We recently connected with Erin Ustaoglu and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin, thanks for joining us today. One of the toughest parts of scaling a business is maintaining quality as you grow. How have you managed to maintain quality? Any stories or advice?

I began my legal career working at a large national law firm. I worked for the firm for over a year before I graduated from law school, first as a case clerk and then as a summer associate. Upon graduation from law school I was hired as an associate and worked there for almost 4 years.

The processes and procedures that I was required to learn and use consistently every day in each of my roles turned out to be invaluable to me when I opened my own law firm. While I may have taken my “filing duties” a bit too seriously as a case clerk, I remember very clearly the importance of organization, proper labeling and complying with the firm’s drafting standards.

These seemingly unimportant tasks are foundational when practicing law and maintaining quality in a growing firm. Of course there is an obvious expectation that as a lawyer I understand the legal issues of my clients, but it is also essential that my team is aware of upcoming deadlines, what actions are being taken on each case and the last time that we corresponded with our clients. Having detailed processes for the management of each case is what provides our team with the tools to give each client 150%.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I currently practice solely immigration law and am the founder of Elliott Immigration Law. I was introduced to the field of immigration after I married my Turkish husband and we went through the green card process together.

As a practicing attorney I was intrigued by the hurdles in navigating the US legal immigration system. I began volunteering my time in immigration law outside of my firm hours and eventually decided to dedicate 100% of my time to this practice.

In 2012 I opened Elliott Immigration Law. Today I’m so fortunate to love what I do, including our amazing team of professionals and clients.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I left the firm I was working with due to our decision to move abroad permanently. After a failed attempt due to my husband’s work, we returned to Atlanta feeling deflated. Upon returning, I began volunteering with an immigration nonprofit and shortly thereafter opened Elliott Immigration Law. I was 8 months pregnant with our son and caring full time for our 4 year old daughter. The experience was certainly humbling coming from a window office at a large law firm with full time nanny care. There was a lot of juggling and taking calls from the closet so as to not wake a sleeping child.

Even with all the chaos and doubt however, it was the most exhilarating time of my life! I had 100% control over the destiny of my business and with that in mind, I put everything I had towards the success of the firm. I remember sitting in consultations crying with clients, answering calls at all hours of the night/day, and bringing homemade treats to my meetings. My clients became a part of my family.

I was exhausted with the combination of being a new mother and a new business owner, but I was so grateful for the opportunities that those first few clients gave me. They trusted me and that trust allowed me to assist so many more clients as the firm grew.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I briefly mentioned above, in 2011 my husband received an offer to work from Turkey, which had been a goal of his for several years. The same year, I received an offer as well; to work at a large national bank as their general counsel and triple my income. I remember sitting with my husband telling him that it was his decision…we could either move to Turkey or I could take the offer and he could quit working and go to culinary school (another dream of his). The next morning he told me he wanted me to take the offer, but I had already made up my mind…we were moving abroad so that he could live in Turkey again.

Not soon after we left the US, selling all of our belongings and me leaving my work, the opportunity in Turkey looked less desirable and we returned to the US. We were both devastated that our dreams didn’t work out the way that we planned, but this change of events motivated me to start my own practice. Looking back I’m not sure that I would have taken the same risk if we had made the other choice.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elliottimmigrationlaw.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliottimmigrationlaw/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Elliottimmigrationlaw/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliottimmigrationlaw/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpyDUa2e6aGuYZ6kYnXXwhQ/videos?view=0&sort=p&shelf_id=0
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/elliott-immigration-law-atlanta-2