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Fast Company named BAL among the 2024 Top 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators in the world, marking its second consecutive year on the list. This recognition validates the firm’s consistent investment in fostering a creative, collaborative work environment focused on powering human achievement.
“Our mission at BAL is clear: to provide an experience that makes a positive difference in people’s lives,” said CEO Jeremy Fudge. “People-centered innovation helps us solve complex immigration challenges for clients and foreign nationals every day. And that focus helps our clients attract and retain skilled talent, empowering more than 2 million people to work and live in the U.S. and abroad.”
BAL keeps innovation at the forefront in our pursuit of the exceptional, from AI-powered technology upgrades that enhance the client and foreign national experience, to our service-oriented oneBAL culture of collaboration. BALers continue to stay ahead of the curve, anticipating and adapting to the ever-changing landscape of immigration policies worldwide while helping our clients navigate those complexities.
Fast Company is in its sixth year of recognizing companies and organizations from around the world that are committed to empowering employees and fostering creative problem-solving. You can view the complete list of honorees here.
In a record-setting year for the firm, 63 BAL attorneys have been recognized by the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers®, with 30 attorneys named as the 2025 “Best Lawyers in America” for immigration law and 33 named as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.” In addition, BAL Partner Sharon Cook was honored as the immigration law “Lawyer of the Year” in Atlanta, GA.
“We are thrilled and proud to see so many of our attorneys recognized with this incredible honor,” said Managing Partner Frieda Garcia. “BAL is always looking to raise the standards of how we support our clients, and it can’t be done without the dedication and persistence of our attorneys. Having 63 attorneys recognized this year is proof of their hard work and expertise.”
The following BAL attorneys were recognized as “Best Lawyers”:
The following BAL attorneys were recognized as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch”:
The attorneys will be featured in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, the only purely peer-review guide to the legal profession.
BAL was named one of the most diverse law firms in the United States by The American Lawyer on its 2024 Diversity Scorecard for Minority Representation.
BAL ranked No. 3 out of 208 law firms included in the report.
More than 55% of BAL attorneys are racially or ethnically diverse, including 62% of the firm’s equity partners.
“Diversity is one of BAL’s greatest strengths,” said Jeremy Fudge, CEO of BAL. “We take great pride in our inclusive workplace and the sense of belonging it creates among BALers. Our diversity also enhances our interactions with clients and their employees, who hail from all over the globe.”
This recognition reflects BAL’s continued efforts to build a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace. The firm fosters inclusivity with its intentional, thoughtful DE&I initiatives that serve to bring together diverse perspectives, experiences and practices.
Additionally, BAL performs internal and external benchmarking to ensure our ability to recruit and retain diverse talent in the current competitive job market. Our recruiting strategy includes outreach to minority students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as other minority student groups, such as BALSA, LALSA and Lavender Law, at universities that BAL partners with for recruitment.
The American Lawyer also recognized BAL as the No. 1 firm on its Women in Law Scorecard.
BAL continued its streak of success in recruiting and promoting women in the legal profession, earning No. 1 on the Women in Law Scorecard for the sixth year running.
“This streak of No. 1 rankings is well-deserved recognition of BAL’s ongoing, strong support of women in the legal profession,” said Frieda Garcia, BAL managing partner. “BAL’s success in fostering a culture of achievement and belonging for women is reflected in my own journey to becoming the first female managing partner of the firm.”
In 2023, women comprised over 64% of BAL attorneys. Half of the firm’s equity partners were women, and 63% of both partners — nearly a quarter of whom are also minorities — and associates were women.
BAL’s sixth-consecutive No. 1 ranking shows it continues to be the law firm of choice for female attorneys. The firm intentionally cultivates a collaborative culture and offers innovative talent development and elite performance transformation programs. These efforts bolster every team member’s personal and professional goals, the latter of which is further supported by leadership development programs that create a supportive environment for BALers to enjoy more fulfilling careers.
The Women in Law Scorecard annually ranks the nation’s largest firms based on their percentages of women attorneys; 247 law firms were included in 2024’s iteration. This year for the first time, the Scorecard was released as part of The American Lawyer’s Diversity Scorecard; previously, the report was published in tandem with the National Law Journal.
BAL ranked in the highest tier of Chambers USA Guide for 12th consecutive year
BAL has been recognized as a Band 1 immigration law firm in the newly released Chambers USA Guide 2024, marking the 12th consecutive year of this achievement.
Described by Chambers as a “powerful force in corporate immigration with the capacity to handle a range of highly complex matters,” BAL achieved a top Band 1 ranking in the Chambers USA Guide as well as its Global Guide for immigration business in the USA.
The firm also celebrates 11 BAL attorneys ranked by the publication, including CEO Jeremy Fudge and Managing Partner Frieda Garcia, who were both honored as Eminent Practitioners.
“We are proud to be recognized as a top-ranked immigration law firm for 12 years running,” said Fudge. “Receiving this honor year-after-year, and seeing our attorneys recognized as well, reaffirms our oneBAL approach: relentlessly and collaboratively delivering the exceptional for clients. That’s all that matters in the end, and we’re thrilled that our clients continue to see that.”
Rankings are determined through Chambers’ in-depth methodology involving client feedback. BAL clients shared the following assessments of the firm in their interviews with Chambers:
BAL’s California, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia offices also achieved Band 1 rankings this year. In addition to Fudge and Garcia, Chambers’ 2024 lawyer rankings also include BAL’s Ruth Clark, Josiah Curtis, Maria DeLapp, Tiffany Derentz, Michelle Funk, Jeff Joseph, Lynden Melmed, Maggie Murphy and Edward Rios. We extend our congratulations to five partners joining BAL from Seyfarth Shaw’s immigration practice who also earned Chambers rankings this year: Sharon Cook, Michelle Gergerian, James King, Gabriel Mozes and Russell Swapp.
BAL is honored to be named to the 2024 U.S. News and World Report Best Companies to Work For: Law Firms list. We are proud to be among the 344 U.S. law firms with high scores in six key factors important to job seekers.
See our listing.
DALLAS (Aug. 17, 2023) — Nearly four dozen BAL attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers®, shattering the firm’s previous record. A notable 20 attorneys were named “The Best Lawyers in America” for immigration and 27 were named “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.”
“To be featured in this prestigious publication means our attorneys’ expertise in service to clients stands out among their peers in their own practice area and geographic location,” said Managing Partner Frieda Garcia. “Recognition of so many of our attorneys as ‘Ones to Watch’ speaks to the success of our commitment to recruit and nurture the best and brightest of rising legal talent.”
The attorneys will be featured in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, the only purely peer-review guide to the legal profession.
“This honor reflects not only our attorneys’ individual excellence but also BAL’s firmwide commitment to pursue the exceptional,” said CEO Jeremy Fudge.
These up-and-coming senior associates were recognized as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in immigration law for 2024:
About BAL Established in 1980, Berry Appleman & Leiden (BAL) powers human achievement through immigration expertise, people-centered client services, and innovative technology. BAL, with 13 offices across the United States and global coverage in more than 185 countries around the world, operates as a single entity through its oneBAL culture — a uniquely holistic approach, intentionally structured as one team, one brand, one P&L, one standard of excellence, and one unifying technology. This united approach enables the firm to deliver the highest level of knowledge, insights, and resources from across the entire organization. At BAL, we pursue the exceptional. To learn more, visit bal.com.
Media Contact: Emily Albrecht Senior Director — Marketing & Communications ealbrecht@bal.com 469-559-0174
DALLAS (Aug. 4, 2023) — Leading immigration firm BAL once again took the top spot in Law360’s latest Diversity Snapshot for its size category. The recognition marked the fourth consecutive year the firm scored #1 in overall diversity in the elite publication’s annual survey.
“Diversity is a foundational principle at BAL,” said Nicole Dawson, Chief People and Culture Officer. “Our top ranking demonstrates the success of our DE&I initiatives. The results speak for themselves, and we appreciate this national recognition of our efforts.”
Law360 called out BAL’s high scores as one of few diversity “success stories” discovered through its survey of 283 firms. BAL scored 24.7 points above the benchmark, the third highest score of all firms in all size categories.
BAL ranked the highest in diversity among equity partners, associates and other attorneys among firms of the same size. The majority of BAL’s associates, 55.1%, are attorneys of color. Attorneys of color also make up 24% of all partners, 50% of equity partners and 59.3% of all other BAL lawyers.
“As an immigration law firm, we recognize the strength people from varied backgrounds and experiences, from all around the world, provide,” said CEO Jeremy Fudge. “We deliberately seek and promote the best talent and give them equal opportunities to make a difference. This top ranking reflects our authentic culture of empowerment where every individual is valued and contributes in meaningful ways.”
BAL leads the legal industry in its commitment to diversity, achieving national recognition multiple years in a row. In 2023 alone, in addition to the Law360 report, the firm ranked #4 out of 226 firms in The American Lawyer’s 2023 Diversity Scorecard, #1 in the National Law Journal’s 2023 Women in Law Scorecard, and received the nonprofit Lawyers of Color Aspire Diversity Award.
About BAL Established in 1980, Berry Appleman & Leiden (BAL) powers human achievement through immigration expertise, people-centered client services and innovative technology. BAL, with 13 offices across the United States and global coverage in more than 185 countries around the world, operates as a single entity through its oneBAL culture — a uniquely holistic approach, intentionally structured as one team, one brand, one P&L, one standard of excellence and one unifying technology. This united approach enables the firm to deliver the highest level of knowledge, insights and resources from across the entire organization. At BAL, we pursue the exceptional.
DALLAS, July 18, 2023 – Fast Company named BAL among the Top 100 Best Places to Work for Innovators based on the firm’s investments in culture, technology and talent development.
“BAL is leading the legal industry to revolutionize the client experience, delivering fast, holistic and bespoke services to companies and foreign nationals alike,” said CEO Jeremy Fudge. “Everything starts with our people; we invest to create an environment where we can pursue the exceptional for our clients and one another.”
The recognition included BAL’s unique oneBAL culture of collaboration across all offices and its strategic investments in people through innovative employee development programs.
“While ‘digital transformation’ has been a popular buzz word, most companies and law firms have translated it to mean simply making paper processes electronic” said Chief People and Culture Officer Nicole Dawson. “At BAL we leverage technology to significantly strengthen our culture, better support our people and maximize the impact of our leadership development programs.
BAL’s in-house technology team is unique in the legal industry. By working alongside our legal teams, our technology team quickly produces effective solutions that dramatically improve the immigration process.
“Recently, we reimagined the multistep workflow required to file the most common work visa application with the U.S. government” said CIO Jason Chancellor. “We’ve streamlined the process to save our teams and clients tens of thousands of hours a year, and reduced human error thanks to AI-powered verification.”
BAL is continuing to pursue an aggressive innovation agenda through the end of this year and beyond.
“This recognition from Fast Company not only honors the great work happening across BAL, but provides even more energy and momentum as we continue those efforts,” Fudge said.
About BAL Established in 1980, Berry Appleman & Leiden (BAL) powers human achievement through immigration expertise, people-centered client services and innovative technology. BAL, with 13 offices across the United States and global coverage in more than 185 countries around the world, operates as a single entity through its oneBAL culture — a uniquely holistic approach, intentionally structured as one team, one brand, one P&L, one standard of excellence and one unifying technology. This united approach enables the firm to deliver the highest level of knowledge, insights and resources from across the entire organization. At BAL, we pursue the exceptional. To learn more, visit bal.com.
DALLAS, June 22, 2023 – BAL again earned the number one position atop the National Law Journal’s Women in Law Scorecard. This recognition underscores the firm’s ongoing commitment to recruiting and advancing women in the legal profession while fostering an inclusive workplace that enables women to be successful in their careers and in their lives.
“The women at BAL are truly exceptional, and we wholeheartedly celebrate this recognition as the top law firm for women for the fifth consecutive year,” said Frieda Garcia, managing partner of BAL. “As the first female managing partner of BAL, I am so proud that we successfully have created a collaborative culture that brings purpose and balance to our people’s lives.”
In 2022, 64.9% of BAL attorneys were women. Half of the firm’s equity partners were women, with 65.4% of all partners and 62.4% of associates being women. Each of these categories ranked much higher than industry averages in the survey, which were 40% of attorneys, 50% of associates, 27% of total partners, and 24% of equity partners.
For five consecutive years, BAL has maintained its position as the law firm of choice for female attorneys by creating a purposeful, collaborative culture that drives meaningful change. BAL’s innovative talent-development programs and elite performance transformation approach support each team member’s personal and professional goals, and leadership development programs create a supportive environment for people to have more fulfilling careers. Further, the firm’s policies and benefits package reflects its commitment to representation and inclusion.
“Our goal at BAL is to deliver life-changing service to our clients, and we achieve that by working together as one team, oneBAL,” said Jeremy Fudge, BAL’s CEO. “Every person brings their unique strengths, skills and perspectives to the table. Growing representation at BAL, especially at the leadership level, has been key to opening doors for more women to have successful careers and lives. We’re honored to be leading the way.”
The Women in Law Scorecard is an annual ranking compiled by the National Law Journal, which evaluates law firms based on their percentage of female attorneys, including associates, partners and equity partners. The 2022 rankings are based on responses from 257 of the 350 largest law firms by headcount, representing 151,000 attorneys.