Julie Pearl

Education:

B.A., Stanford University
M.P.A., Harvard University
J.D., University of California, Hastings Law School

Awards:

• Pro Bono Service Award (only firm nationwide) – 2013 Super Lawyers
• Immigration Provider of the Year – Americas (EMMA) – 2012 (Winner) and 2013 (Highly Commended)
• “Woman of the Year – Business Services” – 2013 Stevie^® 
• “Most Innovative Company” – 2013 Stevie^® 
• Lawyer/Law Firm of the Year – 2013 Lawyer-Monthly

Rankings:

• “Nation’s Top 20 Immigration Attorneys” and “Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys” – HR Executive Magazine/LawDragon 
• “100 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley” – Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal
• The only Northern California attorney with a “Star Individual” ranking – Chambers USA  
• U.S. News Best Lawyers/Law Firms
• International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration and Business Lawyers
• Super Lawyers of Northern California
• Fastest Growing Private Businesses – 2013 SF Business Times
• Largest Women-Owned Businesses – 2013 SF Business Times

Memberships:

• AILA
• Worldwide ERC
• SHRM
• C200
• Watermark for Women

Profiles:

• “Entrepreneur Profile – Attorney Brings Flexible Workplace to Global Employees” –August 1, 2014 SF Business Times

Immigration law experience:

Former Deputy Attorney General in California, Julie Pearl founded her award-winning firm in 1995, along with Alan Nelson, the former head of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service under Presidents Reagan and Bush Sr. Within three years, she developed ImmigrationTracker^®, the immigration management system now used by over 70% of top immigration law firms who buy case management software (according to IndUS Business Journal and American Lawyer Media), as well as many Fortune 1000 companies, hospitals and universities. Julie won a Cisco Systems Growing with Technology Award (Customer Service Category) and was profiled in the book The Moral Advantage, Getting Ahead in Business by Doing the Right Thing (Stanford University Project on Good Works) for applying the “Golden Rule” to her clients’ needs.

She has authored several legal publications, including chapters and articles on U.S. and global immigration topics and corporate compliance.  She also contributed to Inside the Minds: Leading Executives on Creating a Leadership Plan, Evaluating Risks, and Managing Cyclical Growth. She is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of California, all Federal courts and the United States Court of International Trade. A founding member of the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL) and former Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Immigration Subcommittee, Julie has spoken on immigration topics to dozens of human resources, legal, accounting, and other business and professional organizations. Julie ranked #2 in the American Bar Association’s Client Counseling Competition (Combined Finals for Australia, Canada, U.K. and U.S.) She has lived in five countries and speaks three languages.

What is your connection with immigration?

All four grandparents were immigrants, as were so many people in our family circle. Then I lived at the International Students’ House at Stanford University (I’m a dual Canadian-U.S. citizen). Some of my fellow classmates were among the brightest stars I’d ever met — individuals with the potential to change history in their fields — yet they were all worried about how to stay securely in the U.S. once their student visas expired. I vowed that I would learn all I could about every single way to help a talented person get a green card or visa in America.

What is a fun fact about you?

While in high school, I placed 6th in Michigan for Giant Slalom ski racing (but my athletic career has been “downhill” since then!) Lessons learned from skiing were profiled in a book: Business Lessons from the Edge: Learn How Extreme Athletes Use Intelligent Risk Taking to Succeed in Business. Mine was the chapter called “Roll with the Fall”.