The largest business immigration law firm in Texas is expanding into Dallas-Fort Worth.
Houston-based Foster LLP announced Thursday that it has acquired Elise Healy + Associates, which also specializes in representing large and mid-sized companies in a host of immigration-related employment matters.
Charles Foster opened his own immigration law practice in 1973 in Houston representing Texas businesses that needed help with work visas for employees. Nearly four decades later, Foster LLP has 44 lawyers and a support staff of 150 and is widely recognized as one of the go-to law firms on corporate immigration issues.
“We have been looking to expand our footprint into the DFW area for several years and we started talking with Elise before the pandemic about joining us and teaming up,” Foster said in an interview. “Elise is a great lawyer and a great addition to our firm and a great addition for our clients.”
Healy, a board certified three-decade veteran of international business immigration law who previously practice at the global corporate law firm Baker McKenzie, said Foster and his team provide “responsive and personal service” that her clients want.
“If I was going to do a firm merger, I was looking for a comparable kind of high-level practice that would benefit my clients,” said Healy, who will be the managing partner of Foster LLP’s Dallas office. “Charles is an institution in immigration law in Texas and across the U.S.”
Healy said the depth of the Foster legal team’s bench will “significantly benefit” her business clients in North Texas.
Robert Loughran, a partner for Foster LLP in Austin, said the DFW area is witnesses extraordinary growth with new businesses relocating to North Texas on a near monthly basis.
“When this opportunity with Elise opened up, we jumped at it,” Loughran said. “It made sense for us because of the thriving DFW corporate market.”
Foster LLP is the largest immigration-focused law firm in Texas and has the most board certified attorneys in immigration and nationality law in Texas. The firm focuses on working with employers to secure temporary work visas, filing green card applications, sponsoring employees for businesses and working with companies on immigration compliance issues.
“Most people do not realize how difficult and complex it is for companies that need specific expertise to bring someone from other countries here to help them improve their business,” Foster said.
Foster, Loughran and Healy agree that the Biden administration is taking steps to make it easier for companies to bring foreign nationals to the U.S. for work-related purposes.
“What we saw during the past four years was an anti-immigration policy, even for those companies and workers wanting to do it legally,” Foster said. “Immigration policy and the enforcement of immigration policy is starting to normalize again, which is very good for Texas businesses.”