Director of Legal Advocacy,
Innovation Law Lab
April 17, 2026
It is with immense appreciation for our team and the impact of our work that I write to share that I will be departing from Innovation Law Lab this week. On April 27, I transition to a new role as a Supervising Attorney at the National Immigration Project, where I will continue to litigate and coordinate with partners to challenge unlawful detention and immigration enforcement in communities across the country, including in my current home region of the Southeast.
I have been privileged to grow as an immigrant rights attorney at Law Lab, learning how to defend and deploy the law in creative and strategic ways as we seek to support and work alongside community members and organizing partners. I began my work with Law Lab nine years ago during a law school summer spent in Portland, working on asylum cases and drafting bond templates and starting to join conversations about a case that would ultimately challenge the lawfulness of the entire U.S. immigration court system…. Since then, there have been countless milestones: late nights of drafting and midnight filings, post-it notes and animated discussions, court arguments on screen and across the country, project launches and partner meetings, and through it all the fabric of this team whose camaraderie has supported me during every up and down.
Looking back on the amazing ride of the past several years, I am proud to have been part of the collective work that Law Lab has contributed to: impactful federal litigation defending the right to seek asylum, the expansion and implementation of universal representation in Oregon, efforts to shut down immigration prisons across the country, rapid response habeas efforts, and so much more. The lessons I have learned have shaped how I see the world and how I move through it, both as an attorney and as a human, and it is now time for me to take the leap to apply them in new places and new ways.
It has been an honor to be part of the team that is Law Lab. In my new role at the National Immigration Project, you can reach me at tess@nipnlg.org. I look forward to beginning this next chapter of partnership and the opportunities for collaboration that will arise!
With deep gratitude,
Tess
