Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick is pleased to announce that Mechelle Zarou, partner in the Toledo office, was a panelist at the Central Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) first Sports Immigration Law Conference held on March 8, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. The conference focused specifically on the substantive law and practical challenges associated with sports immigration and featured sports immigration subject matter experts as well as sports industry professionals, including Olympic athletes.
Mechelle’s presentation focused on O and P visas for individual athletes and coaches, and she provided detailed strategies on how to successfully sponsor foreign athletes and coaches in an increasingly difficult immigration environment.
Mechelle is Co-Chair of the firm’s labor and employment practice, as well as the immigration practice group. Mechelle’s practice encompasses all areas of labor and employment law, including wrongful discharge, discrimination, workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, business immigration, labor negotiations and arbitrations, and unfair labor practice charges. She has extensive experience in obtaining L-1, H-1B, TN, O-1 and E visas on behalf of foreign workers, including athletes and coaches, as well as permanent residency based on employment and extraordinary ability in athletics, the arts, business or science. Coaches, athletes, and administrators all draw on Mechelle’s broad ranging experience, including policy review, investigations, training initiatives, and negotiating and drafting contracts. Mechelle also regularly represents coaches who face disciplinary investigations, and also serves as a neutral third party investigator on behalf of educational institutions.