Kelly McCown is one of fewer than 200 attorneys certified as a Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law by the  State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and has received the highest possible rating ("AV") for legal ability.    Since 2004, Ms. McCown has been honored each year as a "Northern California Super Lawyer" by San Francisco Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine  and was recognized in 2007  and 2010 as one of the "Top 50 Female Super Lawyers" in Northern California across all legal specialties.

Since 1994, Ms. McCown's business immigration law practice has focused on employment-based visas, labor certification, and employment-based permanent residence applications.  She also advises employers on federal compliance issues in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and government audits.   Prior to forming McCown & Evans LLP, Ms. McCown was a partner at a prominent San Francisco business immigration firm.

Ms. McCown was the 2005-06 Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)'s Northern California chapter, a 600-member professional bar association, and previously served as the organization's Vice Chair/CIS Liaison, Secretary, Treasurer, and Media Liaison.  She also has served on AILA’s Business Immigration Committee, USCIS Liaison Committee, and California Service Center Liaison Committee.  Ms. McCown is on the board of directors of Bank of San Francisco and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.  She is a Trustee of the American Immigration Council, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., and a past Co-Chair and board member of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF).  Ms. McCown also serves as a volunteer attorney with the AIDS Legal Referral Panel and as a mentor attorney and trainer with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Asylum Program.

Ms. McCown is a frequent speaker and author in the immigration law area. Her speaking engagements over the past few years include the California State Council of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), Bar Association of San Francisco's Labor & Employment Law Section, national and regional conferences of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Immigration Council's Community Education Center, and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center .

Kelly McCown received her Bachelor's of Arts degree in International Relations from Stanford University in 1985 and her J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California Berkeley in 1993.  Ms. McCown is admitted to practice in California and New York, and is fluent in Italian and conversant in Spanish and French.

intake@mccownevans.com