Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A. Is Opening A New Office In Washington, D.C.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Renowned law firm, Kurzban, Kurzban, Tetzeli and Pratt (“KKTP”), is pleased to announce the opening of an office on Washington, D.C.’s Farragut Square in the historic Barr Building. The firm was founded by Ira J. Kurzban, the nationally acclaimed immigration lawyer, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and author of Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook, currently in its 18th edition.
As part of its expansion, the firm welcomes its new Washington-based partners, Carl Risch and Lauren Epstein. Mr. Risch, the Washington, D.C. Managing Partner, brings over two decades of experience in immigration law and policy in both the public and private sectors. Unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2017, Mr. Risch served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, where he managed the worldwide visa and passport function for the United States government, domestically and at its embassies abroad. He also served at the Justice Department as the Deputy Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the nation’s immigration court system, and at the Department of Homeland Security as the acting Chief of Staff of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). As a career consular officer and immigration adjudicator for over a decade, Mr. Risch adjudicated thousands of immigration and visa cases, and he brings unparalleled knowledge of the inner workings of the immigration bureaucracy. After leaving public service in 2021, Mr. Risch entered private practice as a partner at a premier global law firm and developed a specialized law practice finding solutions to complex immigration and visa problems for entrepreneurs, corporate executives, journalists, entertainers, athletes, and political and business leaders.
Joining Mr. Risch in the Washington, D.C. office as a partner is Lauren Epstein, an immigration attorney who has represented individuals, families, and companies with their US immigration matters for a decade. She has extensive experience with all major employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant visa categories as well as family-based immigration, student visa matters, and asylum. In addition, Ms. Epstein is proficient in managing all aspects of the immigration process, including filings with USCIS and the Department of State.
“We are thrilled to bring Carl and Lauren on board in DC,” said Ira J. Kurzban, founding partner of Kurzban, Kurzban, Tetzeli and Pratt. “Through Carl’s leadership of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, he has unrivaled insight into the operations of consulates around the world, which allows him to successfully advocate on even the most intractable cases.” The addition of the Washington DC office, headed by Carl and Lauren, is a perfect fit with the firm’s representation of clients in complex immigration cases.
The Washington, D.C. office will advise corporations, executives, entrepreneurs, and individuals on all types of immigration and visa matters, with an emphasis on complex consular cases.
“I am honored to join such an esteemed group of lawyers, and I am excited by the prospects of what we can accomplish together,” said Carl Risch. “Our areas of expertise complement and support one another, and the synthesis of our practices will allow us to even better serve our clients.”
About Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli and Pratt P.A.
Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli and Pratt P.A. (“KKTP”) is based in Coral Gables, Florida, and represents clients in cases across the United States and throughout the world. The firm is a leader in US immigration law, medical malpractice, serious personal injury, and product liability litigation. KKTP specializes in all areas of U.S. immigration law, including complex employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant visas, removal defense, EB-5 investor immigrant visas, and complex immigration federal court litigation. The firm’s immigration department, under the management of Partners Helena Tetzeli and John P. Pratt, maintains a reputation for excellence and represents clients ranging from major commercial organizations, fortune 500 companies, high net worth individuals and investors, hospitals, major sports leagues unions, as well as individuals from all walks of life to achieve their US immigration goals and objectives. In addition to its renowned expertise in all aspects of immigration law, the firm also has a strong business law presence.
The firm’s tort litigation team, led by Managing Partner Jed Kurzban, is known for its advocacy and results for clients in serious personal injury, medical malpractice, and product liability. The tort litigation team has garnered jury awards in states across the US, including some of the highest awards in those jurisdictions for delayed kidney disease diagnosis. The firm has also won record monetary damages awards for many of its clients injured by negligence or malpractice. With an office in Honolulu, Hawaii as well as their Miami based office and now the addition of the Washington D.C. office, the firm can provide zealous and effective representation nationwide.
Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt attorneys are consistently listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, the Who’s Who of the World, the Who’s Who of America, Strathmore’s Who’s Who, the Chambers Guide, National Trial Lawyers Top 100, AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell and the South Florida Legal Guide as South Florida’s most prominent attorneys.
