Attorneys
Here is a synopsis of the firm’s attorneys:
Gabriela Reyes-Noyola Brunner is an Associate Attorney with Wilson Law Group, LLC, focusing on Immigration and Nationality law. She is licensed to practice in the State of Minnesota and the Federal District Court of Minnesota.
Ms. Brunner completed her Juris Doctor degree at Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago, Illinois, in 2007. While in law school, she worked as a Public Interest Law Initiative intern at the Chicago Legal Clinic, Pilsen Office, where she focused primarily on immigration and consumer fraud matters. She was also the Managing Editor of the Journal of International Law and the Managing Editor of the Journal of Intellectual Property. At graduation, Ms. Brunner was one of twelve inductees into Chicago-Kent’s Bar and Gavel Society for her outstanding contributions to her school, community, and fellow classmates.
Before joining Wilson Law Group, Ms. Brunner worked as an immigration attorney at two prominent firms and as a business litigation associate at the law firm of Briggs & Morgan, P.A. While at Briggs, she focused on a variety of complex litigation areas, including subrogation, foreclosures, personal injury, evictions and student loans issues. As part of her commitment to pro bono, she worked on immigration cases with Centro Legal, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, Volunteer Lawyers Network, and SMRLS.
Ms. Brunner enjoys being active within the legal community. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Minnesota Women Lawyers, and the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association.
Ms. Brunner studied at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she received a B.A. in Government and a minor in Studio Art. She grew up in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and is fluent in Spanish.
Publications include: Objectively Unreasonable: The Seventh Circuit Limits Criminal Defendants’ Rights Under the Confrontation Clause (Seventh Circuit Review, Volume 2, Issue 2, Spring 2007)
Gabriela M. Reyes-Noyola and Valerie Jensen, A Law Students’ Guide To A Successful Interview Season, Minnesota Women Lawyers With Equal Right (April 2009).
Cassondre K. Buteyn is a Senior Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group and practices in the area of immigration law. Cassondre is a graduate of the William Mitchell College of Law (cum laude). She earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Spanish from Drake University. She has studied and lived in Sevilla, Spain and worked with foreign exchange students. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and co-chair of the USCIS liaison committee. Cassondre is a member of the Volunteer Lawyers Network’s Spanish Legal Services (“La Red”) project and serves on the advisory committee. In addition, Cassondre is an executive committee member of the New American Services collaboration. Cassondre hosts a weekly local radio show called “Conversaciones con Cassondre” to answer legal questions for the station’s listeners. Cassondre is the co-attorney of record in Pavlovich v. Gonzales, 476 F.3d 613 (8th Cir. 2007) and Flores Calderon v. Gonzales, 472 F.3d 1040 (8th Cir. 2007). Cassondre was awarded La Red’s Volunteer of the Year in 2008 and Minnesota Lawyer’s Up and Coming Attorney for 2012.
Erica E. Davis is an Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group and practices in the areas of family, criminal, civil, and employment law. She is licensed to practice in the State of Minnesota.
Erica graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she served as the President of the Federal Bar Association student chapter for two years and taught LL.M. legal writing. She was also an Articles Editor of the Journal of International Law. Her student note, The Rise of Gestational Surrogacy and the Pressing Need for International Regulation, was published in the Minnesota Journal of International Law Vol. 21-1, p. 120,Winter 2012. During law school she volunteered with the Ramsey County Public Defender’s Office and the Federal Public Defender’s Office. Prior to
attending law school, Erica lived and worked in Hiroshima, Japan for four years.
She received her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a minor in Mathematics from Mount Holyoke College. While at Mount Holyoke she studied abroad in Chile and the Dominican Republic. Erica was also the recipient of the Mildred L. Sanderson Prize for Excellence in Mathematics. Prior to college, she was an AFS exchange student in Dieppe, France for a year.
Erica speaks fluent Spanish and French, and conversational Japanese. She volunteers with AFS Intercultural Programs and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Twin Cities.
Rebecca Desnoyers is an Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group, where she focuses on immigration law. Rebecca’s practice within immigration law includes family and employment-based immigration, asylum, removal defense, and naturalization. Rebecca earned her JD from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota in January 2009, and was admitted to the Minnesota bar in May 2009. She is admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Rebecca is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. She has an undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In law school, Rebecca was active in the immigration clinic and served as a judicial extern for the Hon. Judge Gregg E. Johnson at the Minnesota Second Judicial District. Rebecca is co-author of the publication, Case Note: Orozco v. Mukasey: When an Entry May Not Be an “Admission” and the Fundamental Problems with the Ninth Circuit’s Analysis, 35 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 68 (2008). Before law school, Rebecca worked as a paralegal at Van Der Hout, Brigagliano & Nightingale, LLP, a full-service immigration law firm in San Francisco. Rebecca has studied abroad in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, and is fluent in Spanish.
Lucy Egberg is an Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group, where she practices immigration law. She has experience representing clients in immigration and criminal court. She received her JD from William Mitchel College of Law, where she was a member of the Latin Law Student Association. Lucy’s undergraduate degree was in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations and dual minors in Political Science and Leadership. While in law school, she participated in the Immigration Law Clinic. Representative cases included U visas, family visa petitions, and master calendar hearings. Prior to joining Wilson Law Group, Lucy was a law clerk and a certified student attorney at the Ramsey County Public Defender’s Office. She represented clients on record before the court during first appearance and arraignments and negotiated plea deals for misdemeanors and bail conditions in felony court. In addition, Lucy was a legal intern at the Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. Lucy has international travel experience throughout Asia, South America, and Europe. Throughout her life, Lucy has spent a substantial amount of time in Bolivia, studying, volunteering, and visiting family. Lucy is licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She is fluent in Spanish.
Michael D. Gavigan is an Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group. Michael is licensed to practice in New York and Minnesota. Michael practices in the following areas: Business & Commercial Law; Business Organizations; Criminal Law; Employment Law (Employer and Employee); Family Law; and Litigation and Appeals (MN & NY).
Michael graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School where he was a director for the National Moot Court and a supervising student attorney for the Civil Practice Clinic. While attending the University of Minnesota, Michael spoke at the ABA Young Lawyers Division teleconference entitled “Lessons in Public Education: A Community’s Challenge to Property Tax Assessments.” Michael was one of two founding student attorneys on the case of Odunlade et al. v. City of Minneapolis et al., 27-CV-10-26849, a case he argued in front of the Supreme Court of Minnesota on behalf of disaffected homeowners in Minneapolis.
Michael received bachelor degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in Political Science and Psychology and also received a certificate (minor) in Integrated Liberal Studies. While attending school at Wisconsin, Michael was on the Dean’s List and was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, where he engaged in various volunteer activities for the Madison community.
Yun (Wendi) Kao is a Senior Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group, where she practices in the area of immigration law. Wendi focuses on employment-based immigration petitions and business development. She represents individuals and businesses in obtaining and renewing work authorization, receiving permanent residency, and complying with all immigration regulations. Wendi has significant experience working with companies operating in and out of the United States, including developing business and immigration strategies to assist with their sustained growth. Wendi also represents clients in family-based immigration petitions, consular processing, and naturalization filings. She assists clients in removal proceedings as well.
Wendi is a graduate from the West Virginia University College of Law, and she has also earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from West Virginia University. In addition, she is a candidate for a Master’s degree in Public Administration at American University, in Washington, D.C. Wendi completed her undergraduate degree at National Taiwan University, in Taipei, Taiwan, majoring in languages and linguistics. Wendi is licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Wendi is fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Japanese.
Susan A. Koberstein is a Senior Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group, where she practices in the areas of immigration and general civil litigation. Susan handles a wide variety of immigration matters, including detention and removal cases, family petitions, consular processing, and remedies for crime victims. Susan has significant experience representing clients before the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the U.S. consulates abroad, and the field, service, and asylum offices of the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service. Susan is a 1995 graduate of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, from which she received a Distinguished Alumna Award in 2007. She is a former Adjunct Clinical Professor at Hamline Law School, where she taught the Immigration Clinic from 2002-2006. Susan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Spanish, and Latin-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her international experience includes periods of study and travel in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Mexico. Prior to joining Wilson Law Group, Susan practiced with the law firm of Centro Legal, Inc. from 1995-2006, and with the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition from 2006-2008. Susan supervised the Immigration Practice Unit at Centro Legal, where she also practiced in the areas of employment, consumer, housing, and government benefits law. She frequently trains other attorneys on issues of immigration law, particularly on the immigration consequences of criminal activity. Her volunteer commitments have included work with the Minnesota Detention Project, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA), the Minnehaha United Walk-In Legal Clinic, the United Way, and the Immigrant Law Center. Susan is licensed to practice law in the State of Minnesota and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Brooke B. Mengel is an Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group and practices in the area of immigration law focusing on humanitarian benefits, family based immigration, removal defense and naturalization. Brooke earned her Juris Doctor from the William Mitchell College of Law in January of 2010 and was admitted to the Bar in May of 2010. She has attended the American Immigration Lawyers Association Litigation Institute in Leesburg Virginia, has served as a council member for the local American Bar Association Immigration Division and has presented to other lawyers on survivor benefits.
During law school Brooke was an active member of the Latino Law Student Association, she worked as a paralegal in private practice and served as a bilingual clerk for Hennepin County Domestic Abuse Servicer Center as an advocate for victims of domestic abuse in seeking protective orders.
Brooke completed her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Journalism, and Anthropology from the University of Minnesota. She has studied and lived abroad in New Plymouth, New Zealand and Merida, Venezuela and works with international high school exchange students. Her career in immigration law was inspired by her work with Oregon migrant farm workers on issues surrounding immigration and by her own international family. Brooke is fluent in Spanish.
Anna Scholl is a Senior Associate Attorney at Wilson Law Group. She practices in the areas of family, criminal, civil, and employment law, and has completed 30 hours of Certified Civil Mediation Skills Training. Anna previously practiced immigration law at Centro Legal, Inc. She is a graduate of William Mitchell College of Law. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Chicano Studies from the University of Minnesota, and studied abroad in Merida, Venezuela. While in law school, Anna was a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Gina M. Brandt and became her Law Clerk upon graduation. During her last year of law school, she was also a Certified Student Attorney, representing clients of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, through the William Mitchell Immigration Law Clinic. Anna has worked as a Bilingual Senior Court Clerk in the Fourth Judicial District, where she helped provide Spanish speaking defendants and respondents access to the court system in the Criminal and Juvenile divisions. Anna is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association.
David L. Wilson is the Managing Attorney of Wilson Law Group. David is licensed to practice in the State of Minnesota, U.S. District Court of Minnesota, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. David attended the University of St. Thomas and graduated cum laude in 1993. He then graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law with cum laude honors in 1997. David served as the Executive Editor to the William Mitchell Law Review and subsequently served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Roland J. Faricy (ret.) in St. Paul, Minnesota.
David is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Federal Bar Association. David is a Past Chair of the Minnesota / Dakotas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. David has also served as an adjunct professor at Hamline University School of Law where he co-taught immigration law. He also served an adjunct law professor for the William Mitchell College of Law, teaching Writing Research Advocacy and Presentation, Appellate Advocacy, and the William Mitchell College of Law’s Immigration Law Clinic.
David is a frequent guest speaker on many legal topics in Minnesota and nationally, and provides pro bono services to victims of domestic abuse and children in need. The Children’s Law Center of Minnesota recognized David for his pro bono work on behalf of immigrant children in foster care in 2012. David was also awarded the 360 Communities Caring Award for his pro bono work with the Lewis House Domestic Abuse Shelters in February 2013.
David litigates cases before the federal government, federal court system, Minnesota courts, and Minnesota agencies. David is the attorney of record in the published decisions of Odunlade v. City of Minneapolis, 823 N.W.2d 638 (Minn. 2012); Gaitan v. Holder, 683 F.3d 951 (8th Cir. 2012); Escoto-Castillo v. Napolitano, 658 F.3d 864 (8th Cir. 2011); Salheen v. Holder, 618 F.3d 957 (8th Cir. 2010) Nyari v. Mukasey, 562 F.3d 916 (8th Cir. 2009); Khilan v. Holder, 557 F.3d 583 (8th Cir. 2009); Nguyen v. Mukasey, 522 F.3d 853 (8th Cir. 2008); Llapa-Sinchi v. Mukasey, 520 F.3d 897 (8th Cir. 2008); Pavlovich v. Gonzales, 476 F.3d 613 (8th Cir. 2007), Flores Calderon v. Gonzales, 472 F.3d 1040 (8th Cir. 2007), Kanyi v. Gonzales, 406 F.3d 1087 (8th Cir. 2005), and Mohamed, et al. v. Ashcroft, 396 F.3d 999 (8th Cir. 2005). David is also the attorney of record in several unpublished federal and Minnesota Court of Appeal decisions.
