Top Immigration Partners from Two Texas Law Firms Join Fragomen in Dallas and New Houston Office

Fragomen is pleased to announce that we are expanding our presence in Texas and significantly enhancing our global energy industry practice with the addition of four highly regarded immigration attorneys. These new partners will be located in Fragomen’s office in Dallas and the firm’s new office in Houston. 

Former Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (BAL) Partners Steve Ladik, Kristi Taylor and Paige Taylor and their teams have joined Fragomen in both Dallas and Houston, while Kelly D. Cobb, previously a partner with FosterQuan LLP, will be based in Fragomen’s new Houston office. More than 30 new attorneys, paralegals and support staff are following the partners to our expanded Texas presence. 

“We are thrilled to be welcoming some of the nation’s finest immigration lawyers to our team,” said Austin T. Fragomen, Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee. “Texas is a unique economic powerhouse and a major center of the global energy industry. Adding this new presence and talent will be a significant benefit to our clients in Texas and worldwide.” 

Fragomen’s four new partners are all prominent in the field of immigration law:

Steve Ladik, formerly Managing Partner of BAL’s Dallas office, is a past president of both the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Lawyers Foundation. He has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America for more than 14 years. Ladik was also named “Dallas Best Lawyers Immigration Lawyer of the Year” for 2012. 

Paige L. Taylor focuses on representing clients in the engineering and technology industries, including electronics and telecommunications. She has served on numerous committees for AILA and is the author of the annual Texas Tech Review Fifth Circuit Survey on Immigration Law. She is recognized nationally for her knowledge of PERM and is Chair of the State Bar Committee on Immigration and Nationality Law. 

Kelly D. Cobb advises U.S. and international clients on immigration issues related to corporate restructuring including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and start-ups. She has more than 15 years of experience counseling clients in the energy sector, particularly focusing on assisting international corporations in vessel exemptions, specialist work authorizations and crew member exemptions on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. 

Kristi Taylor advises and defends employer sanctions cases, helps develop strategies to address workforce reductions, and has extensive experience in due diligence and management of the immigration process before and after mergers and acquisitions. She also advises clients on public access files and I-9 program improvement and compliance.

“We are enthusiastic about joining Fragomen, which is consistently recognized by independent observers as the world leader in immigration law,” said Ladik. “Our clients’ business immigration needs are becoming increasingly challenging in today’s rapidly evolving and highly mobile international environment. Effectively serving them requires the kind of in-depth knowledge, resources, sophisticated information technology, and the extensive footprint providing global capabilities that only Fragomen offers.” 

Cobb noted the growing complexity of immigration law, both here and abroad. “It became clear to me that truly serving the wide range of client needs requires extraordinary resources and capabilities, and no other firm in the immigration field can match Fragomen in that respect,” said Cobb. 

Daryl Buffenstein, a partner who joined Fragomen in its Atlanta office in 2012, noted the move’s clear rationale. “I have previously worked with Steve, Paige and Kristi, who are outstanding attorneys with a sophisticated practice. They recognize that businesses are increasingly requiring a more multi-faceted and global platform, and appreciate how Fragomen’s superior resources and collegial environment will enable them to better serve their clients. Our clients have benefitted enormously from my move to Fragomen. I’m confident our new partners’ clients will have a similar experience.”