Hannah Blackwell (JD ’22) was in college when an ICE raid in her hometown changed the direction of her career. By the time she applied to law school, she knew she wanted to practice immigration law and chose DePaul Law for its combination of immigration-related coursework and direct client experiences. 

Through the Asylum & Immigration Law Clinic, Blackwell worked directly with clients on a matter involving the Violence Against Women Act and prepared clients for individual hearings. These experiences gave her an early understanding of immigration law as both legal practice and human advocacy, where preparation, trust and judgment can shape what happens next in a client’s life.  

While a student, Blackwell also received a Public Interest Law Initiative internship and was paired with a mentor who remains part of her professional life today. That mentor later rented Blackwell her first office space. 

She says she left law school “accomplishing what I set out to accomplish and learning what I wanted to learn,” and those early experiences continue to shape how she approaches clients, relationships and practice. 

A little over a year after graduating, she opened Blackwell Law, her own immigration law firm based in Evanston, Illinois, with plans to expand to Puerto Rico. Starting a firm so early in her career was not the path she expected, but she describes it as “kind of like destiny; I was at a point where this was my only option, and it turned out to be the best thing I could have done.” 

She finds running her own firm “extremely freeing,” even as she learns the business side of practice and serves clients whose cases carry serious consequences. She credits her network as essential to getting started and encourages students to maintain relationships because they never know when those connections will matter. 

Today, through Blackwell Law, she represents people in removal proceedings, files asylum applications, appears in court and handles other humanitarian immigration matters. 

Blackwell wants students to understand immigration law’s emotional toll. Lives can be at stake, which makes the work both urgent and difficult. She recently obtained protection for a Venezuelan man who had been persecuted and severely beaten in detention in Venezuela. She also was able to get someone off a deportation plane. In immigration law, such successes can be rare. 

For Blackwell, building an immigration law practice means being present in the communities she serves. She believes in what she calls boots-on-the-ground advertising, especially in a field where trust matters. 

Every call she has received, she said, is because “I am there: going to events, going to churches, walking into law firms, making connections, getting referrals. People really value seeing a face in their community over a traditional ad. Never underestimate the importance of word of mouth.” 

Blackwell is taking this same strategy to Puerto Rico, serving immigrant populations there and in the local community by offering free mini consultations through churches and libraries. For Blackwell, that kind of presence is part of the practice itself. 

That direct experience also shapes the advice she gives students interested in immigration law. Blackwell recommends getting involved with nonprofits, where students can contribute to high-need legal work while gaining hands-on experience, noting that “if you intern with a nonprofit, you'll get the most hands-on work you'll ever get before graduating.” 

She also encourages aspiring immigration attorneys to learn another language, any language, especially the vocabulary needed to communicate specific and nuanced legal concepts. In her experience, there were never enough translators. Because so much of immigration law is learned in practice, she said, observing immigration court hearings also can help students see how the system works. 

To her, the unifying theme is “forcing yourself into situations where you're not just sitting in a classroom, but where you see the material in action. That is the key to becoming a successful attorney.” 

One of the most important lessons she offers aspiring immigration attorneys is “if you're going to do it, do it for the love of the people, for the love of the rule of law and for the hope that you will be able to uphold it.” 

Reflecting on the most satisfying moments of her career, Blackwell says, “it's not necessarily the 'win,' but the look of relief on someone's face when they know they don't have to go back to a place they're in absolute fear of, knowing that they're going to die if they return. Sometimes you might wonder what it is you’re accomplishing, but when you achieve even a small win, you know that you truly just did save someone's life.” 

Related: Learn more about DePaul Law’s area of concentration in International Law and read how students gain hands-on experience in immigration and asylum advocacy.