Laura P. Shaw
Homegrown in Gorham, Maine, Laura ventured back to small town life in Camden after spending time in NYC and Argentina during her undergraduate studies. No stranger to hard work, Laura was raised in an enterprising construction family where she learned much about the key to success from her father, owner of one of the largest earthwork contractors in the State. Fortunately for her clients, Laura brought the drive she inherited from her father to her study of law.
After attending the University of Maine Law School and graduating first in her class, Laura went on to clerk for the former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court, Honorable Leigh I. Saufley. Much of her attention during her education was (and is) focused on immigration law – for which she received multiple awards – however, we’ve yet to see a legal problem Laura can’t solve. Her ability to read at superhuman speeds and pick out relevant details and mistakes both inspires and terrifies the rest of the office. On top of that, her briefs and memoranda are, for all intents and purposes, perfect – seriously, she’s received multiple awards for her legal writing as well.
Luckily for us, Laura brought her impressive talents and unique experience to Camden and we’ve been learning from her ever since. Her unique background and analytic nature put her at the top of the list for anyone requiring legal help, especially in the areas of immigration law, criminal law, complex civil litigation, and appellate law. In her appellate practice, she draws on her experience clerking with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court; in 2018 alone, she was attorney of record on eight appeals. She has represented adults and juveniles in complicated, high profile criminal matters which have gone to trial. She has handled complex civil litigation matters ranging from financial fraud to will contests to motor vehicle accidents.
Regarding her immigration law practice, Laura has extensive experience in family-based, employment-based, and certain humanitarian-based immigration work. She has specialized experience working with health care workers, and handles cases such as j-1 waivers, h-1b petitions, labor certification cases, national interest waiver green cards, extraordinary ability green cards, O-1 petitions, and related cases. She is accustomed to navigating complex immigration laws, presenting complicated and technical information to the government, and ensuring success for individuals and employers alike.
On top of her ever-growing law practices, Laura finds ways to stay involved with her local community, State bar, and national organizations. She previously served as Board President of Rockland’s Penobscot Bay Language School and is a current board member of the school. She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Maine State Bar Association, has served as a board member of the New Lawyers Section of the Maine State Bar Association, and was selected to participate in the Maine State Bar Association’s Leadership Academy. She loves teaching and working with students and she finds ways to serve as a mentor to law students and new attorneys, presents at continuing legal education events for practicing attorneys, and previously volunteered to coach Mock Trial at the local high school. Laura is also the legal studies coordinator of Maine’s first forensic psychology fellowship, teaching case law to future forensic psychologists. When she isn’t working about 10,000 hours a week, Laura enjoys traveling, running, yoga, good books (ask anyone in her book club!), and hanging out with her two cats.