Raleigh, North Carolina (Photo: Shutterstock)

In a move to expand its immigration practice, Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete has opened an office in Raleigh, North Carolina, with a partner from rival labor and employment firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart.

Both Constangy's new Raleigh partner, Justin Coffey, and another new partner hire in Boston from Foley Hoag, Punam Singh Rogers, practice immigration law. Coffey and Rogers joined Constangy this week.

Constangy's chair, Neil Wasser, said his firm is investing in its immigration practice because "immigration is an area of law that is rapidly evolving as companies struggle to compete in a strong market for global talent, and as U.S. policies are in a state of almost constant flux."

Constangy plans to expand the new Raleigh office's immigration practice beyond Coffey and the paralegals who joined him. "We're hiring additional immigration lawyers and paralegals right now," Wasser said.

"Raleigh is perfect for an immigration practice," he said, explaining that, as part of the Research Triangle, Raleigh is one of the country's fastest-growing markets for the life sciences industry with a lot of companies in hiring mode. The Research Triangle, which encompasses Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, is a hub for tech companies, many of which have connections to the universities in the area.

The Raleigh office gives Constangy 24 offices across 15 states. The Atlanta-based firm, which has about 180 lawyers nationally, also has North Carolina locations in Asheville and Winston-Salem.

With Coffey in Raleigh and Rogers in Boston, Wasser said, Constangy now has seven fully dedicated immigration practitioners, plus the paralegals that support their practices.

Coffey, who joined Constangy after 13 years at Ogletree, advises multinational companies on employment-based immigration as well as federal I-9 compliance and E-Verify.

Rogers spent 18 years at Foley Hoag before joining Constangy this week. She represents companies of all sizes, ranging from startups to established multinationals, on a range of visa and compliance matters in industries including tech, biotech, manufacturing, communications, finance, hospitality and higher education.