John Flanagan
Principal / Founding Attorney
Contact
+1 (510) 916-4466
info@flanagan.legal
Languages
English, Spanish, French
Bar Admissions
California
U.S. District Court – E.D. Cal
U.S. District Court – N.D. Cal
U.S. Court of Appeals – Ninth Circuit
Education
UC Berkeley School of Law
Juris Doctor
Public Interest & Social Justice Certificate
Georgetown University
Bachelor of Science – Foreign Service
International Political Economy
Magna Cum Laude
Flanagan Legal is a cutting-edge immigration law practice founded by John Flanagan to provide creative solutions to complex immigration challenges.
As a California State Bar Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law, John is well versed in all areas of immigration, with a focus on humanitarian and family-based immigration. Since graduating from U.C. Berkeley School of Law, John has represented families and individuals from all across the globe.
Far from shying away from tough cases, John firmly believes that everyone deserves safety and belonging, no matter their background or experience.
Prior to founding Flanagan Legal, John worked for six years at Becker & Lee LLP, a preeminent local immigration firm that was selected to participate in a federally-funded universal representation program for individuals with serious mental illness. Leveraging his preexisting criminal law background, John has developed an expertise in cases with a connection to mental health and criminal law.
At Flanagan Legal, clients are more than the worst thing that happened to them or that they have done. No matter the type of case, John brings a trauma-informed and non-judgmental approach to his work.
John is bilingual in French and has full professional working proficiency in Spanish.
Honors, Awards, Positions
CBP Co-Liaison for American Immigration Lawyers Association, Northern California Chapter (2021-Present)
Patricia Barragan
Paralegal
A graduate of UCLA with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy, Patricia also obtained a paralegal certificate from SFSU. She is the daughter of an immigrant parent and is acutely aware of how immigration laws shape the lives of her community.
Beyond preparing the forms and evidence necessary to build a case, Patricia works directly with clients to tell their story in a compelling and persuasive way. She has a wide variety of experience in different immigration matters, including removal defense, affirmative benefits with USCIS, and consular processing.
Patricia is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Daianna Cristerna
Office Manager
Born in Hayward, California, to immigrant parents, Daianna moved to Mexico with her mother and brother when she was only eight years old. She lived most of her childhood and teenage years in her mother’s hometown of Santa Rosa de Lima, Jalisco, Mexico.
When Daianna was eighteen years old, she decided to move back to the United States. She left behind her family and friends in order to provide a better life and better opportunities for her and her family. Through her own journey, she witnessed the sacrifices and struggles of moving to another country. She understood how leaving everything you love and care about behind feels and she has firsthand experiences of what her parents and every other person immigrating to another country experience when they make the decision to immigrate. This experience has made her take the topic of immigration personally.
Daianna is fluent in both Spanish and English.