RICHARD A - Key Persons
In 1992, Charla Truett graduated cum laude from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1995. She joined the firm in 1995, and became a partner in 2001.
Charla is certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Every year since 2009, Ms. Truett has been selected by her peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America in the specialty of Immigration Law. Charla has lectured on immigration issues including worksite compliance, taxation of foreign nationals, student visas and relocation topics.
Charla focuses her practice on immigration and nationality law, including family-based, employment-based, deferred action, and worksite compliance. She has extensive experience in employment based immigration matters, such as H-1B, L-1, TN, E-1/E-2, O, Labor Certification ("PERM"), I-140 and AOS. In addition, she is an expert in the field of family-based immigration, including K visas, I-130s, AOS, waivers (I-601 & I-212), and consular processing.
practices both family-based and employment-based immigration and nationality law. Over the past two and a half years, Kelli has gained experience with a variety of matters ranging from deferred action, to naturalization, to consular processing of both immigrant and non-immigrant visas. She has extensive involvement with and knowledge of a number of employment-based and family-based subjects, such as H-1B, L-1, E-1/E-2, I-140, AOS, I-130s, and waivers.
Kelli also handles immigration court matters involving removal proceedings and suits against USCIS. She has assisted on cases involving waivers, immigration bonds, prosecutorial discretion requests, and applications for cancellation of removal.
Kelli graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University with a B.A. in History in 2010. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law in 2015, graduating magna cum laude and receiving the Order of the Coif.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Counselor
- Expert
- President of the Board of Directions of Catholic Charities
After active duty training in the Army Reserves and upon graduation from the University of Texas School of Law in December 1972, Rick Gump began his career as the 22nd lawyer at the Dallas law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, formed by Robert S. Strauss and Rick's father after World War II in 1945. While Rick worked primarily on business structuring and bank representation (bank formation and lending, commercial transactions, etc.), his first immigration client emerged from a bank customer in 1973 when he developed experience in investor visas and labor certifications by opening three ethnic restaurants. By 1993, he made the complete transition to immigration law and opened his own firm to concentrate on assisting businesses and individuals cope with increasingly complicated immigration laws. His background with a sophisticated growing law firm coupled with experience in business, banking and commercial transactions set him apart from many of his colleagues.
An active speaker and published writer, Mr. Gump has served as an expert witness in various immigration cases and has been a faculty member for numerous immigration conferences. He has served on the American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee, Annual Worksite Enforcement Committee, and Compliance Auditing Standards Committee. He chaired the AILA Texas Service Center Liaison Committee and was Planning Committee Chairman for the University of Texas and State Bar of Texas Immigration and Nationality Law Conferences.
Very active in Dallas community affairs, Mr. Gump has served as President of the Board of Directions of Catholic Charities, the Downtown YMCA, and the Dallas Texas Exes. He was a recipient of the 2005 Dallas Texas Exes Outstanding Alumnus Award and the 2009 Dallas YMCA Theodore P. Beasley Distinguished Leadership Award. Currently, he is a member of the Salesmanship Club and on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas.