Page 11 - Ohio Vol 5 No 1

OUR CHINESE-SPEAKING STAFF.
be temporary until I found another position. At rst, it was not even spe- ci cally an immigration law rm; I fell in love with this part of the law a er working on my own visas and those of a few family and friends. It is a complicated process, but I enjoyed the challenge and I realized that I had the attention to detail to do it well.”
Wong’s courage has not gone un- rewarded. Steadily, she has built her small, one-person rm into one of the most prestigious and highly respected in Ohio, if not the country. Her law rm now includes herself, three part- ners, Scott Bratton, Fabiola Cini, and Francis Fungsang, and nine other as- sociates for a total of thirteen lawyers. She also employs dozens of paralegals and support sta . Along the way, she has shared her success with other women who, like her, needed a foot- hold in the working world. Most im- portantly, she has helped thousands of people realize the joys of citizenship and building a life in the U.S., just as she did so many years ago.
Now in their 42nd year, Margaret W. Wong Associates, LLC, continues to stand out within the legal com- munity with o ces in nine cities throughout the country.
Her inexhaustible energy meant that Wong also diversi ed. While maintaining and building her grow- ing practice, she partnered with vari- ous family members to open other en- terprises. “I also opened a restaurant, Pearl of the Orient, in Shaker Heights, Ohio, that my sister, Rose, now owns,” she says. “My brother, George, owns a second restaurant, Pearl West, in Rocky River, Ohio.”
“It’s a very dif cult time to be an immigration lawyer”
IMMIGRATION LAW TODAY
Inspired by her strong family ties and the fact that she herself was once a newcomer to our shores, Wong has dedicated her career to helping oth- ers nd the happiness she’s found in our country. As a naturalized citizen, Wong takes great pride in her work.
Of course, it’s not all roses. Now more than perhaps at any other time in our country’s history, immigration has become a tangled and challenging arena. Politics and economics have forced previously buried issues to come into a glaring spotlight. Nega- tivity and, unfortunately, prejudice, have made Wong’s work particularly di cult.
“Right now, immigration is a very important and visible issue,” Wong says. “It is an exciting time to be an immigration lawyer, but also quite challenging. e law has changed a great deal in the past 40 years and now we have to work even harder. e sys- tem has many problems and I think it can be oppressive to immigrants and their families as well as hurting the United States in the long term. In this country, we give the oppressed a chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. e best and brightest in the world want to come here to work. I came to this country because of the values and ideals here that the whole world looks to. Many immigrants have come before and since for the same reasons. Sometimes, it seems that we have forgotten this. e situ- ation and tone around immigration today makes me sad.”
“It’s a very di cult time to be an im- migration lawyer,” continues Wong.
AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com
“Timing is everything and we have to remember why we went to law school. Actually, it’s a challenging time for all lawyers because in-house counsel has become so prevalent. It’s important that we remember that the practice of law is a service. Our job is to get it done, whatever that might mean. Whether handling malpractice, crim- inal or, as in my case, immigration, we are the servants of our clients.
“For me, immigration law is very personal, and I’m particularly a ected by how all the red tape and complica- tions touch every member of the fam- ily,” she adds. “ e most important thing is to really understand what the clients want and then to bring all my education, training and experience forward to help make that happen for them.
THE OLD WORK ETHIC
With so much on her plate, it’s not surprising that Wong starts her day quite early. She seems to have bound- less energy, stamina, and determina- tion to keep ghting the good ght.
“I have a very busy schedule and my routine keeps me going,” she says. “I get up at 4:30 every morning to start working or to go to the airport. I like to visit our o ces all over the coun- try so I can always know what is go- ing on. I work in Cleveland on Sun- days; on Mondays, I go to our o ce in Nashville; Tuesdays in NYC; Wednes- days are back in Cleveland; I spend every other ursday in Atlanta; and Fridays are in Columbus. Each o ce has a di erent character and di erent types of clients. e only downside to this busy life is that I do not have as much time as I might like to read and
11