Founding Partner
As the managing partner, Javad wears several hats. In addition to running firm operations, he oversees our immigration services. Javad litigates cases where an individual’s civil rights have been violated.
Javad started his career at the Department of Justice. He then spent almost a decade at the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the National Security Law Division Joint Terrorism Taskforce where he used immigration laws to prosecute terrorists, terrorist financiers, and aliens engaged in espionage and other criminal acts. He worked closely with federal, state, and international law enforcement and intelligence agencies. He is well-versed in high-profile, complex litigation. Javad is the only private bar attorney in America who has served in senior immigration positions in both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor.
In 2017, he wrote an op-ed in the New York Times,I Prosecuted Terrorists for President Bush. Now My Family in Iran May Be Banned From Visiting. In 2021, the Riverfront Times chose him as the Best Attorney in St. Louis. In October of 2021 after Kabul fell, former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander and Javad smuggled 370 Afghans out of the country to Albania. Over 95% of these refugees have been resettled in America.
Javad, and his wife, Mollie, reside in a rehabbed, 130-year-old home in the Shaw neighborhood with their two daughters. Javad and Mollie’s wedding included a tour of the world’s largest brewery, Ted Drewes frozen custard, a midnight Imo’s pizza bar, and Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’.
EDUCATION
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, J.D. (2002): Congressional and Administrative Law Clinic
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.S.: Biology and Psychology (1998)
Legal Background:
Partner, Cantwell & Cantwell (2013-2014)
Certifying Officer, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (2010-2013)
Associate Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, National Security Law Division (2004-2010)
Presidential Management Fellow, U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, National Security Unit (2003)
Admissions and Distinctions
USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration Services)
DHS (Department of Homeland Security – Executive Office of Immigration Review)
Missouri
Illinois
U.S District Court, District of Columbia
United States Court of Appeals – Seventh and Eighth Circuit
United States District Court – Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri
United States District Court – Central and Southern Districts of Illinois
Professional Affiliations and Community Involvement :
International Institute St. Louis, Board Member
Kegs for Kids Benefitting Toys for Tots
Migrant & Immigrant Community Action (MICA) Project Advisor
Phi Sigma Kappa Foundation, Executive Board
Founder, Road to Status
Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Former Immigration Chair
Selected Publications and Press
Known for his expertise in immigration and civil rights, Javad is a frequent presenter at events sponsored by: Washington University School of Law, Washington University Brown School of Social Work, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Jewish Community Center, League of Women Voters, St. Louis University, TREX, and the Missouri Bar Association. Presentation topics include:
- Immigration in the Trump Era
- Immigration: 101
- Realties for students under the new immigration administration
- Closing the immigration gap with technology
- Advocacy with police and Immigration authorities (with mica)
- Civil rights, police brutality, and qualified immunity
- S. Changes Mind About Deporting Farmington, Mo., Woman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 23, 2014)
- How Municipalities in St. Louis County, Mo., Profit from Poverty., Washington Post (September 3, 2014)
- Racial Double Standard of Capitol Police Draws Outcry, New York Times (January 7, 2021)
