. “The feedback we have received from clients and opportunities in Chicago and the surrounding area is that there is a gap in the type of service offerings available from more traditional law firms. BAL offers a 21st century platform unrivaled in the market — top-notch legal minds, the gold standard in technology in our proprietary Cobalt system, and holistic advisory services to deliver an exceptional client experience.” DeLapp has two decades of experience counseling companies of all sizes from startups to large multinational corporations in all aspects of their business immigration needs.
“Not only is the market expressing demand for what BAL has to offer, key talent in the region is hungry for a more innovative, robust and rewarding environment to help support their clients’ needs,” said BAL Senior Partner Frieda Garcia. “Over the last year, we have enhanced our legal teams and staff, drawing from the wave of local talent looking to join our firm and elevate both their careers and the level of service to their clients.”
BAL continues to set itself apart in the immigration field, with its nontraditional and innovative ways of delivering tailored immigration services. The award-winning firm has won accolades in the legal and tech spheres, landing numerous #1 rankings this year, including The National Law Journal’s Best Law Firm for Women, The American Lawyer’s Most Diverse Law Firm in the Country, the SIIA’s CODiE Award for Best Legal Tech Product and the CIO100 Award.
“This is just the beginning in our journey toward the future,” said BAL Managing Partner Jeremy Fudge. “As we look to celebrate BAL’s 40th anniversary this year, we are laser focused on expansion and going where the market dictates and where we ultimately see a need. Companies can count on BAL being on the ground in every major market over the next several years.”
About Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP
BAL is one of the world’s most recognized corporate immigration law firms and the Best Lawyers® “Law Firm of the Year” in U.S. Immigration Law (2019), the Most Diverse Law Firm in America (2020) and the Best Law Firm for Women (2019 and 2020). BAL’s Cobalt® digital immigration services platform earned a 2020 CIO 100 Award and won the 2020 CODiE Award for Best Legal Tech Product. The firm is singularly focused on meeting the immigration challenges of corporate clients around the world in ways that make immigration more strategic and enable clients to be more successful. Established in 1980, the firm provides immigration expertise, top-notch information security and leading technology innovation. The firm entered into a strategic alliance with Deloitte UK to create the world’s first global immigration service delivery model. BAL and its leaders are highly ranked in every major legal publication, including Best Lawyers, Chambers, The Legal 500, and Who’s Who Legal. See website for details: https://www.bal.com.
Media Contact: Emily Albrecht Senior Director — Marketing & Communications ealbrecht@bal.com 469-559-0174
Thirteen BAL attorneys have been honored as 2021 “Best Lawyers in America” and five BAL attorneys have been named “Ones to Watch” by Best Lawyers®.
The BAL attorneys named as Best Lawyers in America represent all aspects of corporate immigration and every state in which BAL has an office:
Five up-and-coming BAL attorneys across the country are also named “Ones to Watch” in 2021:
Best Lawyers® is the only purely peer review guide to the legal profession. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based on a process designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
BAL, one of the world’s most recognized corporate immigration law firms, is the Best Lawyers® “Law Firm of the Year” in U.S. Immigration Law for 2019, the Most Diverse Law Firm in America (2020) and the Best Law Firm for Women (2019 and 2020). BAL’s Cobalt® digital immigration services platform won the 2020 CODiE Award for Best Legal Tech Product and the prestigious CIO100 award for Innovation Use of Intelligent Automation in Immigration Services. BAL is singularly focused on meeting the immigration challenges of corporate clients around the world in ways that make immigration more strategic and enable clients to be more successful. Established in 1980, BAL has consistently provided immigration expertise, top-notch information security and leading technology innovation. The firm entered into a strategic alliance with Deloitte UK to create the world’s first global immigration service delivery model. BAL and its leaders are highly ranked in every major legal publication, including Best Lawyers, Chambers, The Legal 500, and Who’s Who Legal. See website for details: https://www.bal.com/.
Super Lawyers® recognizes five Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP lawyers as “Rising Stars” for 2020. The BAL attorneys listed by the publication are:
Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a patented multiphase selection process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis. The objective is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for attorneys and consumers searching for legal counsel. To be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less. While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list.
Copyright © 2020 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
BAL Partners Roberto D. Caballero and Frieda Garcia have been named to the Lawyers of Color Power List 2020. The Power List recognizes the most influential minority attorneys in the U.S. and represents the only comprehensive list of minority leaders in the legal profession. The nonprofit Lawyers of Color began compiling the list to encourage diversity in the legal community.
Rob Caballero is the Managing Partner for BAL’s Houston and Austin offices, and oversees the firm’s business development, marketing and social media strategies. His clients range from Global Fortune 100 corporations to regional companies within the U.S., and he is known for his expertise in the energy, engineering and technology industries.
“It’s an honor and privilege to receive this recognition. BAL is a tremendously diverse and dynamic law firm at every level. We don’t just tout the benefits of diversity—we live it,” said Caballero.
Frieda Garcia is a Senior Partner based in BAL’s San Francisco office, where she serves on the firm’s Management Committee and oversees and manages West Coast operations. Frieda also advises companies on global immigration initiatives and how to implement best-in-class global programs. She manages some of the largest immigration programs for companies in the technology, finance and travel services industries.
“It’s such an honor, and we are truly grateful to be recognized in this way,” Garcia said. “At BAL, our ability to nurture and promote diverse legal talent into top leadership roles is one of our greatest strengths. This commitment empowers us to connect with our clients and build meaningful relationships with them.”
We are pleased to announce that Kelli J. Duehning has been named a partner at Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. Ms. Duehning joined BAL in 2017 after a 17-year career with the Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). She practices out of the San Francisco office where she concentrates on government relations and compliance legal services as they relate to all U.S. employment-based corporate immigration matters. Ms. Duehning currently provides legislative/policy updates, immigration program management, and compliance legal advice to some of BAL’s most high-profile clients and is a key leader in the firm’s compliance practice. Kelli is a subject matter expert in her field and is a frequent speaker at local and national continuing legal education courses, as well as industry-related seminars and conferences.
Ms. Duehning is a member of the Federal Bar Association: Immigration Law Section and Northern District of CA Chapters. She earned her Juris Doctorate at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law and her dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Behavioral Science and Law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is admitted to the State Bar of Minnesota.
We are pleased to announce that Nassim Mahzoon has been named a partner at Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. She concentrates on business immigration matters, including PERM labor certification applications, immigrant visa petitions and adjustment of status applications.
Ms. Mahzoon is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Bar Association of San Francisco and the Iranian American Legal Association. She earned her Juris Doctorate at Whittier College School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts, Law and Society from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is admitted to the State Bar of California.
Best Lawyers recognized twelve Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP lawyers as “The Best Lawyers in America” for 2020. The BAL attorneys listed by Best Lawyers are:
For 2019, U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers ranked BAL as a “Law Firm of the Year” in the immigration law category. BAL also received First Tier ranking in Houston, San Francisco and Washington D.C. by Best Lawyers.
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based on a peer review process designed to capture the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
Copyright © 2019 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
DiMascio to Discuss the Future of Process Automation: Leveraging RPA & AI at the Nation’s Premier CIO Conference.
San Francisco, CA – May 9, 2019 – BAL has announced that Vince DiMascio, CIO, will be a featured speaker at the 16th Annual 2019 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, the nation’s premier CIO conference on May 22, 2019. Mr. DiMascio will be speaking on the “Future of Process Automation: Leveraging RPA & AI.” He is one of an elite group of presenters from a wide range of industries. To register for the Symposium, please click here.
The premier conference will bring together nearly 900 global CIOs, senior IT executives, technology innovators and MIT academic thought leaders together on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a full day of networking, collaboration and discussions around leading a smarter enterprise, scaling insightful technologies, becoming cultural change agents, and steering executive business peers in transforming their organizations for competitive advantage.
“Intelligent automation is the future of the legal business; but at BAL it’s the present,” affirmed DiMascio. “Our firm has become the leader in the industry when it comes to using intelligent automation to better serve our clients. I’m excited to join this prestigious panel to discuss the groundbreaking work our firm has done to bring innovative cognitive technology to our industry.”
BAL Partner Edward Rios stated, “At BAL, I am responsible for developing innovation strategies for our firm. Our ability to implement these strategies depends entirely on a CIO and Technology group that understands how and where to apply next-generation technologies. That is exactly what Vince and his team have done. They have succeeded because they not only understand the technical promise of automation, but also the power of using it to create practical solutions. Our law firm demands the best tools for our clients and our internal teams and Vince and his Technology group know how to build them.”
“This year’s conference will enable CIOs to integrate data-driven insights into every decision they make,” said Lindsey Anderson, Chair of the 2019 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium. “We are excited to provide opportunities for global business leaders to learn to leverage the latest technologies and scale them across the enterprise, thus enabling a smarter enterprise that is more customer-oriented and quicker to market.” The Symposium will also formally announce the winner of the 12th Annual MIT Sloan CIO Leadership Award and finalists during the event. This award recognizes the CIO who is leading their organization by delivering business value and innovative to enterprise IT in exceptional ways. Finalists will be announced in late April and both the winner and finalists will be recognized at a private event the evening of May 21.
The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is co-organized by the MIT Sloan Boston Alumni Association, the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE), and the MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research (CISR).
About Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP BAL is one of the world’s most recognized corporate immigration law firms, and is the Best Lawyers® “Law Firm of the Year” in Immigration Law in America for 2019. The firm is singularly focused on meeting the immigration challenges of corporate clients around the world in ways that make immigration more strategic and enable clients to be more successful. Established in 1980, the firm provides immigration expertise, top-notch information security and leading technology innovation like its Cobalt® digital immigration services platform. The firm entered into a strategic alliance with Deloitte UK to create the world’s first global immigration service delivery model. BAL and its leaders are highly ranked in every major legal publication, including Best Lawyers, Chambers, The Legal 500, and Who’s Who Legal. See website for details: www.bal.com.
This November, U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” named BAL the “Immigration Law Firm of the Year” for 2019. While this is the first time BAL has received the award, the achievement recognizes our quiet leadership in immigration law over the last several decades. The recognition caps a particularly extraordinary year for BAL, and the firm is poised to transform immigration and global mobility in the next decade.
The practice of immigration is changing dramatically. To help our clients stay ahead, we keep our finger on the pulse of an ever-changing global market and constantly assess and progress how we think and work. We walk in our clients’ shoes to understand what their programs need. And, to that end, we have innovated and refined our delivery of top-notch immigration services.
At the start of 2018, we launched BAL’s Cobalt® digital immigration services platform, which included a breakthrough app, user-friendly interface and ISO certified 27001 information security. We’ve only scratched the surface of our innovation initiatives. Next year, we plan to continue updating the services and capabilities of our platform through intelligent automation and robotics, enhanced analytics and increased reporting capabilities.
Later in June, we formed a first-of-its kind Alliance with Deloitte UK—combining BAL’s legal expertise and high-quality immigration services in the U.S. with the best of Deloitte’s scale, expertise and breadth in the rest of the world. The Alliance delivers what clients have been wanting in the market, but, up until now, were unable to access. With the Alliance, clients can integrate their mobility programs in ways never before possible with the combined expertise of two immigration titans with truly global reach.
Throughout the summer, we finalized BAL’s expansion to New York City with the addition of Epstein Becker & Green’s 60-person immigration team. We again recognized the need to grow our U.S. presence in the locations that matter most to our clients and can now offer on-the-ground support in a key U.S. market. We’re grateful to welcome the esteemed Bob Groban Jr. and his team to our new offices in Times Square. In the coming years, the firm will continue to look strategically at where clients may benefit from new BAL locations in the U.S.
To have achieved the “Immigration Law Firm of the Year” recognition is satisfying, but in no way have we reached the top of the mountain. In fact, we never really will. That’s what Pursue the Exceptional is all about. It’s what drives our partners and employees each and every day—one thousand people all constantly pushing to pursue the exceptional in themselves, in their teams and in our firm. That, in turn, drives our service to our clients and our innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that powers us to revolutionize what a global immigration firm can accomplish.
The information contained here is meant to be informational, and while BAL has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not promised or guaranteed to be complete. Readers of this information should not act upon any information contained on this alert/blog without seeking professional counsel. This alert does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Any reference to prior results, does not imply or guarantee similar future outcomes.
Best Lawyers recognized nine Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP lawyers as “The Best Lawyers in America” for 2019. The BAL attorneys listed by Best Lawyers are:
For 2018, U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers ranked BAL as a “Best Law Firm” nationally as well as in the metropolitan areas of Boston, Mass., Houston, Texas, San Francisco, Calif., Oakland, Calif., and Washington, D.C. Firms included on the 2018 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be eligible for a ranking as a “Best Law Firm”, a law firm must have at least one lawyer listed on “The Best Lawyers in America” list for that particular location and specialty. The 2019 “Best Law Firm” rankings will be released later this year.
Copyright © 2018 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.