Nadia Yakoob has been practicing immigration law since 2000. She began her career as an associate at the world’s largest immigration law firm, where she spent eight years and worked in the firm’s New York, Brussels, and San Francisco offices. She then joined the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco as a staff attorney in the Court's immigration group. There, she reviewed challenges to final orders of removal and made recommendations to a panel of three federal judges each month on how these cases should be decided. After five years at the Court, Yakoob returned to private practice, and has been working primarily with startups, emerging companies, investors and entrepreneurs.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 100 Leading Immigration Lawyers | 2026 | Immigration Law, inc. Immigrants & Refugees |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 100 Leading Immigration Lawyers | 2025 | Immigration Law, inc. Immigrants & Refugees |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 100 Leading Immigration Lawyers | 2024 | Immigration Law, inc. Immigrants & Refugees |
Yakoob is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center (2000), where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal. She received a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics (1998), and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. She also was a Fulbright scholar at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.
In addition to her professional and educational background, Yakoob’s personal experiences shape her approach to her work and her clients. She immigrated to the U.S. with her family at the age of ten after living in Singapore, Malaysia, the UK and France. As an adult, she studied, interned, and worked abroad on different occasions and in different countries. She understands the challenges of migration and enjoys helping others through it.