PHOENIX, June 30, 2004 – LAWFUEL – With multinational companies facing
delays and other problems in securing U.S. visas for foreign workers, the
immigration law firm of Littler Mendelson Bacon & Dear is launching the legal
industry’s first centralized service specializing in importing and exporting
workers worldwide.
LMB&D is a Phoenix-based affiliate of Littler Mendelson, the nation’s
largest employment and labor law firm.
“As a result of tightened security in the post-September 11 environment,
multinational companies are having great difficulty importing foreign workers
into the United States,” said LMB&D managing partner Roxana Bacon. “Visas are
being delayed and very frequently denied, so companies are now moving workers
to facilities in other countries, creating complex immigration issues.”
The problem is especially acute among companies in need of science and
technology professionals, the category of foreign worker in highest demand in
the United States.
“Migration between foreign countries has increased,” Bacon said. “No U.S.
immigration law firm has tackled that in the context of the employment arena.
We’re the only law firm in the United States that understands migration law as
a component of employment law.”
LMB&D’s new Littler Global division will provide “one-stop shopping for
any company working internationally, guaranteeing excellence in quality,
consistency in information going to any government agency in the world, and a
response time that meets the company’s requirements,” Bacon said.
Leading the new division is multilingual immigration attorney Andrea
Elliott, one of the few specialists in non-U.S. global migration law in the
country. She is joined by several other immigration experts, including
attorney David Asser, as well as a seasoned crew of Internet Technology (IT)
professionals and experienced paralegals. Elliott’s division also can draw
upon a network of more than 300 international lawyers and support staff
located around the world. This global team counsels employers and employees
and works with foreign governments when necessary.
“There has never been such a great movement of people globally as there is
now,” Elliott said. “More people than ever are crossing borders. The new
division has enabled us to develop a practice that facilitates the global
movement of people. No matter the country, when a border is crossed an
immigration lawyer is needed to obtain employment authorization.”
The partnership with Littler Mendelson will provide “more breadth, depth
and stability for our clients, bringing the firm’s extensive resources to bear
on interrelated employment and immigration issues and to the development of a
global immigration center,” Elliott said.
Littler Global will offer clients personalized legal counsel and access to
LMB&D’s unique interactive information database. This database allows clients
to send information to the firm electronically over the Internet, then monitor
the progress of each migrating employee’s case throughout the immigration
process regardless of where in the world the employee is heading. A
sophisticated security system guarantees confidentiality and the integrity of
core client information ensures consistency in information given to any
government’s immigration agencies.
Littler Mendelson Bacon & Dear PLLC focuses exclusively on employment-
based immigration law. Its clients, including several Fortune 500 companies,
are high-volume, sophisticated users of immigration law services around the
world. LMB&D offers a wide range of services, from strategic advice at the
highest levels to the preparation of individual immigration
petitions/applications/visas and everything in between, including related
employment law advice.
Littler Mendelson, with more than 400 attorneys in 28 offices nationwide,
is the largest law firm in the United States practicing exclusively in
employment and labor law, representing management. The firm’s client base
ranges from Fortune 500 companies to small-business owners. Established in
1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most
influential cases and labor contracts in the nation’s history.
