We recently connected with Paola Chavarro and have shared our conversation below.

Paola, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new firm – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?

After getting my law license, I started organizing community workshops in order to get my name out there and at the same time help the community with so much needed information on a topic so important and confusing such as immigration law. One of my first workshops was in a Catholic church in Jonesboro, GA and I met a nice family that had gone through something very traumatic and after talking to them they decided to hire me for an application for a U visa, which is a visa for victims of crime. I was really excited that they decided to trust in me and put a lot of time and effort into their case and a year later they obtained their U visas. Back then the process used to take about a year while today it takes over 5 years. Then, after they had their U visas for 3 years they came back for help in their process to become permanent residents and over a year later they all got their green cards. Five years later, they came for representation to obtain their citizenship and now they are proud US citizens. I can say that I have seen this family grow physically and figuratively, as their children were kids when I first met them and now they are young adults with children of their own.

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

I grew up in Bogota, Colombia and went to law school there. Once I graduated from law school I wanted to find a job with a multinational company but my English was very basic and it was needed to work for those companies. I decided to come to the United States to learn English and went to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN for 9 months to learn English. I went back to Bogota, and enrolled in a 1 year program to specialize in Commercial Law. When I attended an interview at the company I really wanted to work for in Bogota, I was told that they required someone with knowledge in U.S. law and that is how I decided to get a master degree in American Law. I went to the University of Florida and obtained my master degree, but then I started working for a professor and ended up staying in the United States. Then, for family reasons I came to Atlanta, GA and I sent my application to one law firm to work as a paralegal as I had not taken the bar exam yet. I got the job, and to my surprise, I started working in the field of immigration. After 2 years of working as a paralegal I fell in love with immigration law and was able to obtain my law license. I then decided to start my own law practice. However, after some months of working on my own I realized that I needed to gain more experience and decided to join a very busy immigration law firm that was in need of a bilingual attorney. After 3 years of working for them I was ready to start my own firm and I have been practicing immigration law since then. From the time I started working as an immigration paralegal back in 2006 until today I have been able to help many families stay together, many individuals get different types of visas, and many businesses get the employees they need for their business to succeed. I can say that being an immigrant has given me a different perspective in dealing with clients because I’ve been in their shoes and I know the stress and fear that the immigration journey entails. That is the reason I strive to make every client feel and know that they are important and that their case matters to me and my team.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The best strategy for growing my clientele has been hard work. Many clients come from other law firms where they were never able to speak with their attorney, where they called and never got a call back, or where the attorney never explained the process to them. They are surprised when they are able to reach me in a timely manner and when I devote the time to clearly explain the process and answer their questions. Those clients always come back and bring other clients!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I remember when I decided to stay in the US, everyone told me that it was impossible for a foreign attorney to practice law in the United States because the laws from other countries were completely different from the laws here and that I would most likely end up doing something completely different. Even though it was not an easy task, I was able to surpass many obstacles and with a lot of effort and dedication I was able to get my law license.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chavarrolawfirm.com
• Instagram: chavarrolawfirm
• Facebook: Chavarro Law Firm
• Linkedin: Paola Chavarro
• Youtube: PaolaChavarroEsq