Professionals

PARTNERS
J. Anthony Smith
Alan Tafapolsky

ASSOCIATES
Jody Blaski
Kelly Clifford           
Claire Hamano
Steve Kim
Isabel Kugler
John C. Lemacks, II
Deirdre Ramanujam

SENIOR COUNSEL
Ron Wada

OF COUNSEL
Carmen DiPlacido

STAFF
Daniel Allen
Anna Castellanos
Stephanie Chin
Lida Daneshfar
Gavin Fields
Aimee Fiock
Jocelyn Fong
Sandra Garsele
Christina Goswiller
Mimi Hong
Summre Houwen
Terry Kelly
Lillie Khanderish
Karen Leung
Jeremy Litwin
Nora Lozada
John Vincent Ocampo
Donna Oh
Leonard Oxford
Cecilia Palmcrantz
Alejandra Palomares
Tristan Parker
Savanna Reyes
Ruth Rubenstein
Briana Salazar
Jon Sison
Megan Thai   
Danielle Weiler
Michael Weston
Scott A. Wilkinson
Elisa Yoshiara

Education
- University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D., 1988)
- University of Michigan (B.A., 1984)

Bar Admissions
- California

J. Anthony Smith
Managing Partner
Los Angeles
smith@tandslaw.com
Mr. Smith is a co-founder of Tafapolsky & Smith and the Managing Partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Mr. Smith‘s practice focuses on the representation of multinational and start-up companies in employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant matters before the USCIS, Department of Labor and Department of State.  Most of his time is spent providing strategic counseling to multinational employers regarding employment-based immigration process, policy and compliance issues, including mergers and acquisitions, reductions in force, corporate restructuring, outsourcing and other corporate changes.  Mr. Smith also counsels immigration clients regarding employer sanction and government audit matters, drawing on his broad in complex commercial litigation and appellate experience before federal and state courts.

Mr. Smith draws on more than 20 years experience representing multinational businesses, financial institutions and technology companies.  Prior to forming Tafapolsky & Smith, Mr. Smith was an attorney at Mansueto & Sakai LLP in Los Angeles, where he represented clients in business immigration and commercial litigation matters. Before relocating to California, Mr. Smith practiced with the main office of Chicago-based Keck, Mahin & Cate from 1988 to 1992.

Mr. Smith received his Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1988. He received his Bachelor's degree with distinction from the University of Michigan in 1984. During his third year at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Mr. Smith was selected by faculty to teach legal writing to first-year law students.

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Education
- Georgetown Law Center, (LL.M., 1999)
- University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D., 1993)
- Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy (M.A., 1989)
- Connecticut College (B.A., 1983)

Bar Admissions
- California
- District of Columbia
- Massachusetts
- Pennsylvania
- Wisconsin

Alan Tafapolsky
Managing Partner
San Francisco
tafapolsky@tandslaw.com

Mr. Tafapolsky is the Managing Partner of Tafapolsky & Smith's San Francisco office. He co-founded the Firm after more than seven years of specializing in business immigration law. Prior to establishing Tafapolsky & Smith, Mr. Tafapolsky was a member of the law firm of Cooley Godward LLP in San Francisco for a period of five years, where he represented emerging growth companies and multinational corporations. Before relocating to California, Mr. Tafapolsky practiced immigration law at the firm of Carliner & Remes LLP in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Tafapolsky is a graduate of Connecticut College, with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Mr. Tafapolsky was awarded a Master's degree in Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law, and a Master's degree in Employment and Labor Law from Georgetown University. He also earned a Certification in Dispute Resolution from the Harvard University Program on Negotiation.

Mr. Tafapolsky is admitted to practice in California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. He is a noted author and editor in the field of business immigration law and is a frequent contributor to Immigration Briefings.

Mr. Tafapolsky spends a majority of his practice counseling clients on the immigration consequences of mergers and acquisitions, and he guides due diligence for proposed deals. He also manages immigration processes for extensive restructuring of companies and provides strategic counseling to multinational corporations and start-up businesses.

As part of his commitment to community service, Mr. Tafapolsky provides pro bono legal services to low income clients and public service organizations.

Mr. Tafapolsky lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family and is a long-time fan of the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland A's.

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Education
- California Western School of Law (J.D., 1998)
- University of California, Davis (B.A.)

Bar Admissions
- California

Claire Hamano
Senior Associate
Los Angeles
hamano@tandslaw.com

Ms. Claire Hamano currently represents multinational and start-up companies in employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant matters before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Labor and Department of State. Her legal career has primarily focused on the practice of U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law, with a background in both employment-based and family-related matters. Prior to joining Tafapolsky & Smith, Ms. Hamano was the senior associate attorney at Gotcher Law Group, a business-focused immigration firm located in Sherman Oaks, California. Prior to that, Ms. Hamano was engaged in conducting comparative legal research and writing at the Kyoto Comparative Law Center (KCLC), a renowned academic legal research institute and think tank located in Kyoto, Japan where she simultaneously served on the editorial committee for the Matthew Bender publication, "Doing Business in Japan."

Ms. Hamano is a graduate of California Western School of Law (CWSL) where she received her Juris Doctorate cum laude in 1998. While attending law school, Ms. Hamano was a staff editor/writer for the CWSL Law Review/International Law Journal and received several academic awards and distinctions, including the American Jurisprudence Award in Immigration Law. Ms. Hamano also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Davis. While at U.C. Davis, Ms. Hamano was a member of the Prytaneans Women's Honor Society and Golden Key National Honor Society.

Ms. Hamano is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), is licensed to practice law in the State of California, and is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Central District of California. She is also fluent in spoken Japanese.

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Education
 

Bar Admissions
 

Isabel Kugler
Senior Associate
Los Angeles
           

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Education

-Southwestern Univ. School of Law (JD)

-California State Univ., Chico (BA, Political Science)     

Bar Admissions

-California (Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law)

-US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

-US District Court for the Central District of California

John C. Lemacks, II
Senior Associate
Los Angeles

 

Mr. Lemacks represents medium and large multinational companies in a variety of industries. He provides strategic counsel on all matters involving U.S. Immigration and Nationality law, as well as policy and compliance. Prior to joining Tafapolsky & Smith, Mr. Lemacks was an Attorney with Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy where he represented numerous mid-sized and large multinational companies in industries such as Biotechnology, Engineering, Oil and Gas, Pharmaceutical and IT. He developed employer-specific immigration programs and guided clients through the immigration aspects of mergers and acquisitions as well as I-9 compliance. Mr. Lemacks successfully designated several Regional Centers under the EB-5 pilot program and represented numerous individual investors in the EB-5 process. Over the last 10 years, Mr. Lemacks has represented individuals before the AAO, EOIR, BIA, BALCA, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Lemacks has extensive experience working with all major employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant visa categories as well as with family-based, U.S. citizenship matters and removal and deportation hearings.

Mr. Lemacks earned his JD from Southwestern University School of Law where he received the CALI Award in Immigration Law in 2000. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from California State University at Chico. He is a member of the State Bar of California, certified as a Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law, and admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Central California as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Lemacks is the past Chair of the Orange County Bar Association, Immigration Law Section, and a Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He is fluent in Spanish.

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Education:
- J.D., University of Colorado
- Ph.D., Environmental Science & Engineering, UCLA
- B.S., Physics, California State University, Los Angeles

Bar Admissions:
- U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. District Court, District of Colorado
- Colorado Supreme Court

Ronald Y. Wada
Senior Counsel
San Francisco
wada@tandslaw.com

Ron Wada specializes in preparing immigrant visa petitions for first preference extraordinary ability, outstanding researcher/professor, and multinational manager and executive categories as well as the second preference national interest waiver category, and the nonimmigrant O-1 visa category for individuals with extraordinary ability. He also has primary responsibility for overseeing appeals and troubleshooting difficult cases.

Prior to joining Tafapolsky & Smith, Mr. Wada was Senior Counsel in the San Francisco office of Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP. His diverse immigration law background includes nonimmigrant visas, immigrant employment-based first and second preference petitions, labor certifications, consular visa processing, naturalization and denaturalization, asylum, and removal defense. He has extensive appellate brief writing experience, has published a best-selling book on degree equivalency for employment-based green card applications, and has authored a variety of articles on topics in his areas of expertise in the legal journal, Bender’s Immigration Bulletin. He has appeared in oral argument before the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and has been a participant in the Board of Immigration Appeals Pro Bono Project.

Mr. Wada is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and has served on numerous AILA national committees to help resolve immigration law issues having nationwide impact. He received AILA's 2011 Edith Lowenstein Award for advancing the practice of immigration law, an AILA Presidential Commendation in 2006, as well as AILA’s Edward L. Dubroff Memorial Award for Excellence in Research and Writing in the Field of Immigration Law. He has received the top A/V Preeminent rating for attorneys issued by Martindale-Hubble, and has been selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America. He is co-editor of the leading national immigration law treatise Immigration Law and Procedure, and has been a member of the editorial board for Bender’s Immigration Bulletin since 2000.

Mr. Wada holds a J.D. degree from the University of Colorado, a Ph.D. in Environmental Science & Engineering from UCLA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from California State University, Los Angeles. He is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, and the Colorado Supreme Court.

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Bar Admissions
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Ohio

Carmen DiPlacido
Of Counsel

Mr. DiPlacido was an attorney-at-law who served the U.S. Department of State for 27 years, between 1970 and 1997. By virtue of his extended tenure at the Department of State, Mr. DiPlacido had extensive experience in consular law. He was also one of the country's leading experts in the area of citizenship and naturalization, and directed the formulation and administration of all Department of State policies on citizenship, nationality, and passports during his tenure.

While at the Department of State, Mr. DiPlacido authored landmark legislation affecting derivative citizenship known as the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. Mr. DiPlacido passed away on February 1, 2013.  He generously shared his expertise and will be sorely missed.

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Daniel Allen
Senior Paralegal
Los Angeles
allen@tandslaw.com

Mr. Allen has been employed as a paralegal in the business immigration field since 2001, during which time he has assisted company clients and individuals with a variety of nonimmigrant (B, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, K, L, O, and TN) and immigrant (PERM, I-130, I-140, and I-485) matters.  Mr. Allen has a Master of Arts degree in Latin American Studies from the University of California at Berkeley.  He is fluent in Spanish and can read/write Portuguese.

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Stephanie Chin
Senior Paralegal
San Francisco
chin@tandslaw.com

Ms. Chin has worked in the field of immigration law since 1998. Prior to joining Tafapolsky & Smith LLP, Ms. Chin was a Senior Legal Assistant at Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP, where she specialized in preparing complex first-preference immigrant visa petitions in the extraordinary ability, outstanding researcher, and multinational manager categories, and extraordinary ability (O-1) nonimmigrant petitions. She also prepared labor certification applications and immigrant visa petitions in the EB2 and EB3 categories, family-based immigrant visa petitions, and applications for adjustment of status, consular processing, and naturalization. Ms. Chin was previously a Staff Assistant at the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project and has also worked at two small immigration law firms in San Francisco, CA.

Ms. Chin received a BA in Asian Studies and Political Science (double major) from UC Berkeley in 1997, and has lived for a year in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.

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Lida Daneshfar
Paralegal
Los Angeles
daneshfar@tandslaw.com

Ms. Daneshfar is a recent graduate of the Pepperdine University School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, Marshal School of Business.  She applies her advanced training in legal research and writing to assist attorneys in the Los Angeles office of Tafapolsky & Smith LLP with paralegal case preparation and administrative operations.  Ms. Daneshfar handles a variety of employment-based immigration matters, specializing in immigrant visa petitions and adjustment of status applications for high-volume corporate clients. 

Prior to joining Tafapolsky & Smith, Ms. Daneshfar served as a Law Clerk at a boutique law firm in Santa Monica.  She is fluent in Farsi.

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Gavin Fields
Paralegal
Los Angeles
fields@tandslaw.com

Mr. Fields has worked in the field of immigration law since 1999. Prior to joining Tafapolsky & Smith, LLP, Mr. Fields was a paralegal at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen, and Loewy, LLP, where he gained experience processing a wide variety of corporate immigration matters, including  PERM labor certifications, nonimmigrant visas, and  immigrant visas. Previously, Mr. Fields worked in a small firm that specialized in all facets of immigration law, including business, family, and deportation matters. Mr. Fields holds a B.A. degree in Philosophy from University of California, Los Angeles.

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Jocelyn Fong
Senior Paralegal
San Francisco
fong@tandslaw.com

Ms. Fong has worked in the field of immigration law since 1994. Prior to joining Tafapolsky & Smith, Ms. Fong oversaw the work of a team of legal assistants specializing in adjustment of status and consular processing at Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP. Previously, Ms. Fong worked in a small law firm that specialized in all aspects of immigration, including business, family and asylum matters.

Ms. Fong's vast work experience includes nonimmigrant (H, L, TN) and immigrant matters (labor certification, I-140, I-130, permanent residence application), re-entry permits, and naturalization applications.

Ms. Fong holds a B.S. in Business Administration from San Francisco State University. She is also a commissioned notary with the State of California. Ms. Fong is conversant in Cantonese and Toishanese.

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Mimi Hong
Paralegal
Los Angeles
hong@tandslaw.com

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Terry Kelly
 Paralegal
San Francisco
kelly@tandslaw.com

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Lillie Khanderish
Senior Paralegal
San Francisco
khanderish@tandslaw.com

Ms. Khanderish has worked in the field of immigration law since 1997, possessing extensive experience in adjustment of status and consular processing. Before joining Tafapolsky & Smith, Ms. Khanderish managed a team of 13 paralegals specializing in adjustment of status at Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP.

Ms. Khanderish's well-rounded experience includes both immigrant and nonimmigrant matters, processing applications for permanent residence, L-1 and H-1B petitions, and labor certifications.

Ms. Khanderish holds a B.A. in Criminal Justice from California State University. She is fluent in Assyrian and Farsi.

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Karen Leung
Paralegal
San Francisco
leung@tandslaw.com