International

Bill Van Horn has been serving the people of Colorado for decades. He was raised on a farm in Iowa, before coming to Colorado to enter the Air Force Academy as a young cadet at age 17. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1974, he then flew as an electronic warfare officer on the B-52 nuclear bomber in Guam and the RC-135S Cobra Ball spy plane in Alaska. He was awarded the Airman’s Medal, the highest award given by the Air Force for peacetime heroism, for rescuing fellow flyers from their aircraft when it crashed and burned. He has flown missions that took him up close and personal to the borders of North Korea and the Soviet Empire. Bill returned to Colorado after years in active duty for the Air Force to earn a law degree from The University of Denver Law School, while he continued to serve our country by joining the Air Force Reserve, and flew for 20 years on the C-130 Lockheed Hercules with combat flying time in three United States conflicts. Bill graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a B.S. in International Affairs in 1974 and from the Air War College in 1998. After serving in the Air Force, Bill returned to the University of Denver and graduated in 1987 with a J.D. While in law school, Bill served as the Managing Editor of the Transportation Law Journal for 1986-1987. During Bill’s early law career he clerked for a Federal Judge, and was a former Senior Litigation Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. Bill moved into the area of family law and is recognized as a prominent and highly respected professional in his field. Bill and his wife Penni have five adult children, four daughters-in-love, and five grandchildren. Bill has attended a Tuesday Sunrise Bible Study for several decades, loves to hike with his lab, Coal, stay informed about community and national issues, and play with the “Grands.” Bill and Penni attend Red Rocks Church.

Margaret Moses Branch is married to Turner W. Branch, senior partner of the Branch Law Firm. Ms. Branch is the managing partner. She is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and International Women’s Forum, named Woman of the Year in 1995. She serves on the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Center for Civic Values (Interest on Legal Trust Accounts). She was Chair of the Association of Trial Lawyers Women’s Law Caucus (5,000 members) and was founding President of the New Mexico Women’s Bar Association. She has been a frequent lecturer on Continuing Legal Education programs for attorneys. Ms. Branch has served as Vice-Chair of the Association of Trial Lawyers of the America Tobacco Litigation Group. In her practice, Margaret Moses Branch has been particularly interested in women’s health issues. She has served on the Executive Committee of the Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer ATLA Litigation Group. She was moderator for the National College of Advocacy, Medical-Legal Update Seminar, for the section entitled “Medicine and the Law: Special Issues Facing Women.” Ms. Branch served as a moderator of the ATLA National College of Advocacy, “Litigating Women’s Health Issues”. She has served as counsel in cases that involved failure to diagnose breast cancer, colon cancer, uterine cancer, pancreatitis, leukoplakia, peritonitis, appendicitis, compartment syndrome, aneurysms, pneumonia, meningitis, abruptio placenta, kernicterus, and other illnesses and diseases. She has been involved in cases that addressed issues of surgical negligence, i.e., laminectomies, cholecystectomies, colonoscopies, hernia repairs, and hip replacements. Additionally, she has been involved in cases that dealt with obstetrical issues, i.e., failure to perform timely Caesarean sections, inappropriate radiological procedures, unnecessary hysterectomies, and incomplete abortions.

Attorney Naveed Husain is the managing partner of Farooqi & Husain, LLC. He concentrates on the areas of family law, estate planning, and business for clients in DuPage County and Cook County in Illinois. Naveed is an experienced family law attorney who routinely tackles complex divorce litigations and multi-million dollar marital estates with ease. Additionally, he provides assistance to clients in matters related to child custody, father’s rights, asset protection and more. He draws upon his knowledge of business, estate planning, and international law when creating innovative solutions for even the most contentious cases involving child abduction or support issues. Naveed is a trailblazer in the legal field. He combines his knowledge of technology and business to create streamlined systems that help him to deliver faster, cheaper results for all of his clients. By staying ahead of the curve with cutting-edge strategies, he ensures satisfaction every time! Naveed is a highly-skilled estate planning attorney with extensive knowledge in the many resources and tools at his disposal to help clients secure their assets and pass them on to their heirs efficiently, reliably, and affordably. Moreover, he equips small businesses as well as nonprofits with legal advice that keeps them compliant with all applicable laws while confidently looking ahead for potential issues before they happen. In addition, if litigation arises against any of his clients then you can be sure that Naveed will fight diligently on their behalf. Naveed couples his legal expertise with a broad knowledge of Islamic family law and Islamic estate planning. This knowledge provides him with a unique perspective to assist the Chicago Muslim community in understanding the intersection of law with their religious practice and achieving their goals in and outside of Court. Naveed received his J.D. from Marquette University Law School and is admitted to practice law in Illinois and Wisconsin. He is often invited to give lectures, presentations, and speeches across the Chicago area on a wide variety of legal topics such as estate planning and civil rights. Schedule your $100 initial consultation online or by calling 630-909-9114.

Attorney Debora Levine is an Arizona native. Growing up, she was active in Girl Scouts and studied Spanish and French. She took 3rd in the state in her French examination in high school. She attended ASU for undergraduate school. After graduating from ASU, Debora was a GED instructor for teen moms at Rio Salado. After her work at Rio Salado, she began working for a social services agency, Child and Family Resources. Deborah was a life skills educator for teen moms. She then went back to school for her post-baccalaureate in education to become a public-school educator. Debora taught 2nd grade and then went on to teach 7th-grade language arts for 6 years. During that time, she decided to go to law school and found an opportunity to do law school part-time with evening classes at Phoenix Law School. She graduated in 2011 from Phoenix School of Law. Debora worked as a family law attorney for 6 years with her mentor who had 40 years of experience in family law. She had her own law firm and later worked for Schill Law Group. After Law School, Debora decided to go back to school again to receive her master’s in forensic psychology from Walden University to enhance her law career. Debora was married for 22 years and then divorced. Her experiences make her a compassionate and understanding ally for her clients because she empathizes and relates to what they are going through. Debora has a wealth of experience in all different kinds of family law cases, including a case involving embryos that resulted in creating a new Arizona statute for how the disposition of embryos is handled in Arizona. In her free time, Debora enjoys tabletop, role-playing games, travel, and spending time with family and friends. Her daughter lives in Arizona and her son lives in Norway with his wife and grandson. Debora also enjoys pedicures and lunch with friends, movies (especially horror films), and crime documentaries. She is an animal lover and has 2 dogs and 3 cats.

Robert Kasieta is the founder and managing member of Kasieta Legal Group. He focuses his practice on Civil Litigation. He is a member of the Dane County Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Association of Justice, and American Association of Justice. Bob received his associate degree from Gogebic Community College; his bachelors degree, summa cum laude, from Northern Michigan University; and his law degree from Marquette University. He is certified as a Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and has attained the highest rating, AV, from the national attorney rating service, Martindale-Hubbell. Bob also regularly teaches other lawyers. In addition, he teaches at Wisconsin Law School.

Jo Stone is a Colorado native, whose grandparents were homesteaders in eastern Colorado. Jo has both her bachelors and masters degrees in English literature as well as her law degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. Jo's practice focuses on estate and business planning, although she also has an extensive background in litigation of all kinds, including commercial, business, and personal matters. Her diverse background and experience allows her to approach all legal matters in a very circumspect and comprehensive manner that is somewhat unique in relation to the narrowly-focused niche firms prevalent today. Jo’s diversity also allows her to develop long lasting relationships with a wide variety of clients who may need different legal assistance through the years. In addition to practicing law, Jo is on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Phoenix and has taught at a variety of other colleges and universities throughout her career in the areas of business and arts and sciences. Jo is an active member of the Rotary Club of Parker and has served as the President, Director of International projects, Director of Club Service, as well as holding various posts in Rotary District 5450. She is an active advocate of Rotary’s program to eradicate Polio worldwide. Outside of the office, Jo and her husband, Jim, enjoy spending lots of time with their large family, as well as writing, music and travel.

Jeremy earned his undergraduate degree from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in 1998. He then attended Pepperdine University and graduated from the Graziadio School of Business Management in 2001 and from Pepperdine University Law School in 2002. In 2003, Jeremy received a Certificate of Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University. Legal Experience Jeremy is a member of the Arizona State Bar Association and has served as secretary for the Dispute Resolution Section. He is also a member of the American Association of Premier DUI Attorneys and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel. He was also named a Super Lawyer in Arizona. Jeremy’s Criminal Defense practice helps clients facing charges like criminal speeding, possession of marijuana, DUI, domestic violence, and more. You can learn more about his DUI services at MesaDUIAttorneys.com.

I focus my practice on immigration and citizenship law and have handled every type of immigration case, from family immigration matters to business and investor cases and citizenship applications. I am a nationally known expert on immigration and national security laws, and have testified regularly before Congressional committees on immigration, homeland security, and military matters. As a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Military Police, U.S. Army Reserve, I have extensive experience with U.S. military issues. I have also worked as a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and have served as an adjunct instructor at the University of Alaska. I was a member of the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration from 2008-2012. I regularly author articles on military-related immigration issues, and am well-versed on “parole in place” for military family members and the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (“MAVNI”) Program. I authored the book Immigration Law & the Military, which was published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2012. On September 25, 2013, I was named a 2013 MacArthur Fellow by the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

I have been practicing law for 24 years now and I am one of the founding members of Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC. During this time, I have distinguished myself as one of Chicago’s elite trial attorneys. Prior to starting the my own firm, I practiced for 15 years at the prestigious Clifford Law Offices in Chicago and, before that, as a member of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Bureau of Special Prosecutions. I have tried over 100 jury and bench trials to verdict. I have handled and successfully resolved hundreds of millions of dollars in claims in a variety of practice areas, including complex premises liability, aviation litigation, medical negligence, medical liability, hospital liability, and mass disasters.

Mr. Guttman is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®, the highest recognition possible in the legal industry, for his professionalism and ethics. Consistent with the concentration of the firm, Mr. Guttman continues to focus his law practice in the areas of real estate assessments, property tax incentives and tax exemptions. He has extensive experience with representing a variety of property owners including multi-unit residential, commercial and industrial properties, as well as downtown Chicago office buildings. Mr. Guttman has considerable experience with litigation including acting as associate counsel before the Circuit Court of Cook County on a number of cases that challenged the constitutionality of the assessment methodology applied by taxing officials. His trial experience includes one of the first tax objection cases to be heard in the Circuit Court under the amended 1995 Revenue Act, which abolished the antiquated constructive fraud standard. Mr. Guttman co-authored two chapters, “Tax Objection Complaints” in the book, “Real Estate Taxation” and “Real Estate Tax Considerations” in the book “Residential Real Estate Transactions” for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education. He also co-authored the article “Five Things Every Attorney Should Know About Appealing Their Client’s Real Estate Taxes” appearing in the January, 2004 edition of the “CBA Record.” He was the former Chairman of the main committee, Legislative Liaison, and Chairman of the Assessment and Appeals Sub-committee of the Chicago Bar Association’s Real Estate Taxation Committee. He currently acts as Treasurer of the Illinois Property Tax Lawyer’s Association – an advocacy and lobbying group established to inform, educate and promote tax policies and legislative efforts affecting tax payers throughout the State of Illinois. Mr. Guttman lectured before the Chicago Bar Association’s continuing legal education seminar entitled, “Real Estate Taxation: An Overview for the Non-Specialist” in 2005 and acted as Special Assistant State’s Attorney on behalf of Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer, as Trustee of the Indemnity Fund in the defense of a claim against the Indemnity Fund. He also served on the Cook County Treasurer, Maria Pappas’ Joint Committee for the automation of the Illinois Transfer Tax Form.