Bradley Maier, an associate in the Portland office of regional law firm Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, was recently elected to serve as chair of the Oregon Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). His term begins this month and will run for two years.

“AILA is the preeminent national association of immigration lawyers and I am extremely excited to see Brad assume this important role,” said Mark Long, managing partner at Schwabe. “It is truly an honor to be elected to AILA Oregon’s top office and I look forward to the positive influence he will have.”

Maier focuses his practice in the area of immigration and customs law, and compliance. He has more than 12 years of experience in immigration, nationality and refugee law. Maier represents a wide variety of clients including multinational corporations, high tech companies, major league professional sports teams, performing artists and organizations, hospitals and universities before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), United States Department of Labor (DOL), United States Department of State (DOS), and United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He assists clients with matters including temporary and business visas, permanent residence through labor certification and investment, naturalization, family-based petitions, and Customs requirements.

Maier is a frequent presenter on immigration law as well as I-9 compliance for employers. Last June, he presented at the annual AILA national immigration law conference in Washington, D.C., on the employment-based permanent residence process (PERM). This year, he was ranked among the top lawyers in the country as an Associate to Watch by Chambers USA in its 2010 directory and recognized as a Rising Star by Oregon Super Lawyers.

Prior to his election to chair, Maier served as an officer and member of the AILA Oregon’s executive committee for six years. AILA is the national association of nearly 11,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. The Oregon chapter consists of more than 130 attorneys throughout the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1946, the AILA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides its members with continuing legal education, information, professional services and expertise through its 35 chapters and more than 75 national committees. AILA is an Affiliated Organization of the American Bar Association (ABA) and is represented in the ABA House of Delegates.