Alla M. Taher

Alla Taher focuses his practice on white-collar crime, compliance and internal investigations, as well as commercial litigation matters.

Al comes to Kelley Drye from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), where he held multiple positions since 2012. Most recently, Al was Deputy Chief Counsel at the Chicago Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC), where he managed the in-house counsel program for Homeland Security Investigations Chicago, providing legal advice and support to several hundred agents within multiple offices across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. He advised on issues such as the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, privacy and information disclosure, border searches, administrative arrest authorities, asset forfeiture, and cyber-crime.

Al helped manage OPLA’s denaturalization program, providing legal guidance, training, and oversight to over 100 designated denaturalization attorneys, special agents, and officers nationwide. He served as a national security attorney with top secret security clearance, advising on matters arising under the national security and terrorism provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act and related authorities.

Al directly supervised and lead a team of approximately 15 attorneys and support staff, providing technical legal advice and ensuring quality control of written work product and litigation strategies. He supervised trial and appellate advocacy on a broad range of legal subjects, including immigration, citizenship, national security, asylum, fraud, and human rights. Al provided legal and case strategy advice to other DHS agency components, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He also provided federal court litigation support to U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Al also has experience prosecuting cases before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, appearing before the Immigration Court for immigration and bond proceedings, as well as the Board of Immigration Appeals. Al also served as an Associate Legal Advisor in the National Security Law Division in Washington, D.C., where he advised on national security matters arising under the Immigration and Nationality Act and related authorities. Prior to his government work, Al worked at a law office in Chicago.

Al’s breadth of experience at DHS handling a wide-variety of complex litigation and investigations offers the firm’s clients a valuable and insightful perspective.