ACKAH LAW - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Founder / Managing Lawyer
- Meet Toronto Immigration Lawyer
- Meet Vancouver Immigration Lawyer
Evelyn Ackah has been exclusively practicing immigration law for over twenty years. Evelyn grew up in Vancouver and after law school, Evelyn started her legal career as a corporate/commercial lawyer in Toronto on Bay Street, where she discovered her passion for immigration law. Her experience with immigration started when she was young; Evelyn came to Canada as an immigrant herself, moving from Ghana when she was five. In 2010 Evelyn moved to Calgary and founded her own firm in Calgary, so she could practice immigration law her way, using strategic technology combined with legal experience to provide the best possible services to her clients. In 2018 Ackah Law opened immigration law offices in Vancouver and Toronto to more easily serve clients across Canada.
Evelyn L. Ackah, BA, LL.B., Founder and Managing Lawyer of Ackah Business Immigration Law leads a team of immigration professionals including Canadian associate lawyers, U.S. immigration attorneys, immigration consultants, client intake specialists with an administrative management and support team.
Ms. Ackah is passionate about immigration law because it focuses on people and relationships, which are at the core of her personal values. Starting her legal career as a corporate/commercial lawyer in Toronto on Bay Street, Evelyn soon discovered she craved the rewards of having more direct contact with clients and the freedom to manage her own files. Business immigration law allows her to work with corporations and the people who make them successful. The highly specialized nature of business immigration law drives Evelyn to strive to remain at the forefront of legal and policy developments to ensure her clients are fully compliant with the latest regulatory and legal changes, and that they understand the nuances and impacts of these changes on their business and their people.
Whether business is done south of the border, across the "pond" or around the world, Evelyn employs her expertise to help clients achieve their desired business objectives. She develops and implements immigration strategies, provides advice on immigration matters related to employee mobility or relocation, and assists with global investment opportunities.
When clients are establishing new corporations or making North American investments, Evelyn calls on her previous corporate/commercial experience to develop strategies and recommendations. Before establishing her own law firm, Evelyn was a Partner at a leading international law firm and served as the national head of the business immigration law practice.
Evelyn is called to the bar in both Alberta and Ontario. Having graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Arts degree (Political Science) in 1993, she went on to receive her Bachelor of Law degree from the University of British Columbia in 1997.
Evelyn's native language is Twi and she has an advanced comprehension of it.
Evelyn is driven to give back to the community and to remain actively involved in her profession. She defines success by her personal, professional and community contributions. Evelyn attributes much of her professional success to the mentoring and support she received from other senior professionals across the country and believes in paying it forward by supporting a number of different organizations and charitable campaigns - both locally and nationally. In addition, she has mentored several dozen young law students across the country that are looking for guidance and support as they begin their careers.
Evelyn's current community involvement includes:
Attorney Frances J. Hayden focuses on consular processing of nonimmigrant visas, with an emphasis on E-1 and E-2 and O-2, H-1, J-1 and L-1 applications, including third-country processing. For two years, she served as a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Liaison Committee with the U.S. State Department's Visa Office in Washington D.C. Frances has also co-authored articles in Seoul and Mexico City for several editions of the "AILA Visa Processing Guide".
She has been a featured speaker and moderator at numerous immigration conferences, including the Rome District Conference in Madrid and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National Conferences on topics such as Consular Processing Tips: What Works and What Doesn't and Legal Education Seminars offered by such organizations as Immigration Lawyers on the Web (ILW) dealing with broad-ranging subjects including What's New in Consular Processing, NIVs, IVs and Waivers, and Business Immigration in the Era of Enforcement.
Frances is originally from Seattle, Washington. She studied in Mexico during her undergraduate years and has a degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Western Washinton University. She acted as an "INS" interpreter at exclusion hearings for Cuban "Marielitos" in early 1980 at McNeal Island Federal Penitentiary and in Seattle. She graduated from UCLA School of Law and began her career in Entertainment Labor Law, then transitioned to Immigration Law after the passage of the Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act of 1986. Her introduction to Immigration Law was through attending hundreds of "amnesty" interviews for applicants around the Los Angeles area.
Liz Profumo is a highly experienced and knowledgeable Immigration Attorney who holds a B.A. degree from New York University and a J.D. degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Liz has been admitted to the State Bar of California and represents clients across the U.S. in immigration matters.
Liz Profumo practices U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law exclusively, concentrating on temporary & permanent business and employment-related visas for entrepreneurs, artists, film/TV professionals, creatives, engineers and other professionals in the tech and film & television industries. Her clients have included major tech companies, top modelling and talent agencies, as well as major international production companies. Liz regularly speaks about immigration matters at universities, tech conferences, art schools, accelerators, film festivals and other events.
Liz also handles issues pertaining to family-based immigration and those relating to U.S. Citizenship. She is proud to have assisted hundreds of innovative tech entrepreneurs, artists, performers, and other professionals to realize their dreams of living in the United States.