Paul W Virtue

Paul Virtue represents individual, business, and institutional clients in matters involving immigration law and policy. Paul has more than 20 years of experience in immigration law and related policy, regulatory, and legislative areas. Prior to joining Hogan & Hartson, Paul served as the Executive Associate Commissioner and General Counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). As general counsel, he was the agency’s Chief Legal Officer supervising a nationwide litigation staff of more than 600 attorneys and providing legal and policy advice to the INS Commissioner and senior officials, the Attorney General, the White House, and other federal agencies on a full range of issues under INS jurisdiction. During his tenure with the INS, Paul testified before U.S. Congress on numerous occasions as an authority on immigration law and policy. He participated in drafting the immigration provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and provided legal advice regarding their implementation. Paul represented the agency as media spokesperson on numerous complex legal and policy issues. For his efforts in directing the agency’s implementation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Paul received the U.S. Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award.