Attorneys

Carlina Tapia-Ruano (firm founder)

Carlina Tapia-Ruano has been concentrating her practice in the field of immigration law for over two decades. She has handled a broad range of family and employment based immigration matters and has extensive experience in immigration related litigation. Ms. Tapia-Ruano is the President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a national bar association of over 9,000 attorneys and law professors. In June 2006 she assumed the role of President. She is the first Hispanic ever to be been elected to serve in this position. Ms. Tapia-Ruano has served as a liaison to various federal government offices, she has been Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Section on Immigration Law, and was a prior board member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. Ms. Tapia-Ruano has testified before the US Congress on the USA PATRIOT Act, is a frequent lecturer on immigration law to attorneys all over the US, and appears frequently on Spanish-language television programs. She teaches immigration law at IIT-Chicago Kent School of Law and DePaul College of Law in Chicago. She holds a rating of AV (very high to preeminent) by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, has been listed in Woodward/White's Best Lawyers in America, Leading Lawyers Network and was recently named a SuperLawyer in Illinois. Ms. Tapia-Ruano is a naturalized citizen who emigrated to the U.S. from Cuba, and speaks fluent Spanish. In May of 2004, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law Degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, the institution, which awarded her a BA alma cum laude in 1977. She obtained her J.D. from DePaul University Law School, in Chicago, Illinois. Email: ctapia-ruano@trgpc.com

Jeffrey Gunn (firm founder)

JEFFREY W. GUNN, admitted to Illinois State bar in 1984; admitted to the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit; to the United States District Courts for the States of Illinois (Northern and Central Districts), Michigan (Eastern District), Indiana (Northern District), and Colorado; and to the Trial Bar for the Seventh Circuit. AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel. Education: Illinois Wesleyan University and Loyola University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1977), DePaul University (J.D., 1984). Public Service: Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center, Chicago, since 1986. Language: Spanish. Email: jgunn@trgpc.com

Olga Rojas

Olga Rojas has concentrated her legal practice primarily in family-based immigration, waivers and removal. Prior to joining the firm, she practiced immigration law with Minsky, McCormick and Hallagan, P.C. Ms. Rojas was also previously a staff member for U.S. Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald, handling immigration issues and Hispanic Affairs, acting as a liaison for the residents of Illinois and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Department of State. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois (HLAI), the Northern Illinois Leadership Seminar (NILS). She is currently on the board of directors for the Alliance of Latinos and Jews and a trustee for the Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinos. Ms. Rojas is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association (AILA) and is currently the Chair of the Advocacy/Media Committee for the Chicago Chapter. Ms. Rojas is the recipient of the 2005 Joseph Minsky Beacon of Light Award from the Chicago Chapter of AILA for her work on advocacy. Ms. Rojas is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law, and also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ms. Rojas was selected as one of 15 Americans to participate in the Young Hispanic Leaders Program which took place in Madrid and Santander, Spain. She is fluent in Spanish. Email: orojas@trgpc.com