Jiyeon Choi, Esquire
Jiyeon Choi, JD, joined BENNU Legal Services NFP as an Associate Attorney in November 2008. Before joining BENNU Legal, she worked at CALMEC with Andrew Sagartz as her mentoring senior attorney. Jiyeon has a wide variety of experience in immigration law, including family- and employment- based immigration matters, as well as asylum cases. She has also represented victims of domestic violence in relation to their family and immigration law matters.

Jiyeon received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese Language and Literature from Korea University in Seoul, Korea in 2001. Later she went on to complete a Juris Doctorate from DePaul University College of Law. As a law student, Jiyeon represented VAWA (Violence Against Women's Act) clients as a representative of DePaul's Immigration and Asylum Clinic.

Jiyeon is fluent in Korean, Mandarin Chinese and English.

Jeff Middlesworth, Of-Counsel Attorney
Jeff Middlesworth, JD, received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in History at Illinois Wesleyan University in 2006. In 2009, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego School of Law. Jeff is an Of Counsel Attorney who began working at BENNU in March, 2010. He has represented clients in all kinds of immigration law matters, but he devotes a great deal of his time at BENNU assisting clients in Haiti whose lives were devastated by the earthquake there.

Ludmila Maia Nelson, Of-Counsel Attorney
Ludmila Maia Nelson joined BENNU Legal Services NFP as an Of-counsel Attorney. She is an legal professional experienced in immigration, international law, and trade. Ludmila received her law degree from University of Maranhao, Brazil in 2004. She has served as an attorney at the state Attorney General office and has worked in the private sector handling international contracts and trade law. Ludmila enjoys travel and getting to know different cultures; she has the ability to work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Ludmila is fluent in Portuguese in addition to English. She is also able to communicate in French, German and Spanish.

Mary Goering, Of-Counsel Attorney
Mary Goering joined BENNU Legal Services NFP as an Of-counsel Attorney in September 2011. Mary received her J.D from Yale Law School in 1992. She worked as an associate for Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal in Chicago where she learned employment defense litigation and did pro bono immigration work. Mary also has experience in developing affordable housing. She spent two years living in China and has an M.A. in Asian Studies.

Damian Crooks, Staff Attorney
Damian Crooks joined BENNU Legal Services NFP as an Of-counsel Attorney. Damian received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Mississippi College School of Law in 2011, graduating cum laude. As a law student, Damian worked part-time as a law clerk for the Mississippi Attorney General’s office, and participated on the Moot Court Board. Moreover, Damian was an active volunteer with the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project ("MVLP"), earning a pro-bono volunteer award in 2010.

Berenice Uribe, Legal Assistant
A native of Mexico, Berenice Uribe came to BENNU Legal with extensive experience as a legal assistant. Because of her fluency in Spanish, she provides valuable aid to the BENNU Legal attorneys, translating at seminars and client meetings, and acting as an intermediary to the immigrant community.