Past Board members

Term Served: 2022-23
Co-President
Ravi Jain (He/Him/Il)
Ravi has over 22 years of practice experience and is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Immigration Law.
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He has addressed committees in both the Canadian Senate and Canada’s House of Commons on several occasions. Ravi received the Diamond Jubilee Medal by command of Her Majesty the Queen and was recently selected by Best Lawyers as Lawyer of the Year. He was a Past National Chair of the CBA Immigration Section and has been active with the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) as a Board Member and is currently the Immigration Section Co-Chair for SABA North America. He co-founded CILA.

Term Served: 2022-23
Director
marina sedai (sHe/her/elle)
Marina has been practising exclusively immigration and citizenship law since 2005. Her clients are employers, families, and individual workers, students, and visitors. She represents on a wide range of immigration and citizenship applications.
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She is a frequent public speaker locally, nationally, and internationally. In addition, Marina has taught immigration law and served as an immigration law expert for Canadian and foreign courts. She has received recognition from Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers, Three Best Rated, and Lexpert. Marina obtained her LL.B from the University of British Columbia and Bachelor’s Degree from Simon Fraser University.

Term Served: 2022-23
director
Maxime Grenier-Labrecque (She/Her/Elle)
Maxime is an experienced immigration lawyer with over 5 years of practice. She currently provides immigration services to various Canadian organizations and individuals.
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Maxime is an avid cyclist who enjoys long rides. She graduated from the University of Ottawa with a joint JD – LL.L, Cum laude. She also holds a BA in Political Science, International Relations from UQAM.

TERM SERVED: 2022-23
Director
Betsy Kane (She/Her/Elle)
Betsy has been practicing Canadian immigration law since 1994. Her initial training was with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (formerly CIC) in Ottawa.
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Betsy is certified as an immigration law specialist by the Law Society of Ontario. She has been recognized as a leading practitioner by Lexpert, Best Lawyers, Who’s Who Legal, and Chambers and Partners. Betsy has worked in the field of Canadian immigration in Ottawa, Ontario for over 31 years.

TERM SERVED: 2022-24
Director
Randolph Hahn (He/Him/Il)
Randy is a partner with Garson Immigration Law. He has a wide-ranging practice that includes matters pertaining to the transfer of personnel, matters of inadmissibility, and immigration-related litigation.
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He has served as the Associate Editor of the Immigration Law Reporter for several years and is the co editor of the publication, A Practical Guide to Provincial Nominee Programs in Canadian Immigration Law. Randy is a former Chair of the Citizenship and Immigration Section of the Ontario Bar Association.

TERM SERVED: 2022-24
Director
Samuel Escobar (He/Him/Il)
Samuel Escobar is a trained Immigration Lawyer, graduating from the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and subsequently called to the bar in Ontario.
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Samuel advises clients in both English and Spanish on matters related to economic immigration for temporary and permanent residence, including but not limited to Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Programs, and Work Permits. Samuel, driven by his family’s Immigration journey, dedicated himself to becoming an Immigration lawyer, committed to helping other families and their children navigate the Canadian immigration system and overcome the challenges at each stage of the process. Throughout his academic and professional career, Samuel has consistently immersed himself in Immigration law endeavors.

TERM SERVED: 2022-25
co-president
Vance Langford (he/Him/il)
Vance has been practicing immigration law for 25 years. His education includes a B.A. in International Relations and LL.B. from University of British Columbia.
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During law school, Vance worked as an Immigration Officer at the Peace Arch / Pacific Highway and did the clinical program in immigration law with the Legal Aid Society in downtown Vancouver. After law school, Vance completed an LL.M. at the University of Dundee, Scotland, and worked at the United Nations in New York. Vance has been a strong advocate for immigration lawyers in Canada, serving as a Past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association, National Immigration Law Section. He also practices corporate and commercial law and has extensive experience with private and public finance and governance.

TERM SERVED: 2024-25
Director
Nicholas Woodward (he/Him/il)
Having lived on three continents, Nicholas brings his diverse personal and professional background in the work he does for his clients.
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His practice focuses on helping families, businesses, and individuals, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community and those living with HIV, navigate the complexities of Canada’s immigration and refugee systems. Nicholas is fluently bilingual in English and French. He holds a law degree (Juris Doctor), and an Honours Bachelor of Arts, both from the University of Ottawa. After law school, Nicholas clerked at the Federal Court with the Honourable Justice Elizabeth Walker.
Nicholas works on a wide range of immigration and refugee files, including litigation and economic matters. His clients include refugee claimants, students, businesses, and individuals seeking pathways to permanent residence in Canada. With respect to the litigation side of his practice, Nicholas regularly represents clients before both the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court.
An adjunct faculty member at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Nicholas co-teaches Canadian Migration Law and also coaches the law school’s Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Law moot team. He also volunteers his time by providing regular legal advice to community members at both the 519 and HQ Toronto.

TERM SERVED: 2024-25
Director
jae-yeon lim (She/Her/elle)
Jae-Yeon Lim (“Jae”) practices corporate immigration law at Harris & Company LLP in Vancouver. Jae has been recognized by Chambers and Partners (2024) as one of the leading immigration lawyers nationwide, under the “Associate to Watch” category.
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Passionate about being part of and contributing to and empowering a collaborative legal professional community, Jae enjoys volunteering. Jae has been an active member of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Immigration Section, previously volunteered as a Senior CPD Coordinator, responsible for organizing the CBA Immigration Law Section’s Brown Bag Webinars and received a Volunteer Contribution Award in recognition of her leadership in putting together quality learning materials for lawyers including substantive topics on immigration law practice as well as on important issues such as anti-racism, 2SLGBTQI+ and mental health. Outside of law, she has been appointed by KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) as a Global Regional Consultant, assisting in the overseas expansion of Korea’s small and medium enterprises. Additionally, she serves as Vice President of the Canada Korea Business Association.
Jae received her bachelor’s degree with specialization in French language and literature and a minor in political science with high distinction, as well as her law degree from the Faculty of Law at McGill. Fluent in English, French, and Korean, Jae recounted her early experience as an immigrant child in her bilingual book (English and Korean), “Inside Out, Upside Down: A Journey Across Cultural Borders” (ISBN: 8977122384).