Jake LaRaus is an Associate Attorney on the Litigation Team. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University in 2012 and his Juris Doctor from American University Washington College of Law in 2015. While in law school, Jake was involved in the school’s immigration legal clinic and was an editorial board member of the Human Rights Brief.
Jake brings a breadth of experience in the immigration field. He began working as a law clerk at Youman, Madeo & Fasano, LLP in 2015, soon thereafter becoming an associate attorney. He was later promoted to Assistant Managing Associate and helped lead the firm as a member of the management team. In his time at this high-volume practice, Jake represented clients in removal proceedings at immigration courts across the country, appeared with clients for interviews before USCIS, and attended check-ins with clients at ICE ERO.
He was heavily involved in the firm’s appellate practice before both the BIA and multiple federal Courts of Appeal. In his capacity as Assistant Managing Associate, Jake also conducted trainings for the firm on topics related to asylum, cancellation of removal, and crimmigration. After his role there, Jake joined the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) New York office as an Assistant Chief Counsel. At OPLA, Jake was a member of the Appellate Advocacy Team.
In his personal capacity, Jake has previously engaged in immigration policy advocacy at both the local and national level. He was heavily involved in an immigration court reform effort on the Hill during the first Trump Administration and worked closely with Senate staff on the development of that plan.
In 2019, he sat on a panel discussing immigration court reform for the Association of Deportation Defense Attorneys (ADDA) alongside former BIA Chair Paul Wickham Schmidt and former Immigration Judge Margaret McManus. Jake also previously served as co-chair of the Manhattan Young Democrats Immigration Taskforce, sat on the AILA NY Advocacy Committee, and has testified before the New York City Council’s Committee on Immigration. He has been quoted in multiple articles covering immigration issues in New York City in both Gothamist and WNYC.
Jake has been named a Super Lawyers New York Metro Rising Star for 2021-2024.