Jonathan Stillo | Durham Immigration Lawyer

Lawyer.com Member Questionnaire

Please describe a case(s) in the last year or two where you made a big difference.
Recently, I had an immigration case where my client was facing mandatory detention (which means not eligible for Bond). It was a sad story because his 10 year-old daughter has cancer and he has an 8-month old baby at home. Not to mention, my client has been in America, undocumented, for 38 years of his 45 years on Earth. All of his children, brothers, sisters, and parents are citizens. Long story short, I was able to achieve bond for this man and bring him back to his family while I currently advocate for him to be a lawful permanent resident.

How did you build a successful practice?
I built a successful practice by tapping into my competitive nature. Being a successful collegiate wrestler gave me confidence to thrive in litigation matters. I enjoy and appreciate the "individual vs. individual" arena.

What should clients look for in a lawyer?
The first thing clients should look for in a lawyer is honesty. Once trust can be established, even from a superficial level, then the lawyer-client relationship can flourish. Next, is confidence. Confident lawyers win cases because they are prepared. Confidence is really just faith and preparation.

How important is local knowledge to the success of your cases?
When trying cases, local knowledge is paramount for procedure, plea deals, and etiquette.

What information can you provide in a free phone consultation?
In a free phone consultation we will first establish if I can even be of service to you. Sometimes, there is little I can do and I take pride in informing you before you spend time and money. If I feel I can help a potential client, my next step is bringing the potential client into my office with all of their evidence and/or paperwork. Then, we establish a gameplan and fee arrangement.

What information do you need in a free phone consultation?
A break down on the facts and circumstances. It's my job to ask the pertinent and relevant questions, and hopefully you have answers.

What differentiates you from other lawyers in your community?
I'm young, confident, and hungry.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
There are many rewarding aspects of my job and an equal number of stressors too. I enjoy litigation and I enjoy the butterflies that come along with stressful situations. Again, I pull from my wrestling days in college.

What are your other interests in addition to law?
Some of my other interests include, martial arts, reading, writing, and listening to podcasts.

Are you involved in your community?
Being a lawyer you must be involved in the community. I enjoy sparking conversations with people in the community and brightening each of our days. I have also volunteered for naturalization clinics at the Latino Center of Durham.

• Member | North Carolina State Bar Association

• I was a 3-time academic All-American Wrestler at Centenary College 2009-2011.
  
  I won the shark tank competition at North Carolina Central University which was given to the best socio-economic business model.
  

Jonathan W. Stillo has been a Premium Member since July 11, 2017.
Lawyers with longer memberships tend to have more experience so we use the Membership date to help prioritize lawyer listings on search pages.

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