Overview
Kayla advises clients navigating the complexities of Immigration Law.
Kayla is an Immigration attorney, offering clients strategic support and valuable insights regarding a variety of immigration matters. Kayla’s practice includes employment (with a focus on physicians, healthcare and investment matters), family and humanitarian based immigration. She has experience working with both corporate and individual clients managing the complexities of the U.S. immigration system.
Prior to joining Fredrikson, Kayla aided the firm's Immigration Group as a legal clerk, served as a legal intern for the judges of the Bloomington Immigration Court, and worked as a research assistant at the University of Minnesota Law School, exploring the intersection of asylum and constitutional law in a global context. Kayla also gained hands-on experience and acumen as a student attorney in the James H. Binger Center for New Americans Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic, arguing cases before the Sixth and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Before joining the legal profession, Kayla worked in finance for a Fortune 200 company, supporting their marketing, sales, supply chain, corporate and global internal audit functions. This financial background allows Kayla to nimbly assist clients with financial complexities that may arise within their immigration case.
Services
Experience
Kayla and her team won the landmark case Jasso Arangure v. Whitaker in the Sixth Circuit. This precedential decision holds that the legal principle of res judicata applies in immigration courts. With this decision in place, the government cannot subject immigrants in the Sixth Circuit to relitigation of immigration issues once there has been a final decision on the merits.
Credentials
Education
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 2019, magna cum laude
- St. Olaf College, B.A., 2010, magna cum laude
Admissions
- Minnesota, 2019
Clerkships
- Legal Intern, Bloomington Immigration Court, 2017
- Volunteer Law Clerk, Asylum Law Project, Northwest Immigrant Right’s Project, 2017
Recognition
- Order of the Coif
- North Star Lawyer, Minnesota State Bar Association, 2019, 2022
- CLE Scholarship & Leadership Award, American Law Institute, 2019
- Tax Law Book Award, 2019
- Transitional Justice Book Award, 2019
- Immigration Law Book Award, 2017
- Robina Public Interest Scholar
- Omicron Delta Epsilon, 2010
Civic & Professional
Professional Activities
- Minnesota Law Review, Managing Editor, 2018-2019; Staff Member, 2017-2018
- James H. Binger Center for New Americans Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic, Student Director, 2018-2019; Student Attorney, 2017-2018
- University of Minnesota Law School, Research Assistant for Professor Stephen Meili, 2018-2019
- Woman’s Law Student Association, Treasurer, 2017-2019
Community
- Claridge Condominium Homeowner’s Association, Secretary, 2017-2018
- Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, Worship & Music Committee Chair, 2016-2019
- Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church, Confirmation Leader, 2013-2019
News & Insights
- Legal UpdateDeferred Enforced Departure and Temporary Protected Status for Lebanese Nationals
- EventMaking the Immigration Match for International Physicians: What Every International Medical Graduate Resident and Fellow Needs to Know about Immigration Pathways in the U.S.
- EventHealthcare Immigration Prescriptions – Immigration Strategies for Physicians and Allied Health Staff in both Clinical and Academic Healthcare Practices
Speaking Engagements
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Legal Updates
Publications & Presentations
Co-Presenter, Immigration: A Review of the Biden Administration’s First Year and 2022 Trends, Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Webinar, January 18, 2022
Co-Presenter, What Do the 2020 Election Results Mean for U.S. Immigration?, Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Webinar, November 17, 2020
Author, “An Illusory Sanctuary: How Immigration Law and Policy Fail to Protect Immigrants from Deportation,” Minnesota Law Review, February 14, 2018
Co-Presenter, The Case for Humanitarian Asylum: Preparing Your Past Persecution Asylum Claim in a Backlogged Immigration System, The University of Minnesota James H. Binger Center for New Americans: Developments in Immigration Law, February 13, 2018