Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C.

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James Hallagan is a Principal in the law firm of Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C., for almost thirty years, concentrating his practice in deportation defense, family and employment-based immigration and appeals. During the late 1980’s, he directed the firm’s program to obtain amnesty for its clients under the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Mr. Hallagan has a large Hispanic clientele and works extensively with a variety of other ethnic groups. He has successfully represented clients before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Executive Office for Immigration Review....more

Derek Strain is a Principal in the law firm of Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C. since 2007. Mr. Strain has practiced exclusively in the area of United States immigration and nationality law since 1997. He has represented clients in all areas of immigration and nationality law including naturalization, family-based immigrant petitions, and employment-based immigration. His practice includes H-1B, L, O, E, and TN nonimmigrant visas, PERM labor certification, and deportation/removal defense....more

Margaret H. (“Peggy”) McCormick is a Principal in the law firm of Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C., and has been practicing exclusively in the field of immigration law for over thirty years. From 1999 until 2003, she served as National President of the American Immigration Law Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1987. During her tenure, she established the Immigration Policy Center to increase public understanding of immigration. She is the past National President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (1997-98)....more

Stephen Tarnoff is a Principal in the law firm of Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C. since 2007. Mr. Tarnoff possesses significant experience in both law and journalism, and has practiced in the employment-based and family immigration law areas with the firm since 2001. Prior to his tenure with the firm, he was an employee benefits attorney with a benefits administration and consulting firm as well as an insurance coverage attorney for a major Chicago law firm. Also a journalist, Mr. Tarnoff has written for numerous publications on legal and business issues....more

Patricia Luna is an Associate Attorney in the law firm of Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C. She has practiced exclusively in the area of immigration and nationality law for more than six years. She focuses on business immigration matters and advises clients on temporary and permanent resident processing for employees. She also represents clients before various immigration agencies of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor and the Department of State....more

John Shine is an Associate Attorney in the law firm of Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C. Mr. Shine has practiced immigration law since 2005. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was raised in Chicago. His practice focuses on family-based immigration, deportation defense, and citizenship and naturalization issues, including mandamus petitions in federal court. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), where he serves on the Department of Homeland Security Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) Committee....more

Ana Maria Echiburu is an Associate Attorney at Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C. Ms. Echiburu's practice includes family-based immigration and employment-based immigration including nonimmigrant visas, PERM labor certification and immigrant petitions. Ana Maria has also worked pro bono with the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS). She is a current member of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association (AILA) and the Federal Bar Association (FBA)......more

Beata Leja is an Associate Attorney in the law firm of Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C. Beata's practice includes both employment-based and family-based immigration law. She is an active member of the Chicago Chapter American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), where she serves as a co-chair of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Committee and is a member of the Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Committee. From 2008 to 2010, she served on AILA's Illinois Department of Employment Security/Department of Labor (IDES/DOL) Committee.....more