Robert Lewis

Founder and principal of the firm, Mr. Lewis is a former Judicial Law Clerk for the San Francisco Immigration Court.  He has exclusively practiced immigration and nationality law since 1994.  Prior to beginning his career as an immigrant advocate, he worked for the U.S. Cuban-Haitian Resettlement Program, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mr. Lewis holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, and the degree of Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco.  In addition to his native English, he speaks Portuguese and Spanish.

He is admitted to the bars of the Supreme Court of the State of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

lewis@immigrantdefense.com

Marcelle A. Rice

Ms. Rice's handles much of the firm's appellate practice, and represents clients before the Los Angeles and San Francisco Immigration Courts.

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Prior to joining the firm in 2005, She was an intern at the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, an organization supporting those seeking protection from gender-related persecution.  Her work with the Center resulted in the publication of "Protecting Parents: Why Mothers and Fathers Who Oppose Female Genital Cutting Qualify for Asylum," Immigration Briefings, Vol. 04-11, Nov. 2004; and "The Implementation of the One-Year Bar to Asylum," 31 Hastings Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 693 (2008) (Co-authored with Karen Musalo).

Ms. Rice holds a Bachelor of Arts in theater from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the degree of Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.  She has studied at the University of Oslo, Norway.  In addition to her native English, she speaks Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and conversational French and Spanish.

She is admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of California and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

rice@immigrantdefense.com

Kevin M. Crabtree

Mr. Crabtree also joined the firm in 2005.  He began his career in immigrant advocacy as an administrative assistant with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco.  While studying law, he worked as a law clerk at the International Institute of the East Bay and the East Bay Sancutary Covenant, in connection with asylum and permanent residency applications.  He was also a law clerk at the Eviction Defense Collaborative and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Mr. Crabtree received an award for outstanding public service in 2011 from the San Francisco Bar Associationand the American Immigration Lawyer's Association for his pro bono work.  Also in 2011, Mr. Crabtree was recognized as a Super Lawyers, "Rising Star" in field of immigration law.

Mr. Crabtree holds a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley, and the degree of Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College.  He studied hispanic linguisitcs at the University of Barcelona, Spain.  In addition to his native English, he speaks fluent Spanish and conversational Catalan and French.

He is admitted to the bars of the Supreme Court of California, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

crabtree@immigrantdefense.com

Mr. Aguayo is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he double majored in Sociology and Chicana/o Studies and minored in political science.  He served in various programs assisting low-income students to prepare for college.  He loves traveling and learning of new cultures, and has traveled to Russia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. 

Mr. Aguayo studied law at the UCLA School of Law and interned at the California Appellate Project, Public Advocates and Alameda County Public Defender’s Office.  He then served as a public defender in Marin County where he learned about the importance of properly defending non-citizens in criminal situations.  His interest in immigration law led him to work as the sole immigration attorney in a private criminal defense firm, before he joined the firm in April 2010.

Mr. Aguayo is a native of Mexico and was raised in California’s Central Valley where his family worked as migrant field workers.  He is a native Spanish speaker. 

He is admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of California.

Carmen Hare

Ms. Hare joined the firm as a paralegal in 2006, but since her 2011 admission to the bar, she is the firm’s newest associate attorney.  A native of Peru, Ms. Hare holds the degree of Bachiller en Leyes from the prestigious Universidad de Lima, where she graduated Suma Cum Laude and authored a thesis entitled, “Terrorism as an International Crime and its Inclusion in the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction.”

While living Peru, Ms. Hare was employed by the Peruvian Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs. Her interest in other cultures then lead her to spend time in Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and Belgium.

After moving to the United States in 2005, Ms. Hare discovered her passion for defending immigrants while volunteering with the International Institute of the East Bay, helping domestic violence survivors to obtain immigration relief.

Ms. Hare was admitted to the LL.M. program of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2009.  Following a successful year at Hastings, Ms. Hare opted to pursue her Juris Doctor degree while working with the firm.

Ms. Hare is admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of California and is a member of the Colegio de Abogados del Callao, authorizing her to practice before all the courts of Peru.  She is a native Spanish speaker.   

hare@immigrantdefense.com

Ms. Caratachea is Senior Paralegal with the firm, which she joined in 2002. She holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature from the University of California, Berkeley and has studied abroad in Italy, Spain and Mexico. She is a native English and Spanish speaker.

 

 

 

caratachea@immigrantdefense.com

Marisol Magaña

Ms. Magaña holds the position of paralegal.  She first joined the firm as an administrative assistant during high school.  Following completion of a bachelor of arts degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, she rejoined the firm in her current position.

A native of Nicaragua, Ms. Magaña has lived throughout Central America, Mexico, Brazil, and Italy.  In addition to her native Spanish, she speaks fluent English and Portuguese.

magana@immigrantdefense.com

Connor Coombs

Mr. Coombs joined the firm in July of 2009.  In his position as paralegal, he assists in preparation of forms, translates documents, interprets client interviews, and provides reception for the office.

Mr. Coombs is a native of Santa Barbara, California.  He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a dual major in Global Studies and Spanish, and a minor in Portuguese.

He studied Spanish at the University of Havana, Cuba, the University of the Americas in Santiago, Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina and Portuguese at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.  He is a native speaker of English and a fluent speaker of Portuguese and Spanish.

Olga Vnodchenko

Ms. Vnodchenko joined the firm in November of 2010 and holds the position of Client Services Specialist and U Visa Program Manager.  Coordinating the various stages of the U visa application process, she supports attorneys to ensure expedited filing of applications for relief for our clients who have been victims of crime.

Ms. Vnodchenko attended the University of Washington where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and Spanish.  During her studies, she spent one year studying abroad in Spain.  She later worked as a Senior Bilingual Legal Assistant in an immigration law office in Seattle, Washington before joining our firm.

Ms. Vnodchenko is a fluent speaker of English and Spanish, and also speaks conversational Russian.

Yadira Antonio