Margaret O’Donnell, Immigration Attorney
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Margaret O’Donnell has more than 10 years experience as an immigration attorney, focused on defense against removal, asylum, citizenship, family-based visas, waivers, motions to reopen to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration Court and visas for victims of domestic violence and other crimes.

She graduated from Purdue University in Indiana with a degree in English Literature, and began her career as a daily journalist for The Times in Hammond, Indiana. She graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago with a Juris Doctor degree in1985 and served as staff consultant for the Center for Pro Bono at the American Bar Association (ABA). At the ABA, she spoke, consulted, wrote, and trained lawyers and staff on operating effective pro bono programs to serve the legal needs of the poor.

While at the ABA, Margaret served as a volunteer attorney at Midwest Immigration Rights Center for Central Americans fleeing civil war and seeking asylum in the US. It was at MIRC that she developed a passion for immigrant justice and for the challenge that the intricacies of U.S. immigration law pose. After moving from Chicago to Seattle, Margaret began the private practice of immigration law, first in law firms of other immigration attorneys, and since April 2007, in her own immigration law firm. She taught law in El Salvador as a US Fulbright Fellow in 2000-2001, served as a US Administration of Justice Officer in Colombia from 2002-2003 and directed a USAID Anti-corruption program in Bolivia from 2003-2006 before returning to the practice of immigration law in Seattle in 2007. She continues to consult overseas in anti-corruption, rule of law, pro bono programs, and legal ethics.

Margaret has had great success in winning legal residence and citizenship for her clients, including the most challenging cases of cancellation of removal in Immigration Court, and waivers of inadmissibility. She enjoys the challenge of finding a path for residence for those with barriers to eligibility for immigration benefits, such as criminal convictions, long absences from the US, unlawful entries, and visa fraud charges. She documents, argues and wins asylum claims, researches and presents effective cases for disability waivers in citizenship applications, and argues for bond for her detained clients.

Margaret O’Donnell is dedicated to assuring that her clients receive the very best service in their case, and that they attain the best results possible.


RECENT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND COMMUNITY SERVICE


Speaking Engagement NameConferenceDate

Attorney Volunteer     Citizenship Day  2007-Present
AILA Pro Bono Committee         2010-Present
Attorney Organizer and Volunteer      St. Louise Immigration Legal   2009-Present
   Clinic, Bellevue, WA
Regular Tuesday Radio Program on   Radio 1680AM, Seattle   2010-Present
Immigration 8-9am.
Basics of Family, Immigration Law for Social2010
VAWA, and U Visa Petitions      Service Providers, Consejo
Deportation Procedures and Policy   St. Andrew's Episcopal Church 2010
   Immigration Study Group
"Radio del Pueblo" Presentation on   St. Mary's Parish2010
Individual Immigration Questions
Site Coordinator Citizenship Day   2010
How Law Graduates International Work for Recent    2010
Can Find Overseas Work         Law Graduates, UW School
   of Law
AILA EOIR committee  2009-2010
Know Your Rights      Day Workers Class,   2009
   Centro Latino
Immigration Basics and Immigrant    San Juan County Bar  2008
Rights  Association, Friday Harbor, WA
Derechos de Inmigrantes y Conozca Sus Derechos      2007
Inmigracion 101
Defending Clients in Deportation      Deportation and Detention  2007
Proceedings       Overview
Deportation and Detention Immigration Forum      2007
Overview
Deportation Defense  Immigration Law Class,     2007
  Seattle University
Immigration Reform   Impact of Comprehensive 2007
  Immigration Reform
Rights of Immigrants in the United States  Know Your Rights:      2007
  Immigration 101
Immigrant Rights and Relief       Sanctuary Committee,       2007
  St. Mary’s Cathedral
Immigration 101 Western Washington Social 2007
  Service Providers, Seattle, WA

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE



Owner, Global Law Advocates, PLLC, Seattle, Washington September 2009-Present
US immigration law firm, focused on removal defense, family-based immigration, citizenship, and asylum law.

Consultant, DPK International, Zambia March-April 2009
Member of three-person team assessing the rule of law in Zambia, with recommendations for USAID direction. Co-wrote report on findings and recommendations under the new USAID Rule of Law Assessment framework.

Consultant, Management Systems International, Jamaica June-August 2008
Member of three-person team assessing corruption in Jamaica, with recommendations for USAID programming. Briefed Prime Minister Bruce Golding, USAID mission director, US Ambassador, and High Commissioners for the UK and Canada on findings and recommendations. Co-wrote report under the new USAID Corruption Assessment framework.

Principal, Global Law Partners, Seattle, Washington January 2007 – September 2009
US immigration law firm, International anti-corruption and rule of law consulting in ethics and anti-corruption training courses for lawyers and judges. Legislative drafting and anti-corruption courses for legislators and government staff. Trainer and consultant in civil society involvement in government transparency and corruption prevention.

Consultant, Chemonics International, Inc. Zambia July-August 2006
Helped develop the approach and the start-up work plan for Millennium Challenge Account/USAID Threshold Project on ruling justly. Coordinated the consultant and long-term team for the anti-corruption/ruling justly component.

Chief of Party, Casals & Associates December 2003 – March 2006
USAID/Bolivia Anti-Corruption Program
Directed a 6-person team in a $2.4 million, two-year integrated sanction and prevention of corruption program, pioneering USAID’s first police-prosecutor anti-corruption teams. Program also included criminal and administrative law reform, civil society grants, a mass media campaign, an innovative anti-corruption curriculum for civil society, a fast-track prosecutor project to bring corruption cases to judgment, and regional government anti-corruption offices. Program won USAID and Bolivian government praise for its innovative and effective strategies.

Consultant, DPK Consulting, Dominican Republic August –September 2003
Assessed the Dominican Public Defender for USAID under a contract with DPK; the assessment was used as a baseline study for DPK/USAID to determine its program to improve public defender services.

Administration of Justice Officer, USAID, Bogotá, Colombia April 2002 - May 2003
Technical Officer for $25 million Administration of Justice Project. Re-designed project, with contractor Checchi and Company, to expand public defense component and include a broad role in Colombia’s criminal code reform project. Helped increase the number of Justice Houses throughout the country, to provide access to justice for low-income Colombians.

Fulbright Fellow August 2000 - August 2001 United States Department of State, El Salvador
Sponsored by the Law Department at Universidad Centroamericana. Taught classes in trial advocacy for law students at Universidad Centroamericana in San Salvador; trained practicing attorneys in intensive trial advocacy workshops; developed trial advocacy training materials, including a video; developed an annotated bibliography of trial advocacy training materials available in Spanish; and wrote two hypothetical case files, based on the Salvadoran experience. Helped develop a draft Freedom of Information-like law, a pro bono program for large law firms (El Salvador’s first pro bono program), and the country’s first legal ethics curriculum and draft legal ethics code.

Attorney, O’Donnell and Associates November 1997 – December 2003 Seattle, Washington
Attorney specializing in immigration law, employed at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the Law Offices of Carol L. Edward, the Law Offices of Bart Klein, and the law firm of Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland in Seattle. Emphasis on asylum law, implications for immigrants with criminal convictions, removal defense, and business visas. Wrote manuscript examining recent Mexican immigration to Washington State as well as two articles on asylum law and deportation defense.

Project Coordinator for United States Field Operations January 1995 - April 1996 World Vision United States, Federal Way, Washington
Responsible for designing means to connect major donors more closely to United States programs; designed and implemented international internship and volunteer programs; conducted national study of volunteer involvement in World Vision work; analyzed the impact of welfare reform on World Vision programming nationally.

Consultant and Trainer, O’Donnell & Associates January 1992 - January 1995 Seattle, Washington
Consultant and trainer in volunteer management, strategic planning, and organizational development for nonprofit organizations. Conducted statewide analysis of legal services programs for the poor in Washington. Clients included: Legal Services Programs of Washington, Washington Legal Foundation, Washington State Department of Personnel, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and Washington State Bar Association.

Program Consultant, Center for Pro Bono June 1985 - October 1991 American Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois
National consultant, analyst, trainer, speaker, and writer on volunteer legal services for the poor. Editor of a quarterly magazine and a monthly newsletter on volunteer legal services program management. Helped increase the number of volunteer legal services programs from fewer than 50 to more than 800. Presented 40 state and regional conferences and provided training that improved the quality of volunteer legal services. Created the national Volunteer Legal Services Clearinghouse which served as a model for many state clearinghouses. Provided on-site consulting to more than 50 legal services programs, and served as a catalyst for positive change.