With more than a decade of experience, Ms. Brown Gaines provides representation to clients in government procurement, contracts, employment, labor relations, and litigation. She also provides corporate consulting on federal and state employment law compliance, domestic and international corporate governance and trademark issues.

Ms. Brown Gaines supports business clients in diverse industries, including Information Technology, facilities management, research and development, program management, retail, education and grant-making. She has represented clients in government procurements with federal government executive agencies and modal administrations. She is experienced with FAR and DFAR.

Ms. Brown Gaines is a seasoned litigator and has a wealth of trial and appellate experience representing businesses, managers and employees in federal and state courts across the nation. She is also experienced in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution proceedings. Ms. Brown Gaines has successfully resolved government procurement disputes and obtained favorable verdicts in contract litigation in matters before the Civilian and Armed Services Boards of Contract Appeals and the Federal Court of Claims. She has successfully secured favorable resolutions for clients in complex commercial and employment litigation in matters before the Civilian and Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the Federal Court of Claims, and federal or state trial and appellate courts nationwide. Ms. Brown Gaines is a frequent lecturer and trainer on Government Procurement, Employment Law, EEO and Human Resource issues.

Prior to establishing Brown Gaines, LLC, Ms. Brown Gaines was a principal with Amadeo & Gaines, LLC and a partner in a Washington law firm which provided government, commercial and employment representation, including litigation. Ms. Brown Gaines has also served as counsel to the Federal Aviation Administration where she successfully defended the Agency against numerous discrimination and wage and hour claims and oversaw several acquisitions. Prior to her service with the Federal Aviation Administration, Ms. Brown Gaines served as corporate counsel to the NAACP in Baltimore, Maryland and as an associate in the employment law practices of a Washington, DC and Birmingham, Alabama law firm.

Ms. Brown Gaines earned her B.A. from the University of Virginia in 1995 and her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law in 1998. Ms. Brown Gaines is admitted to the Maryland and District of Columbia Bar. Ms. Brown Gaines is proficient in Spanish and accepts Spanish-speaking clients.

Ms. Richter is a recent graduate from the Regent’s University School of Law.  She is a member of the Maryland State Bar and she is seeking admission to the Virginia State Bar.  Ms. Richter has a diverse body of experience, having performed work in the criminal and international legal arenas

Nicole C. Dillard focuses her practice primarily on business immigration and corporate visa matters related to businesses seeking to employ both skilled and unskilled workers who are either in the United States or are currently abroad. Specifically, she assists businesses and organizations seeking to sponsor employees for both non-immigrant and immigrant visa status and advise them of their responsibilities in the immigration process. She regularly advises human resources professionals in industries such as public, private and charter school systems, universities, the hospitality industry and the high-tech research organization through various stages of international recruitment while they navigate through the immigration process.

Ms. Dillard has an expertise in obtaining permanent resident status through National Interest Waivers, Outstanding Researcher and Extraordinary Ability based petitions for scientists, researchers and high-tech professionals. Ms. Dillard also has an expertise in obtaining Permanent Resident Status through filing Applications for Alien Labor Certification for employers on behalf of their employees (PERM). Ms. Dillard has represented clients in a variety of non-immigrant visa matters (e.g. E-3, L-1, H-1B, B-1/2, O, P, TN, J-1 and J-1 waivers, H-2B, and H-3), family based immigrant visa (family based petitions including Fiance?e(e), spouse and children) matters and citizenship/naturalization applications. Ms. Dillard also assists Employers in ensuring that they are compliant with I-9 regulations as well as provides Employment law assistance to employers of foreign nationals to advise them with the Employment and Labor laws that govern foreign national employees.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Ms. Dillard was an English as a Second Language teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools in Northern Virginia. She has therefore segued her experience as an educator which assists her as she serves many school districts as they recruit foreign national educators and other professional employees to staff their schools. Consequently, Ms. Dillard has presented on important immigration topics before human resources professionals of various organizations such as the American Association for School Personnel Administrators, the Virginia Association for School Personnel Administrators and individual public, private and charter school districts. Furthermore, Ms. Dillard is a regular contributor on immigration matters to VASPA VIEWS, a publication of the Virginia Association for School Personnel Administrators. As a result of her extensive role with the education industry, Ms. Dillard has developed an expertise in assisting teachers and educational professionals in obtaining the appropriate immigration status to allow them to work in the United States.

In addition to advising companies and organizations, Ms. Dillard regularly assists clients who are seeking to sponsor their family members. Specifically Ms. Dillard assists clients as they seek to obtain immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for their fiance?es, spouses, parents and/or children. She prepares Applications to Adjust Status packages and Application for Naturalization documents and prepares clients for their interviews before the adjudication officers. She also assists those individuals who are preparing for interviews before the various U.S. Embassy’s abroad. Each of Ms. Dillard’s clients receive her personalized care and attention as they navigate through the complex maze of immigration law.

Ms. Dillard is a graduate of Catholic University, Columbus School of Law. She
also earned her Masters of Education in Bilingual Education from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia. For matters other than immigration, Ms. Dillard is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. She is admitted to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Deborah E. Saleik is the Business Manager and Paralegal for Brown Gaines, LLC. She has worked for 10 years in law firms in Washington, DC and Upper Marlboro, MD with additional experience as a contract Data Analyst with the Department of Justice. She has a background in case management, accounting, mass production and organization of documents and meeting coordinating and planning.