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San Francisco, CA — Berry Appleman & Leiden, one of the world’s leading corporate immigration law firms, today announced that Paul Rynerson and Jessica Mullins-Ta are being promoted to Partner.
“Paul and Jessica are two outstanding lawyers doing great work for their clients,” said BAL Managing Partner, Jeremy Fudge. “Paul excels at offering strategic immigration advice to his clients and Jessica thrives in consulting with clients to create solutions to their workforce needs. We look forward to both attorneys continuing their great work as Partners.”
Paul Rynerson previously served as a Senior Associate in the Dallas office of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. His practice focuses on employment-based immigration matters, including immigrant visa matters covering all aspects of the permanent residency process, nonimmigrant visa matters, I-9 and other compliance issues. Rynerson is an expert in managing PERM programs for large technology clients of the firm and also has experience in the finance, energy, non-profit, and manufacturing industries.
Jessica Mullins-Ta previously served as a Senior Associate in the Dallas office of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP, handling a wide array of cases for corporate clients. She serves clients in obtaining nonimmigrant visas, both in the US and abroad, and represents employers of all sizes with labor certification cases. Mullins-Ta also represents clients obtaining permanent residence as International Managers, Outstanding Ability, Researchers, and National Interest Waivers. Her experience includes working with a wide array of corporate clients, including public and private universities, publicly traded international companies, religious organizations, and privately owned companies.
Throughout her career, Mullins-Ta has been a sought-after speaker on corporate immigration, including most recently:
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Media Contact: Emily Albrecht Senior Director — Marketing & Communications ealbrecht@bal.com 469-559-0174
U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers have ranked Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP as a national “Best Law Firm” for a second year running. BAL is also ranked in 2017 as a “Best Law Firm” in the metropolitan areas of Houston, Texas, and San Francisco, Calif.
Firms included on the 2017 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.
The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. To be eligible for a ranking, a law firm must have at least one lawyer listed in the 22nd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© list for that particular location and specialty.
The 2017 “Best Law Firms” rankings can be seen in their entirety by visiting bestlawfirms.usnews.com.
Join Berry Appleman & Leiden Partner and former United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Chief Council, Lynden Melmed, as he sits down with The Morning Briefing’s Tim Farley to discuss the 2016 presidential election and the impact of immigration on the race.
Tune in on Monday, September 26 from 8:35 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. EDT on Sirius XM POTUS Channel 124 to hear Melmed discuss the immigration positions of the candidates and how the hotly contested issue of immigration will shape the race for the White House, and U.S. immigration policy in the future.
When:
Monday, September 26
8:35 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. EDT
Where:
Sirius XM POTUS Channel 124
“The Morning Briefing with Tim Farley”
Topic:
Berry Appleman & Leiden Partner Lynden Melmed will discuss the 2016 presidential election and the impact of immigration on the race.
By Jeremy Fudge June 29, 2016
With oil prices plummeting, the Texas energy industry is experiencing yet another down cycle. But silver linings can still be seen in these dark days that could lead to a brighter future than ever imagined.
Last December, Congress passed and the president signed legislation extending the Production Tax Credit (PTC). What’s the big deal with this tax incentive? It could hold the key to unlocking the growth of the next great Texas industry – the wind energy industry.
The PTC offers wind developers a credit of $0.023/kWh for electricity generated to the power grid. The fact that the new law extends this tax provision for five years means that entrepreneurs and businesses will have plenty of time and incentive to invest in the wind energy market. In fact, one of the barriers to entry in this marketplace has been the amount of lead time it takes to start a wind project. So this new law potentially could create a boom as entrepreneurs get started on new wind projects knowing that the federal government isn’t going to change the rules on them any time soon.
With the traditional oil and gas market down – and with jobs being lost in that sector – it’s good news for Texas business that a new frontier is opening in the energy sector. This state has always had the necessary wind and the right kind of entrepreneurs to create a wind market boom. The problem has been that the tax incentives from the federal government haven’t been enough to encourage investment. Now that has changed.
But with the likely growth in the wind market in Texas will come the need for highly skilled labor. The wind market is a highly specialized area that requires unique skill sets. In addition, Texas is very much a part of the global marketplace when it comes to energy. In fact, with the recent ending of the oil export ban, Texas oil and gas can now go all over the world. Likewise, many of the leading wind businesses are based overseas yet have a presence in Texas. As a result, to make the hope of a wind energy boom a reality in Texas, these companies will need access to L-1 visas. An L-1 is a non-immigrant visa that allows companies to bring in their experts on a temporary basis to get the project moving forward. This is a win-win situation for everyone. As an L-1, these employees are strictly here on a temporary basis and pose no threat to U.S. workers. But their impact is far from temporary. If these workers can help get the Texas wind energy going strong, there will be countless jobs for Texans for years to come.
This is a great example of how economic policy and immigration policy can and should work together. This is not a zero-sum game. If done correctly, immigration policy can and should benefit our Texas economy.
But there are huge challenges facing Texas companies trying to enter this market. And the most important challenge is labor. The wind market is a global market, meaning that much of the labor expertise is found overseas. The wind industry in Texas is still relatively young; as such, it’s difficult for employers to find the right employees. For example, the largest wind turbine in the world is the Vestas V164 8MW found in London. In the last few years while Texas energy companies were exploring shale plays across the state, scientists and engineers in England were focused on the wind turbine. As a result, much of the knowledge needed to make the Texas wind market take off is found in workers overseas.
Texas wind companies will simply have to import experts from other countries. In some cases, it may be a Texas-based project that needs to hire a wind power turbine manufacturer from Spain. Or perhaps another project will need help contracting with a Korean company that has expertise in building towers. Maybe another will want to hire a European company to build the blades. Whatever the situation, the end benefit will go to the people of Texas in the form of more energy options and more jobs created by this growing industry.
At Berry Appleman & Leiden, we work with companies both foreign and domestic and help ensure that gaps are filled and needs are met. And we know that when it is done correctly, immigration policies like L-1s make sense for everyone.
As the Texas wind market gets set to take off, keep an eye on the labor issues that will accompany it. To truly create more Texas jobs and another great Texas industry, we need the best workers and the best minds in the world.
Jeremy Fudge is the managing partner of Berry Appleman & Leiden and is responsible for the administration of the firm’s operations around the world. He is based in Dallas.
Originially published here
Berry Appleman & Leiden’s Latin America Managing Director, Daniela Lima, was awarded the 2016 ERC Distinguished Service Award at the recent Americas Mobility Conference in Houston, Texas. Distinguished Service Awards are granted annually to professionals who have demonstrated commitment to the service of global mobility and the Worldwide ERC through committee or task force participation, speaking on or moderating educational panels, authoring articles for Mobility magazine or serving in a leadership capacity. Worldwide ERC is the workforce mobility association for professionals who oversee, manage, or support U.S. domestic and international employee transfer. The organization was founded in 1964 to help members overcome the challenges of workforce mobility, and has grown today to nearly 10,000 service industry members around the world.
– Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP
Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP is pleased to announce that Michelle Funk has been promoted to a Partner of the firm. Ms. Funk is based in the northern Virginia office, where she assists businesses in establishing and managing global immigration programs. “Michelle is a talented and well-respected attorney within the firm and the immigration community,” said Jeremy Fudge, Managing Partner. “She is the consummate team player who will strengthen our global platform.”
Ms. Funk graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and is active within the American Immigration Lawyers Association, currently serving on the Department of Labor Liaison Committee and previously serving as Chair of the Washington D.C. Chapter.
Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (BAL) announced today that Hadi Allawi has been hired as Managing Director, Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Allawi is a recognized MENA expert specializing in business strategy, intelligence and geopolitical risk analysis across multiple industries. Prior to joining BAL, Allawi led the MENA desk of a London-based specialist advisory firm assisting major multinational companies with operations in the region.
Allawi brings considerable expertise to BAL’s MENA London-based practice. He will continue to expand and manage a team of experienced professionals who are dedicated to immigration matters in the region.
“I am honoured to join the BAL team and support the firm’s continued growth to ensure we deliver exceptional service to our clients,” said Allawi. “I look forward to leveraging my ten years of experience in the region to make BAL the leading provider of immigration services in the Middle East.”
BAL Managing Director Emily King, who had previously led the firm’s strategy in the Middle East, stated: “The Middle East is of great interest to many of our clients. Hadi brings considerable on-the-ground-knowledge to our matters in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, and elsewhere in the region. He knows the challenges in the region and how to overcome them.”
Jeremy Fudge, BAL Managing Partner, stated: “Hadi joins a strong team with a unique service offering for MENA and his expertise will give a truly strategic benefit to our clients in this region.”
Law360 ranks BAL as one of the nation’s best law firms for female attorneys and partners in the recent Glass Ceiling report. The publication calls BAL a Ceiling Smasher and ranks the firm number three in the 100 Best Law Firms for Female Attorneys and number two in the 25 Best Law Firms for Female Partners.
“We are honored to be acknowledged as pace setters who recognize diversity in the workplace. BAL strives to create an environment where everyone has the opportunity to excel,” stated Frieda Garcia, one of the firm’s equity partners.
Law360 surveyed over 300 U.S. firms, or vereins with a U.S. component, about their overall and female headcount as of December 31, 2015. Only U.S.-based attorneys were included in the survey.
By Jeff Gorsky
With the presidential campaign in full swing, few issues are generating more attention than immigration reform. In particular, on the Republican side, much is heard about the need for border security. Donald Trump began his rise to the top of the polls by calling for the creation of a wall on the border, a wall he states will cost eight billion dollars (a figure that has been disputed by many as too low). Ted Cruz quickly outlined his own plans to create fencing all across the Southern border.
Both plans have proved to be popular with GOP voters. But both plans are based on a mistaken and simplistic premise: that building an enormous and very expensive wall on our southern border with Mexico will prevent illegal immigration and significantly bolster our national security. In fact, the wall represents an outdated idea of national borders, and building it will only address—at great expense– a small portion of today’s international immigration.
In the twenty-first century, the border between the United States and the rest of the world is not limited to the lines on a map between the U.S. and its neighbors. The border is every international airport in the United States, as well as every U.S. visa counter all over the world screening potential visa applicants. This border is enormous and very busy: there were seventy-five-million international visitors to the U.S. in 2015 alone.
This travel is vital to the U.S. economy. International visitors are expected to spend over 220 billion dollars in the U.S. this year alone. They are essential to U.S. international trade, they enable companies to invest in the U.S., and all this travel bolsters good ties to the rest of the world and promotes cultural exchange.
While this travel is critical to our economic and national interests, it does present risks. But the risks are not principally from our southern border. There is no evidence that any terrorist act in the U.S. has been committed by someone who crossed the southern border illegally.
Fortunately, Congress and the administrations of both President Bush and Obama have recognized that the true nature of our borders go beyond the line between U.S. and Mexico. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the government has expended enormous resources to help control this extended border.
They have done this in part by taking steps to push the border out. This means extensive screening of travelers before they leave their home countries. For example, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) which requires screening of visa exempt travelers before they can board a plane. Congress required and the government implemented expanded biometric fingerprint collection for travelers, and the State Department has also been a leader in the use of facial recognition technology. The National Counterterrorism Center and other agencies have significantly expanded the quality of security screening. The result is a virtual wall, with a much greater reach and sophisticated screening ability than a physical fence.
Smarter border security will also address the thousands of immigrants who enter legally each year and then overstay their authorized admission, a problem left untouched by a border wall. The FY 2015 DHS Appropriations Act provided $9.9 million for a new reporting environment for the Arrival and Departure Information System, which will allow the federal government to track entry/exit and overstay data on a monthly or weekly basis, as needed. DHS is in the process of testing several new exit control systems, and technological improvements should allow in the near future for significantly more effective use of exit data to assist in immigration security and control.
Having spent many years at the State Department in the Visa Office, I know that there are legitimate questions about immigration reform to be asked; unfortunately, they aren’t the ones being asked in the GOP campaign. Instead, GOP presidential candidates have fallen back on a sound bite – “build the wall” – and have refrained from presenting any 21st Century solutions to this modern challenge. A real policy debate over immigration and security must move beyond a border wall and candidates should be asked to address how they will implement an entry-exit tracking system and improve security screening at consulates and airports outside of the United States.
Jeff Gorsky is Senior Counsel at Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP. He previously served as a senior lawyer in the Visa Office at the Department of State.
Click here to view Jeff Gorsky’s article that was published in The Hill.