Thompson Hine LLP is pleased to announce that nationally recognized immigration lawyer David W. Leopold has joined the firm as a partner in its Labor & Employment and Immigration practices, along with a core team of experienced immigration professionals, including associates Allison Hall and Amanda Vo, and a team of four paralegals and an immigration assistant.
Thompson Hine has long had an industry-leading immigration practice, and its recent growth confirms its stature as an innovative advisor on immigration compliance and sponsorship issues. Last year, partner Kelli Hayes and a team of immigration professionals joined the team led by Sarah Flannery at Thompson Hine, who has exclusively practiced immigration law at the firm since 2005. With the addition of Leopold’s team, the firm’s immigration practice now has 15 professionals. Leopold’s arrival further strengthens the firm’s capabilities across business immigration, health care and physician immigration, government investigations, employer sanctions defense, and high-stakes litigation, while enhancing Thompson Hine’s ability to advise clients on rapidly evolving immigration policy and enforcement trends.
“We are thrilled to welcome David and his team to Thompson Hine,” said partner Nancy Barnes, leader of the Labor & Employment practice. “He is a national thought leader whose sophisticated practice and deep health care experience strategically enhance our platform. This expansion allows us to better advise clients at the intersection of immigration, health care, regulatory compliance, and litigation. David’s leadership and the team’s experience in navigating the full spectrum of business immigration, compliance, and litigation challenges will be an immediate asset for employers, health systems, and institutions nationwide and internationally, especially with rising demand for counsel on workforce planning, talent mobility, and enforcement defense.”
Leopold is widely regarded as a leading voice on U.S. immigration law and policy. Over four decades, he has built a sophisticated practice representing employers, health systems, research institutions, and individuals in complex matters spanning employment- and family-based immigration, consular practice, I-9 compliance and internal audits, complex waivers of inadmissibility, agency investigations, removal defense, and federal court litigation. A nationally recognized immigration reform advocate, writer, and public speaker, Leopold has advised national leaders on immigration law and policy and testified as an immigration law expert before the U.S. Congress. He is a past president and past general counsel of the Washington, D.C.-based American Immigration Lawyers Association, the premier U.S. bar association of immigration lawyers and professors. He has taught immigration law as an adjunct professor and is recognized by leading legal publications for excellence in immigration law and client service, including being ranked in Band 1 in Immigration by Chambers. Leopold frequently writes for national media including MSNBC.com, CNN.com, TPM.com, USA Today, The Hill, and Huffington Post. His analyses of cutting-edge immigration issues frequently appear in major media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Politico, Mother Jones, and CNN.
“Thompson Hine’s collaborative, innovation-forward culture and national platform are an ideal home for our practice,” said Leopold. “Our clients – particularly health care providers, academic medical centers, life sciences companies, and multinational employers – are facing unprecedented scrutiny and change. The firm’s business-focused approach, technology tools, and cross-disciplinary depth will allow us to deliver even greater value as we help clients recruit and retain global talent, meet compliance obligations, and respond decisively to enforcement actions.” Thompson Hine’s expanded immigration team has broad experience supporting employers across industries on nonimmigrant and immigrant visa strategies; supporting global mobility portfolios; counseling on mergers and acquisitions, including due diligence; advising on internal audits, I-9 compliance, and workplace enforcement actions; and representing clients before DHS, DOJ, DOL, the Department of State, and U.S. consulates worldwide. The team also has particular strength in health care and physician immigration, including J-1 physician waivers (Conrad 30 and federal agency), O-1 and EB-1 extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers and professors, and national interest waivers for clinicians and researchers.