Attorneys

Robert H. Gibbs Founding Partner

Robert H. Gibbs has specialized since 1977 in immigration law, handling a wide variety of family, employment, citizenship, asylum, and deportation matters. His practice includes federal court litigation to remedy agency decisions (or failure to make them), as well as class actions to obtain relief for thousands of individuals. He has represented entities in a broad range of industries including software, health care, restaurants, manufacturing, agriculture, food processing, forest products, international trade, professional services, construction, sports, and the arts. Read More ›

Robert Pauw Founding Partner

Robert Pauw is a founding partner of Gibbs Houston Pauw. Since 1983 he has successfully represented thousands of individuals and businesses in immigration cases.

Mr. Pauw has extensive experience in all aspects of immigration law and is nationally known for his focus on immigration-related litigation.

Benjamin Cornell Partner

Ben Cornell became a partner at Gibbs Houston Pauw after spending five years as a sole practitioner specializing in immigration law. With a prior practice focusing largely on detained representation, he brings the experience of trying hundreds of cases in immigration court to the firm. Ben additionally served on the Board of Directors for AID (Advocates for Immigrants in Detention) Northwest from 2017 to 2018, participating in fundraising and temporary housing efforts for immigrants recently released from the Northwest ICE Processing Facility.

Adam W. Boyd Partner

Adam Boyd joined Gibbs Houston Pauw with eight years of experience as a skilled immigration attorney. He has dedicated his career to helping immigrants and the underprivileged. Adam understands the challenges and hopes that accompany any immigration story, and his passion and dedication to protecting immigrants’ rights have allowed him to help many individuals and families get their best possible start in the United States.

Emily Simcock Associate

Ms. Simcock joined Gibbs Houston Pauw in October 2019. She is originally from Auckland, New Zealand.

Prior to joining Gibbs Houston Pauw, Emily worked as a Legal Fellow at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project in Tacoma, Washington. In this role, she assisted unaccompanied minors, asylum seekers, and survivors of domestic violence and crime in obtaining various forms of immigration relief.

Fiona McKinnon Associate

Fiona McKinnon joined Gibbs Houston Pauw in April 2021. She is originally from Kalispell, Montana. Prior to joining the firm, Fiona worked overseas in Ethiopia, Egypt, Italy, and Mexico. She taught on the law faculty of Bahir Dar University, served as a Research Fellow at a legal institute in Sicily, and represented asylum seekers in UNHCR interviews in Cairo, among other roles.

Minda A. Thorward Associate

Minda Thorward has been practicing law since 2006. She is licensed to practice in the State of Washington, the District of Columbia, the District of Maryland, and the Western District of Washington. She has been exclusively practicing in the immigration field since 2014. Before joining Gibbs Houston Pauw, Ms. Thorward worked as a sole practitioner in the Greater Seattle Area. She is regarded as a removal defense expert both in the detained and non-detained contexts and has presented at many local and national immigration law conferences.