Cathy Higgins-Mora is the founder of the Law Office of Cathy Higgins-Mora, an immigration and nationality law firm based in Wheeling, Illinois. She represents clients worldwide in family-based immigration matters, adjustment of status, and naturalization applications, and is a frequent speaker and trainer for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
I asked Cathy what led her to start her own firm.
"I worked at a firm for about 14 years, and it got to the point where I was commuting from the suburbs to downtown Chicago every day," she told me. "My son was in elementary school at the time, and I was thinking I wanted to be closer to him. I was also feeling like I had a lot of experience. I thought it might make my life a little easier to have an office close to home. So I decided to bite the bullet and open my own place."
She established her practice just three blocks from her house, jokingly referring to herself as the "Mr. Rogers of my neighborhood." But while the commute was easier, the reality of solo practice quickly set in. In the beginning, she handled everything herself, occasionally enlisting her husband to help with phone calls or photocopies just so they could get out for dinner.
"I realized pretty quickly that I can't do everything," she said. "I can't do marketing and think straight and put together strong advocacy and put together strong cases."
To build capacity, she began partnering with nearby offices to borrow paralegal time, and eventually formed a relationship with a local high school district to bring on interns. That pipeline became the foundation of her team. Several of those early interns stayed with her through college and have now become long-term, full-time staff members.
"I found a couple of students that stuck with me, just well beyond their internships. Somebody who actually didn't move on and go on to do bigger, better things and they're still with me. That's game changing."
"I think it's far better than maybe I ever envisioned, which is a good thing."
As her practice has matured, that same team has helped her evolve the business in unexpected ways. Her younger staff members pushed her to embrace social media marketing, expanding her reach across platforms like TikTok and Instagram - a move that has successfully driven new client referrals in an era where word-of-mouth has gone digital.
"I always ask people, who referred you, or how did you find me?" she said. "Many times they say social media. And I'm like, are you for real? Obviously, that's the new thing. But I love that my team is helping me keep up with the newer ways to market."
Looking back on more than a decade of running her own practice, Cathy's reflection is straightforward.
"I thought I was going to stay really, really small for the rest of my career," she said. "I never thought I would have so many people working with me. It's kind of amazing."
Are you dealing with a U.S. immigration or nationality matter in the Chicago area? The Law Office of Cathy Higgins-Mora serves clients in both English and Spanish. Connect with Cathy Higgins-Mora, Esquire and check out Law Office of Cathy Higgins-Mora.