Meet a Paralegal

Meredith DuPree, Supervisory Paralegal

Alma Mater: University of Connecticut

Hometown: New England

What inspired you to choose this career path? I was experienced in insurance litigation, which was challenging and exciting work, but I soon learned I wanted to help people more or in a different way. At the time, immigration was an extremely relevant topic across the country, and I wanted to learn more about it and the best way to do so was to immerse myself in it. When the opportunity presented itself to make a lateral move to the specialized field of immigration, I jumped at the opportunity and all the challenges and education that came with it. It has been and will always be a unique and specialized field because the U.S. immigration process is so difficult and complex, especially when emigrating from another country. I also learned more about my family history (including relatives whose name is on the stone at Ellis Island) and friends or colleagues who they themselves or their families had immigrated to the U.S. and the stories behind it. Immigration continues to be a relevant, exciting, challenging, and specialized field that reinforces my decision to choose this career path.

What is unique about your position at the firm? My position at Klasko is unique because I help lead and mentor others, interact and work with a diverse group of paralegals, attorneys, coordinators, and other administrative staff daily, help manage client accounts, review draft work, delegate, and oversee projects, and be able to continue to grow my own skills.

What do you love about managing a team at KILP? Managing a determined, happy, skilled, productive team is the most rewarding part of my job at Klasko. Mentoring and helping others grow their skills, build confidence, find joy in their work, and maintain respectful, supportive working relationships with colleagues is what makes a good team. Managing and meeting with my team on a daily and weekly basis and learning about their own unique challenges and goals, helps me help them and as much as I hope they are learning from me, I also continue to learn from them.

What experiences have been most rewarding for you so far? I took on the challenge of joining our team at Klasko during a time of transition. We quickly learned we needed to dial in on our goals and any pain points, find consistency and camaraderie, and be able to lean on each other as an effective and supportive team. I can proudly say we have done so and more, which is one of my most rewarding experiences to date. We benefit from constantly learning and growing.

What opportunities for advancement and professional growth have been available to you at Klasko? There are great opportunities internally for professional growth, advancement, and/or lateral moves at Klasko. I’ve also seen certain positions created that were perfect for the employee and the firm. Klasko offers excellent core training as well as ongoing training videos and reference documents available for continuous learning that are frequently updated to align with the most recent guidance.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I played competitive soccer for over 20 years and wish I was still playing. I now enjoy whitewater kayaking!

Daniel Heim, Senior Paralegal

Alma Mater: Temple University

Hometown: Schuylkill Haven, PA

What inspired you to choose this career path? I’ve always been interested in working with people from all over the world. In the immigration field, I have the added bonus of helping people to achieve their dream of living and working in the US!

What is unique about your position at the firm? My position affords a unique opportunity to work closely with a large client, and I’m fortunate to have helped manage some large projects with them and with the rest of my team. I’m thankful to the attorneys and supervisors on my team for trusting me to assist the clients and helping me to grow as a paralegal!

What experiences have been most rewarding for you so far? It’s always rewarding to see your clients’ cases get approved, but especially so when an employee and their family members receive their green cards. I imagine the relief that they must feel, and am proud of the work that I, and the firm, have done to help them become permanent residents!

Tell us a fun fact about yourself: You can often find me playing the piano or violin in the pit orchestra for musicals at my local community theater and at area high schools!

Alma Mater: Eastern University

Hometown: Logan Township, NJ

What inspired you to choose this career path? I grew up with family from all over the globe, which was truly wonderful. It gave me the opportunity at a young age to see the beauty of diversity and the importance of immigration.

What is unique about your position at the firm? I have had the opportunity at Klasko to work across various teams with different kinds of clients and cases. In this position, I have hands-on involvement throughout each case and get to see my direct impact on people’s day-to-day life. It is so interesting to get to work on a diverse array of cases and with people from all over the world!

What experiences have been most rewarding for you so far? It is always a privilege to work with individuals who have waited a long time for their green card. The immigration process can be very long and difficult and it is always rewarding to help individuals meet this goal.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I grew up in a really big family. I have 12 siblings!

Matt Weiss, Paralegal III

Hometown: Downingtown, PA

Alma Mater: Tufts University, Towson University

What inspired you to choose this career path? After living abroad in college and graduate school, I knew that I wanted to work in some capacity with people from different countries. My first position post graduate school was at an English Language School school where I was first introduced to working within the immigration framework and I greatly enjoyed assisting people who had dreams of coming to the United States complete the steps needed to get here – no matter how long it took or how different it was. From there, I started looking at careers that would allow me to do that.

What is unique about your position at the firm? The team I work on exposes me to many clients with a large diversity of visa categories, which is not always the case at other firms.

What experiences have been most rewarding for you so far? I always enjoy it when someone finally becomes a permanent resident. The journey can be really long and difficult so when the green card arrives in the mail, its really rewarding to tell the client.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I have a twin sister.

Yu-Hsiang Huang, Paralegal II

Alma Mater: Hofstra University

Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan

What inspired you to choose this career path? I was inspired to choose the Immigration Paralegal role for a couple of reasons. The most obvious one is that immigration has always been a part of my life. At the age of 8, my parents made the life changing decision to move the whole family from Taiwan to the United States of America. Being so young, I had no idea what it took to commit to such a change, which is why the field of immigration interested me. That interest floated around in the back of my mind until after college where I found a position working as a Legal Assistant for another business immigration law firm. Immigration Law just made sense to me, and I’ve stuck to it ever since.

What is unique about your position at the firm? Each member of the team has a unique role to fulfill. I am encouraged to focus on the tasks assigned to me and trust that others will take care of other tasks. Together, the team feels like a well-oiled machine. I believe this collaboration and synergy Klasko has established is truly unique and leads to the success of our firm and our clients.

What experiences have been most rewarding for you so far? Seeing the matters that I’ve worked on get approved. Whether it be an H-1B or Green Card approval, it means the client may put their status concerns to rest for a couple of years or just never think about it again. That relief, although I can’t see it in person, is quite satisfying and tells me that my work matters.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I used to compete in Powerlifting competitively. I wasn’t any good, but it sure was fun.

Brianna Granston, Paralegal I

Alma Mater: Widener University

Hometown: Wilmington, DE

What inspired you to choose this career path? I always knew I wanted to work in the legal field. Both of my parents are immigrants, so as I grew up and came to fully understand what they went through, it made me want to help others.

What is unique about your position at the firm? Coming into this position with no immigration experience, there is always something to learn.

What experiences have been most rewarding for you so far? 2023 was my first CAP season and I was able to work on CAP petitions while also being part of the CAP committee. Being able to see the process from start to finish was really rewarding.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I am also a high school cheerleading coach.

Shay Hsu, Paralegal

Alma Mater: Princeton University

Hometown: Newton, NJ

What inspired you to choose this career path? Both of my parents are immigrants so I know how difficult immigration processes can be without guidance. I became an immigration paralegal because I wanted to help other people navigate the U.S. immigration system.

What is unique about your position at the firm? The cases I’ve worked on run the gamut from large corporations to small start-ups as well as family-based cases and individual clients. I think it’s interesting to work with such a variety of clients, research different companies and immigration processes, and always work on different types of cases.

What experiences have been most rewarding for you so far? I’m always accumulating knowledge from working different types of cases and collaborating with colleagues to resolve complicated situations. It’s rewarding to be able to tell a client that their case has been approved.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself: Recently, I’ve been trying to visit different national parks and historic sites to collect stamps for my National Parks Passport. In my spare time, I also love to crochet!