Harris Beach PLLC, ranked as one of the country’s largest law firms by The National Law Journal, is expanding its immigration law practice with the hiring of partner Leonard J. D’Arrigo and associate Brendan Venter. The expansion comes amid a changing political and regulatory environment surrounding immigration enforcement policy.
Leonard (L.J.) and Brendan, along with a team of professionals, have joined the Harris Beach Immigration Practice Group, working out of the firm’s Albany/Saratoga Capital Region offices. The Immigration Practice group delivers legal services nationwide to ensure employers are able to hire, transfer and retain the brightest and best non-U.S. talent, with an additional focus on nonimmigrant petitions and family-based immigration processes.
L.J. assists a diverse group of U.S. and foreign multinational corporations, religious institutions, universities and other employers to obtain temporary and permanent visas for skilled or professional foreign national workers. These employees range from international executives, managers, engineers and researchers to skilled craft workers, medical personnel, scientists and university professors. At the same time, L.J. maintains one of the largest H-2A and H-2B visa practices in the country. He is a nationally recognized leader in the processing of H-2A and H-2B visas for agricultural employers, the landscaping industry, and the thoroughbred racing industry, as well as in providing guidance to these employers on DOL and USCIS compliance issues. He has assisted in the drafting of legislation affecting the H-2B program and seasonal businesses.
Brendan focuses his practice on developing and managing global talent acquisition programs for large and small employers seeking to fill highly skilled positions in the United States. He places a particular emphasis on assisting foreign faculty, medical professionals, and other professionals with complex immigration issues involving O-1 visas, J-1 waivers and permanent residency through the National Interest Waiver, Outstanding Professor/Researcher and Alien of Extraordinary Ability categories. Brendan also works extensively with investors, entrepreneurs and start-ups in securing investment-based nonimmigrant visas.
This is the second expansion of the Harris Beach Immigration Practice Group in three months and extends the team’s footprint to include attorneys Danielle Rizzo in Buffalo, Russ Roberts in Rochester and Andrea Godfread-Brown in Syracuse. Harris Beach now has one of the largest employment-based immigration practices in New York.
“The challenges of immigration compliance have grown steadily in the past two decades and have intensified more recently,” said Christopher Jagel, chief executive officer, Harris Beach. “Recognizing this, we’re investing to broaden our practice to meet the diverse needs of employers, including universities, hospitals and science and technology organizations. At the same time, employees also need considerable assistance to retain their ability to work in the United States. Our practice focuses on helping ensure full compliance.”
The addition of L.J. and Brendan also continues the ongoing growth of Harris Beach in the Capital Region. The number of attorneys serving the region has increased more than 40 percent since 2016.
[show_related_bios_by_primary_office]About Harris Beach
Founded in 1856, Harris Beach and its subsidiaries provide a full range of legal and professional services for clients across New York state, as well as nationally and internationally. Harris Beach is among the country’s top law firms according to The National Law Journal and ranks as a BTI Elite law firm based on in-depth interviews of more than 600 corporate counsel at the world’s largest and most influential companies. Clients include Fortune 100 corporations, privately-held companies, emerging businesses, public sector entities, not-for-profit organizations and individuals. Principal industries Harris Beach represents include education, energy, financial, food and beverage, health care, insurance, manufacturing, medical and life sciences, real estate developers, science and technology, veterinary medicine, and state and local governments and authorities. The firm’s more than 220 lawyers practice among offices throughout New York state in Albany, Buffalo, Ithaca, Melville, New York City, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Uniondale and White Plains, as well as in New Haven, Connecticut and Newark, New Jersey. For more information, go to www.harrisbeach.com.
