ATTORNEY PROFILES

Joel R. Bander Esq.

Joel R. Bander is the founder and principal partner of Bander Law Firm. Mr. Bander practices in personal injury, criminal, civil and business litigation, and immigration law. With over fifteen years of litigation experience, Mr. Bander is a leading litigator and accomplished trial strategist. He has successfully handled numerous cases before Federal, State, Civil, and Criminal Judges and has participated in hundreds of arbitrations and trials.

A substantial portion of Mr. Bander's practice is devoted to the handling of criminal cases of immigrants. Mr. Bander's extensive knowledge in both criminal law and immigration law allows him to foresee all possible obstacles and consequences that his clients may face. He has tried cases before juries on both criminal and civil matters.

Mr. Bander graduated from American University in Washington D.C. in 1977 with Bachelor Degrees in both political science and economics. While at American University he was president of the A.U. College Democrats during the 1976 election campaign. Upon graduation, Mr. Bander worked for the AFL-CIO as a political consultant to defeat an anti-labor ballot referendum in Missouri. He worked as an analyst in the United Mine Workers of America's Legislative Department (1978-1981), where he lobbied for energy and environmental legislation and coordinated political events.

Mr. Bander received his law degree from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon (1985) where he won his school's National Wagner Labor Law Moot Court Competition. Mr. Bander is actively involved in several local law organizations such as the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Los Angeles Bar Association. He has handled cases as diverse as First Amendment Establishment Clause matters in federal court, employment discrimination, civil forfeiture, libel, post-conviction relief, products liability, and trademark litigation.

Cathe L. Caraway-Howard Esq.

Cathe L. Caraway-Howard has been associated with Bander Law Firm since 1997, providing representation to the clients of Bander Law Firm in the areas of employment law, including unpaid wages, wrongful termination, discrimination, disability accommodation, invasion of privacy, and employee benefits and has been a partner since 2004.  Ms. Caraway-Howard also represents employers throughout California as General Counsel and Special Labor Counsel. Ms. Caraway-Howard has successfully litigated hundreds of civil matters in the Superior and Federal Courts in California since 1989.

Ms. Caraway-Howard’s practice emphasizes employment law issues with a focus on wage and hour claims.  Ms. Caraway-Howard’s experience in both prosecuting and defending such claims through trial and appeal enables her to rapidly resolve disputes and recover wages for her worker clients.

Ms. Caraway-Howard is a graduate of the University of California at Davis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations.  Following college, Mrs. Caraway-Howard worked as a paralegal in an immigration law firm, which experience led her to law school.  Ms. Caraway-Howard obtained her Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and received honors for her academic performance.

  Mrs. Caraway-Howard is active in Executive Le Tip of West Los Angeles as past President and is a member of CELA.

 

Franklin W. Nelson Esq.

Mr. Franklin W. Nelson was head of the firms Immigration Division for five years and is now of counsel to the firm.  With a family rich in legal history, his father was a judge for the State of California and his mother is a Federal Appellate Judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Franklin W. Nelson carries a deep appreciation and understanding of the law in this country.

While Mr. Nelson's practice focuses exclusively in immigration law, he also has experience in Federal litigation and is admitted to practice before the Federal District Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Nelson has been a practicing attorney since 1990 and has handled immigration matters for many well-known companies including Microsoft, Mattel, ITT Industries, and Rite Aid Pharmacies.  In 1996, Mr. Nelson served as co-counsel for Yang v. INS before the United States Supreme Court, a landmark case involving immigration fraud-waiver.

Mr. Nelson received both his Bachelors and Law Degrees from the University of Southern California. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the California State Bar, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

 

Edgar Coronado Esq.

Mr. Coronado has extensive experience in the area of family law and municipal law with emphasis in code enforcement and governmental and private entity tort defense.  Mr. Coronado has extensive experience in virtually all aspects of litigation, including drafting complaints, demurrers and motions for summary judgment, as well as all phases of discovery and substantial trial and appellate experience.

Mr. Coronado worked as a litigation attorney and assistant city attorney with the law offices of Leal, Olivas, Abich & Dominguez and prior to that with the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, where he managed the firm’s consumer litigation department and expanded the family law unit.  During his tenure with the Center, he handled a variety of consumer related matter’s involving violations of state and federal consumer protection statutes.  Moreover, he co-counseled impact consumer class action cases with nationally recognized firms such as Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson.

Upon graduation from Loyola Law School, he was awarded a two year post-graduate fellowship from the National Association for Public Interest Law to provide legal representation to victims of consumer fraud with Public Counsel, a Los Angles based legal services agency.  While at Public Counsel, Mr. Coronado also litigated and resolved disputes between community based organizations.

Mr. Coronado is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and has participated with consumer agencies in the development of consumer protection legislation.  Mr. Coronado is a member of the California State Bar and is admitted to practice law before all courts in the State of California.