Doug is a Member in the firm's Boston office. He is the Section Manager for the Immigration Practice and also practices in the Israel Business Section. Doug's practice focuses on business immigration law, related government investigations, family-based green card sponsorship processes, EB-5 investor visa filings, and corporate immigration policy development.
Doug has represented multinational corporations in the financial services, technology, management consulting, hedge fund, specialty chemicals, insurance, defense, and engineering sectors. He has in-depth experience counseling corporate clients on the immigration consequences of complicated corporate restructuring and has drafted immigration provisions of acquisition agreements. Doug has also guided in-house counsel and human resources professionals on all aspects of U.S. and global immigration law and policy. He has also worked extensively on helping large-scale businesses in India with complex visa issues.
One of Doug's related practice areas is advising private clients on a range of issues involving the Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations and procedures. He has assisted accomplished individuals with securing visas and green cards and has provided counsel to individuals on expatriation and green card relinquishment. Doug is also particularly strong in working on EB-5 matters for clients from jurisdictions with restrictive currency control and export laws. He has represented high-profile business leaders, artists, and public figures in securing permission to live and work in the United States. He also has experience appearing at U.S. embassies and consulates in exceptional situations and is often asked by lawyers across the globe to resolve the most challenging U.S. visa and consular issues.
Before joining Mintz Levin, Doug founded his own firm, where he focused his practice on immigration law. Prior to that, he was a partner with a leading immigration law firm in Boston, where he managed a high volume of routine and more complex business immigration matters, ranging from green card applications and nonimmigrant cases (e.g., H-1B, J-1, L-1, E-1, E-2, E-3, TN, and O-1) to complicated Extraordinary Ability and Outstanding Researcher petitions. Doug also gained extensive experience guiding large-scale corporations in implementing I-9 best practices and acting as a business and legal advisor in helping companies assess the E-Verify program, the performance of global immigration providers, and the immigration implications of major legislative developments, such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Doug frequently speaks about broader immigration law issues, ethics, marketing and business development, and employment immigration law for national and international legal organizations, universities, and industry forums.
Recognitions/Awards
ˇ Selected for inclusion in Who's Who Legal, 2011
ˇ Named a "Rising Star" in Super Lawyers, 2009
Professional/Community Involvement
ˇ Board member, German American Business Council of Boston (2011-present)
ˇ Member of board of trustees, American Immigration Council (2009-present)
ˇ Co-chair, American Immigration Council J-1 Exchange Visitor Program Committee (2010-2011)
ˇ Member, American Immigration Council J-1 Exchange Visitor Program Committee (2007-2011))
ˇ Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) New England and Rome District Chapters
ˇ Day coordinator, EB-5 Conference in Boston (2010)
ˇ Member, National Ethics Committee of AILA (2010-2011)
ˇ Member, Conference Planning Committee for the AILA 2009 National Fundamentals Conference (2009)
ˇ Ethics and media/public relations liaison, AILA New England Chapter (2006-2009)
Education
ˇ J.D., Boston University School of Law (2001)
ˇ M.A., Yiddish and Hebrew Literature, Harvard University (1997)
ˇ M.A., German Studies, University of Chicago (1994)
ˇ B.A., German Literature and Russian, Ohio State University, elected Phi Beta Kappa (1993)
Bar Admissions
ˇ Massachusetts
Publications
ˇ Co-author, Ten Tips for Flying Solo, Building an Immigration Practice, American Immigration Lawyers Association Immigration Practice Pointers (2010-2011)
ˇ Co-author, Three Tips on the Role of an Attorney in Preparing PERM Labor Certification Applications, American Immigration Lawyers Association (2010)
ˇ Author, Current I-9 Employment Verification Procedures and Best Practices for IRCA Compliance, Immigration Practice Manual 2009, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (2009)
ˇ Co-author, "E-Verify Considerations for Successor Employers Following Mergers and Acquisitions," The Immigration Compliance Book, 2009-2010 Edition, ILW.com Immigration Law Library (2009)
ˇ Author, "Strategic Considerations for Canadian Immigration Lawyers Marketing Services to Law Firms and Businesses in the United States," Canadian Bar Association (2009)
ˇ Co-author, Introduction, Advanced Immigration Practice: Agency Updates and Expert Strategy: 6th Annual AILA New England Immigration Law Symposium, Suffolk University Center for Advanced Legal Studies (2009)
ˇ Co-editor, Advanced Immigration Practice: Agency Updates and Expert Strategy: 6th Annual AILA New England Immigration Law Symposium, Suffolk University Center for Advanced Legal Studies (2009)
Speaking Engagements
ˇ Speaker, Immigration Options for Dentists, Yankee Dental Conference, (January 2012)
ˇ Speaker, Immigration Law and Ethics, Virginia Continuing Legal Education (Fall 2011)
ˇ Speaker, Legal Ethics Issues in Immigration Law, Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON (August 5, 2011)
ˇ Co-chair, 10th Annual MCLE Immigration Conference, Boston, MA (May 2011)
ˇ Speaker, Advanced L-1 and E-1/E-2 Visa Issues, AILA Rome Chapter Conference, Frankfurt, Germany (May 2011)
ˇ Speaker, Ethics and Practice Management, AILA National Conferences (2011)
ˇ Speaker, Advanced Consular and Visa Application Issues, Boston Bar Association (2011)
ˇ Speaker, U.S. Visa Options for Fletcher Graduates, Tufts University Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy (2003-2011)
ˇ Moderator, Advanced Consular Processing and Entry Issues, 7th Annual AILA New England Chapter Conference, Boston, MA (February 2010)
ˇ Speaker, Ethics and Practice Management, AILA National Conferences (2010)
ˇ Moderator, Ethics Panel, AILA PERM Labor Certification Conference, New Orleans, LA (2010)
ˇ Speaker, Advanced Issues on Maintaining Lawful Permanent Residence as an Expatriate Employee, AILA Rome Chapter Conference, London, UK (November 2009)
ˇ Speaker, "Access to Information: FOIA Requests, FBI and Facebook," AILA Audio Seminar (September 10, 2009)
ˇ Co-chair, Strategies in Business and Family Immigration Law, 8th Annual Immigration Law Conference 2009, Boston, MA (May 18, 2009)
ˇ Panelist, "H-3 and J-1 Training Visas: Strategies for Developing Training Programs for U.S. Employers," 8th Annual Immigration Law Conference 2009, Boston, MA (May 18, 2009)
ˇ Speaker, Consular Processing and Border Crossing Issues, AILA New England Chapter Meeting, Boston, MA (April 30, 2009)
ˇ Moderator, Nonimmigrant Visa Processing at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, AILA Rome Chapter Conference, Tel Aviv, Israel (April 23, 2009)
ˇ Panelist, Navigating New Age Marketing Ethically, Canadian Bar Association, National Citizenship and Immigration Law Conference, Whistler, British Columbia (April 17, 2009)
ˇ Speaker, Green Cards and Nonimmigrant Visas, AILA Fundamentals of Immigration Law Practice Conference, Boston, MA (April 6, 2009)
ˇ Speaker, Expanding Your Law Practice to Include the J-1 Client, AILF Seminar (March 27, 2009)
ˇ Moderator, U.S. Immigration Options for Fletcher Graduates, Tufts University Fletcher School of International Diplomacy (March 2009)
ˇ Speaker, Employer Sanctions for Experts, ILW.COM Teleconference (February 25, 2009)
ˇ Co-chair, Immigration Law: MCLE Basics Plus, MCLE, Boston, MA (December 2-3, 2008)
ˇ Moderator, U.S. and Canadian Immigration Law Perspectives on the North American Free Trade Agreement in the Post 9/11 Era, Boston Bar Association (November 12, 2008)
ˇ Moderator, Demystifying the J-1 Visa: Consular Processing and Maintaining SEVIS Status, AILF Seminar (October 8, 2008)
ˇ Chair, I-9 Employment Verification Procedures, MCLE, Boston and Waltham, MA (April-May 2008)