For seven summers, Margaret was employed by a hotel in the Catskills, first as a chambermaid
and eventually as head waitress. She earned enough to cover her tuition at Western Illinois
University and for law school at the State University of New York Buffalo. She passed the New York
Wong believes
“that any great
lawyer needs to
have a clear and
healthy mind and
healthy body, and
always be in a
state of gratitude
and joy when she
works with her
clients.”
WWW.SHAKER.LIFE | SUMMER 2018 35
and Ohio bars and subsequently moved to Ohio, seeking work as an attorney.
Law firms were not receptive. This was the mid-1970s, when firms were only mildly welcoming to women as
associates and partnerships were almost unprecedented. So after working as a credit analyst and management trainee at
Central National Bank (now KeyBank), Wong rented a small office and began her own practice. Wong didn’t break the glass
ceiling, she simply did an end-run.
From those humble beginnings in 1977, Margaret W. Wong and Associates, LLC has become a 15-attorney firm
recognized internationally for its expertise in immigration and nationality law. With offices in nine cities, its home is in
Cleveland. Collectively, its employees speak 11 languages and handle everything from work visas to deportation. Among
the attorneys are Wong’s and the late Kam Chan’s two children, Allison and Steven, along with Cecilia’s sons, Francis and
Joseph Fungsang.
The office locations are strategic. Wong is in cities where courts hear immigration cases and where precedent is set.
“Immigration practice takes patience, passion, and hard work. No pain, nothing gained.” She says that although
the core immigration laws haven’t changed during her career, enforcement and bureaucracy certainly have. American
immigration law was formerly the purview of the U. S. Department of State, but today it is overseen by Labor and
Homeland Security. The latter was created in response to 9/11 and as a consequence, casts immigration among issues of
national security.
As someone who struggled to keep her own immigrant status aligned with governmental regulations, Wong knows
what her clients want: to live, work, and drive in America legally.
“It’s such an honor to be American. Every day I’m humbled and tickled pink that I am in this country working and
living, have a family here, and am able to address questions about immigration,” Wong says in a video series that launched
in late April. In it, she discusses the knowledge and wisdom she has gleaned as an immigration lawyer and in doing so,
shares her legacy.
“I’ve had calls and cries for help every day for 40 years. At times I felt powerless
and dejected and depressed…because I couldn’t help. But for those I could, I’ve done a
lot. For that, I’m always in gratitude,” she says. As an immigration lawyer, she is part
social worker and part public defender.
The video series (http://bit.ly/margaret-wong) is not Wong’s first foray into the
media. For a number of years she has hosted several radio shows in New York City,
and her book, The Immigrant’s Way, is now in its fifth edition. In addition to offering a
comprehensive history of immigration to the United States and the related laws and
regulations that determine legal status, it is a how-to manual that offers glimpses of
the poverty, loss, and injustice Wong has experienced.
Wong faces every day with her ferocious work ethic, resourcefulness, experience,
and compassion. An early riser since her cafeteria job days, she is the first to arrive at
the office – when she is in town. Recently she spent Monday in New York, Tuesday in
Atlanta, Wednesday in Cleveland, Thursday in Nashville, and Friday in Columbus. That
said, Wednesday night dinners are sacred for Wong and her family, several generations
of whom eventually moved to Shaker Heights. A resident for 23 years, Wong continues
to appreciate the diversity and kindness of the people in the community, as well as its
proximity to her office.
From being among the first non-U.S. citizens to practice law in Ohio to being
named the first Chinese-American president of the Federal Bar Association’s
Northeastern Chapter, Wong has received many honors and appointments. Chief
among them are her induction into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, charter
membership in the Ohio Supreme Court’s Continuing Legal Education Commission,
an Outstanding Alumni Award from the State University of New York Buffalo, and
the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. She serves on many boards, including those of her undergraduate and graduate schools,
Cuyahoga Community College, Global Cleveland, Notre Dame College, and United Way, and is a gracious philanthropist to
the institutions that gave her life direction and meaning.
Wong believes “that any great lawyer needs to have a clear and healthy mind and a healthy body, and always
be in a state of gratitude and joy when she works with her clients. No matter how tired we are, we fight. We keep
our clients in our country and do whatever will fit within the confines of the law. Their pain becomes our pain, their
successes are our success.”
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