Our Attorneys
Hannah C. Blackwell
Principal Attorney/Owner
Attorney Hannah C. Blackwell established Blackwell Law, LLC in 2023 in an effort to better serve the immigrant communities to which she has dedicated her career. Hannah has had a passion for immigration law ever since she witnessed an ICE raid of a work place in her hometown when she was a teenager. Hannah saw first-hand the massive, devastating impact this raid had on her community, and it sparked a fire in her to fight for the rights of the undocumented and their families.
Hannah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing with cum laude honors and a President’s Award for volunteerism, as well as a minor in Political Science from Miami University in 2018. She received her J.D. and a Certificate in Public Interest Law from DePaul University College of Law in 2022 and was barred in the state of Illinois that same year.
As a life-long service-industry worker herself, Hannah knows the hard work and resilience that immigrant communities bring to the U.S. She is committed to helping the every-day person, the single parent, and the laborer who works overtime just to make ends meet. Hannah understands and empathizes with the struggles of daily life for an undocumented immigrant or a family member who wants to regulate status in the U.S., and she will find creative ways to represent the rights of immigrants and their families.
Hannah has collaborated with organizations such as The Resurrection Project, Erie Neighborhood House, Chicago Volunteer Legal Services, and Lawyers in the Classroom during her time as an attorney. Hannah is passionate about serving indigent and low-income communities.
Hannah is a member of American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Illinois State Bar Association.
Hannah speaks Spanish and English.
Paula Roa
Of Counsel
Paula of Roa Immigration Law has worked in the nonprofit immigration sector for 6 years. Paula worked at the National Immigrant Justice Center, where she has practiced immigration and deportation defense for the past 3 years, primarily representing victims of crime and domestic violence. Previously, Paula worked as a staff attorney for Americans for Immigrant Justice (AIJ), Children's Team, where she represented unaccompanied children in deportation proceedings. Prior to her work with AIJ, she provided direct representation and victim rights advocacy to survivors of human trafficking at Legal Aid Chicago.
Paula has been licensed by the Illinois Supreme Court since 2017 and is supported by the Refugee Community Connection Group. This is a Chicago-based mutual aid group, made up entirely of volunteers, that provides assistance to newcomers with urgent needs.
Paula has collaborated with Blackwell Law since 2024.