People at PLG
Our team of legal professionals includes Attorneys, Case Managers, Case Coordinators and Paralegals — all dedicated to every aspect of employment based immigration. In addition to U.S. inbound immigration, PLG's legal staff have managed immigration and compliance matters in over 50 countries; including every key destination in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and EMEA regions. Some of our staff members have additional experience with family-based cases and other areas of immigration.
Attorneys
Julie PearlManaging AttorneyPearl Law Group Chair & General Counsel ImmigrationTracker Julie@immigrationlaw.com |
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Education
B.A., Stanford University
M.P.A., Harvard University
J.D., University of California, Hastings
Rankings
- HR Executive Magazine (May 2009):
Top 10 Immigration Attorneys - #1 Woman-Owned Law Firm in San Francisco
(SF Business Times) - Chambers USA Guide: "America's Leading Business Lawyers"
- Lawdragon 500:
One of five chosen business immigration lawyers in the U.S. - International Who's Who of Business Immigration Lawyers
- SuperLawyers of the Bay Area
- Who's Who in American Law
- Who's Who of American Women
Experience
Former Deputy Attorney General in California, Julie Pearl founded her award-winning firm in 1995, along with Alan Nelson, the former head of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service under Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. Within three years, she developed ImmigrationTracker, the immigration management system now used by over 75% of top-ranked law firms and many Fortune 1000 companies, hospitals and universities. She is the only woman and only attorney under age 50 to be named among the "Top 10 Immigration Attorneys" by HR Executive Magazine (May 2009) in their annual list of "The Nation's Most Powerful Employment Attorneys."
Julie won a Cisco Systems Growing with Technology Award (Customer Service Category) and was profiled in the book The Moral Advantage, Getting Ahead in Business by Doing the Right Thing (Stanford University Project on Good Works) for applying the "Golden Rule" to her clients' needs. She is also a co-author of Inside the Minds: Leading Executives on Creating a Leadership Plan, Evaluating Risks, and Managing Cyclical Growth.
She is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of California, all Federal courts and the United States Court of International Trade. A founding member of the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers and former Vice Chair of the American Bar Association's Immigration Subcommittee, Julie has spoken on immigration topics to dozens of human resources, legal, accounting, and other business and professional organizations. Julie ranked #2 in the American Bar Association's Client Counseling Competition (Combined Finals for Australia, Canada, U.K. and U.S.). She has lived in five countries and speaks three languages.
Jared LeungSenior Supervising AttorneyB.A. in English Literature, Brigham Young University, Hawaii J.D., Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School Jared@immigrationlaw.com |
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Jared has been practicing U.S. immigration law since 1996. He has extensive experience in business immigration matters, such as immigrant and non-immigrant petition processing at USCIS, visa applications at U.S. consulates, and PERM applications with the DOL. He has also worked closely with individual clients, investors, and those with family immigration needs.
From June 2006 to October 2008, Jared managed the U.S. consulate practice for the Asia Pacific region in Hong Kong for a major immigration law firm, covering a large area from India to Japan. He worked closely with U.S. consulates, U.S. Commercial Services, and local Chambers of Commerce in Asia Pacific. He charted new ground in resolving emergency issues, as well as strategizing with corporate clients on the movement of employees between the U.S. and Asia Pacific.
Prior to his international assignment in Hong Kong, Jared worked in the immigration practice group of the largest employment law firm in the U.S. He worked primarily with corporate and high-tech clients to streamline immigration processes for the hiring and retention of non-U.S. workers.
Jared is a frequent speaker on U.S. immigration matters, and has published numerous articles on corporate immigration topics. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, where he served as Chapter Secretary for the Arizona Chapter. He is also the Co-Chair of the Immigration Committee of NAPABA (National Asia Pacific American Bar Association). Jared is admitted to the State Bars of Arizona, California, and Utah.
Christy NguyenSupervising AttorneyB.A., University of California – Berkeley J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco CNguyen@immigrationlaw.com |
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Christy has been passionate about immigration all her life, and has dedicated all of her professional and volunteer efforts to this field. She's been helping foreign nationals since 1997, practicing business immigration law since 2001 with prominent law firms.
She has extensive experience partnering with corporate clients, from startup companies to Fortune 500 companies, and with non-profit research and educational institutions. Her client base has also included multinational professional consulting firms, multimedia and software companies, bio-medical companies, artists/entertainers, outstanding researchers/professors, and other talented individuals.
Christy was recently selected for inclusion in The International Who's Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers 2008 and Who's Who Legal: California 2009. She is also certified by the Employee Relocation Council (ERC) as a Global Mobility Specialist (GMS). Her training enables her to better understand and identify solutions for the range of global mobility issues facing our clients, from relocation resources to cross-cultural considerations.
Her volunteer and internship activities have included participating in the Immigration Law Clinic at U.C. Hastings College of the Law, teaching a naturalization class with Asian Law Alliance, volunteering with the Immigration Clinic at Asian Law Caucus, researching and authoring immigration manuals for the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and clerking with a renowned law firm that litigated many challenging immigrant cases.
Christy is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. She is fluent in Vietnamese.
Sameer KhedekarSupervising AttorneyB.A., University of California – San Diego J.D., Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, California Sameer@immigrationlaw.com |
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Sameer has handled a wide variety of immigration matters for clients ranging from high-tech companies, startups, hospitals, universities, retail businesses, investors and individuals. He has gained extensive experience in all aspects of business immigration, including labor certifications and immigrant visa petitions; and nonimmigrant visas petitions for intra-company transferees, NAFTA professionals, treaty investors, specialty occupation professionals, religious workers and individuals of extraordinary ability. Sameer has also been a featured panelist on a nationally broadcast teleconference discussing the impact of common immigration issues facing large technology companies.
Prior to joining Pearl Law Group, Sameer worked for full-service immigration law firms in San Francisco. In addition to practicing the full breadth of business immigration law, he successfully appeared on behalf of his clients before the USCIS in naturalization and adjustment of status proceedings, and before the Immigration Court in removal proceedings.
While in Law School, Sameer was a Technical Editor of the Santa Clara Law Review. He was also awarded a Roe Maier Scholarship, was a recipient of the Public Interest Fellowship and was named an Outstanding Oral Advocate in his Moot Court Competition. Sameer is currently admitted to practice in the state of California, and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the South Asian Bar Association.
George HepnerSenior Supervising AttorneyA.S. in Aquaculture, Mansfield State University, Mansfield, Pennsylvania B.A. in French, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania J.D., Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, Pennsylvania GHepner@immigrationlaw.com |
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George has been practicing law for over 20 years, working exclusively in immigration law since the early 1990s. He has extensive experience in virtually every type of immigration matter, from investor visas and all forms of business immigration to litigation, congressional liaison and consular representation.
Prior to his immigration days, George worked as an Assistant District Attorney and as a general practitioner, representing clients in areas ranging from real estate and corporate law to domestic relations and civil litigation. For even greater variety, before becoming a lawyer, George worked and studied in the fields of aquaculture and linguistics, following studies in France, Germany and the U.S.
A member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, he is admitted to practice in the United States Courts of Appeals for the 1st and 3rd Circuits, Maine and Pennsylvania. He has given presentations on the topic of immigration law to a number of human resource and international trade organizations in the U.S. and Canada, and he has published a number of articles on business immigration law. George regularly conducts business in French, German, Spanish and Italian. He also has a working knowledge of Russian. When not at the office, George likes to be moving fast and downhill, preferably on skis.
Kate KunzmanSupervising AttorneyB.A., University of Washington – Seattle J.D., Golden Gate University, San Francisco Kate@immigrationlaw.com |
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Kate handles the range of immigrant and nonimmigrant business immigration matters, including employment visas for professionals, intracompany transferees, investors, and trainees. She has experience advising clients on business visitors, H-1B, TN, L-1, E, O-1, and H-3 petitions, labor certification and PERM applications, multinational manager immigrant petitions, outstanding researchers & extraordinary ability petitions, and adjustment of status and consular processing immigrant visa applications.
She garnered her experience initially at the world's largest immigration law firms, including six years as an Immigration Paralegal and Law Clerk while attending law school. In addition, she acquired experience developing and implementing practical business immigration solutions for individual professionals and corporations alike.
Kate was an Editor of the Golden Gate Law Review. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Having lived in France, Germany and Norway, Kate relishes international travel. She is also an avid runner.
Ann CunAttorneyB.A., University of California – Los Angeles J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco ACun@immigrationlaw.com |
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Ann partners with some of the leading technology and media companies in the Bay Area on various business immigration matters. Her prior experience includes working as an immigration paralegal at a distinguished immigration law firm in Los Angeles on employment-based immigration matters for professors and scientists, surgeons and doctors, Hollywood celebrities, models, musicians and professional designers. She has also helped J-1 visa holders obtain waivers of their two-year foreign residency requirement.
During law school, Ann was an Editor for the Hastings Law Journal and conducted research for the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies. She has worked on pro bono cases and volunteered at the Immigration Clinics sponsored by the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco.
Ann is licensed to practice law in the State of California. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area. Ann is fluent in Cantonese and Hakka, conversational in Mandarin, and continually works to improve her Spanish.
Global Services
Said BoskovicGlobal Immigration ManagerB.S., University of Split, Dubrovnik, Croatia Global Mobility Specialist Employee Relocation Council (ERC), Washington DC SBoskovic@immigrationlaw.com |
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Said has managed immigration cases in more than 35 countries for dozens of Fortune 1000 and other companies. Multi-lingual and highly resourceful, he can quickly answer questions on how to move employees into all of the key destination cities of the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. Working with our established legal network overseas when necessary, Said makes the process seamless, fast and reliable.
Over the past decade, he has established systems for expertly moving employees to specific destinations, from the process flow for immigration/relocation to the templates and training programs that can be used internally for HR and managers to help improve the efficiency and quality of global transfers.
Prior to joining PLG, Said worked at Ernst & Young as a Senior Outbound Visa and Immigration Coordinator, responsible for coordinating work permits/visas for expatriates and business travelers. He was engaged in global communication with all levels of personnel and management in 32 countries. He also worked for a major law firm as Global Immigration Paralegal and managed travel-related businesses earlier in his career.
Member of the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL), offering consistently high quality services in 50+ countries.
