Oct. 16, 2014
Tafapolsky & Smith LLP
See more on Tafapolsky & Smith LLPSan Francisco, Los Angeles | Immigration
"We both come from larger firms, and we wanted to maintain a culture at our firm that is focused on the quality of the work and a good work-life balance," Los Angeles partner J. Anthony Smith said. "It is our experience some of the larger firms are more focused on volume and the bottom line."
Founded in 2000, the firm has grown to 42 employees, including 10 lawyers. It mostly practices business immigration law, guiding entrepreneurs, multinational corporations and foreign nationals through the visa and green card process. It represents 15 Fortune 500 clients, Smith said, as well as some families.
Prior to starting the firm, co-founder Alan Tafapolsky practiced business immigration law in Cooley Godward LLP in San Francisco and at Carliner & Remes LLP in Washington D.C. Smith was a commercial litigator for Mansueto & Sakai LLP in Los Angeles and Keck, Mahin & Cate in Chicago.
Smith said the partners were interested in creating their own firm culture. Like most immigration firms, it mostly charges flat flees. Accordingly, the firm measures productivity not by hours billed but by projects accomplished.
"We try to reward production instead of sitting at the desk," he said.
The firm's roster of lawyers also includes Ronald Wada, who has argued several cases before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and won several awards from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a trade group. Wada is co-editor of Immigration Law and Procedure, a national treatise.
A client who agreed to be interviewed raved about the firm's work.
The firm has advised the client, Synopsys, Inc, for 14 years and has secured visas or green cards for hundreds of its software and hardware engineers from India, China and Europe, human resources manager Beth Nguyen said. Once a year, the firm participates in a town hall where lawyers give advice to employees and meet with them one on one.
Nguyen said the firm has learned the ins and outs of Snynopsys' business.
"T&S being a boutique correlates with our own philosophy," she said.
Smith said the firm "makes a real priority to tailor our advice" to its clients' needs rather than attempt to mold the clients to conform with its program. Some larger boutique immigration firms, he said, have a one-size-fits-all approach that is in the firm's best interests but not the client's.
"What sets us apart is our philosophy is to focus on being lawyers first and not just case processors," he said.
The firm is contacted at least a few times a year by other firms interested in buying it or merging, mostly East Coast immigration firms looking to establish a presence on the West Coast, Smith said. It has also received interest from employment firms looking to establish an immigration practice.
But the partners have resisted because they want to maintain their small-firm, collegial atmosphere.
"We really started this firm," Smith said, "because we want to work at a boutique law firm."
- Brandon Ortiz
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