Area of Practice: Employment Law, Civil & Commercial Litigation, Human Rights Elsy has been practicing law since 1999. After earning a Ph.D. at the University of Calgary, a M.sc. at the University of Montreal and an LL.B. at the University of Ottawa in the French Common Law program, Elsy completed her LL.M. Elsy practised in the area of civil litigation with a focus on complex commercial and contractual disputes, employment law, disciplinary proceedings, human rights, and linguistic rights. After several years of private practice in various jurisdictions, Elsy accepted a position as in-house counsel for Alberta’s largest regulatory electricity transmission company and then became General Counsel for a private equity firm. Elsy’s knowledge and experience in law have been used to benefit her clients in various industries and sectors. Elsy appeared in all levels of Alberta and Manitoba courts, the Federal Court and the Supreme Court in British Columbia. Elsy has published several articles and was formerly a university lecturer in the areas of social work, sociology, legal studies and law. Elsy has been active in a number of organizations addressing issues such as violence against women, and human trafficking. Elsy has served as a member and chair of the Board of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, member of Board of Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba and member of the Board of Mental Health Association of Manitoba. She is currently a member of the Board of the Association for Women Lawyers, a member of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta and a member of the Canadian Bar Association – Business Law (South). She is also a member of the Law Society’s Lawyer Referral. Elsy has been politically appointed by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce to serve on the Federal Board of Referees – Board of the Employment Insurance, and by the Alberta Lieutenant Governor in Council as a public member on the Board of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta. She has been nominated as a chair of the statutory appeal process of the Board of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta. Elsy is fluent in both English and French. Elsy has a keen interest for issues relating to women’s rights and constitutional minority language rights ever since she moved to Calgary in 1989. Elsy Gagné has over 24 years of litigation experience in Manitoba, British Columbia, and Alberta. She focuses her practice on estate litigation, breach of contract in construction, commercial and corporate settings, and employment law. She has many years of experience working with large companies and lenders, and now uses her skills to advocate for linguistic rights, women’s rights and individuals making claims for human rights issues. She has conducted trials at the Court of King’s Bench in Alberta and Manitoba, Court of Justice in Alberta, and the Supreme Court of British Columbia. She has also appeared before the Alberta and Manitoba Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada as intervenor. In her litigation practice, she truly cares about her clients and has their best interest at heart. Before and during her practice, Elsy Gagné has been teaching numerous university classes at the University of Montreal, the University of Calgary, the University of Manitoba, and the University of the College of Saint-Boniface for many years as a sociologist, lawyer, and lecturer.

Michael W. Gahagan is the owner of Gahagan Law Firm, LLC, The Immigration Law Firm of New Orleans. Mr. Gahagan practices Immigration Law and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) law exclusively in federal courts and federal immigration courts nationwide. Mr. Gahagan was selected by Super Lawyers as a 2015, 2016, and 2017 Super Lawyers Rising Star. Mr. Gahagan has been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) since 2008 and the AILA Federal Litigation Section since 2013; and Mr. Gahagan has been the AILA Mid-South Chapter Federal Court Litigation Chairman since 2013. Mr. Gahagan has also been an AILA National Committee Member on the Distance Learning Committee since 2017. In addition to holding positions within AILA, Mr. Gahagan is consistently invited to be an expert speaker at AILA conventions nationwide on the topics of immigration law, federal immigration litigation, FOIA and FOIA litigation.

Arnold S. Gaines is a co-founder of Gaines Nolan Injury Law Firm, PLLC. He is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia Bars. Arnold primary practice areas are personal injury, civil rights, employment discrimination and general civil litigation. He has litigated cases across the United States in both Federal and State courts. Prior to founding his own firm, Law Offices of A. Gaines, PLLC, he worked for notable attorneys, Willie E Gary, Lorenzo Williams, the Late Jonny Cochran, and Benjamin Crump. A native Floridian, born and raised in the City of Fort Pierce, Arnold earned his B.S. from Howard University (1990). M.S. from Barry University (1998) and his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law (2002). Known as a natural advocate for the underdog and his community, Arnold has served as a voter’s right protection attorney since 2002 and provided numerous pro bono services for his community. His dedication led him to being elected as a City of Fort Pierce City Commissioner in 2022. Arnold’s awards are numerous; however, he is most proud of being a father of 3 and father figure of many in his community. Other milestones include being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama in 2016. Being named Man of the Year by the Florida Statewide Organization of Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. In 2018. Omega Man of the year by the Omicron Tau Chapter, 2014, 2016 and 2018. Community Service Award for Eckerd Connect and the AME Lay organization. Arnold’s passion outside of practicing law is coaching. In 2021 and 2022 he was chosen Coach of the year by Northside Little League softball players. However, Arnold’s greatest honor is being referred to by his formal clients to represent their family, friends, and associates. I am ready to work for you and your family.

Paul earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in European History from Washington & Lee University. In 1987, Paul fell in love with his future wife, Anne Crow, a Sweet Briar College student from Little Rock, Arkansas. Paul earned a Master of Arts in the study of European History from James Madison University in 1992. The History Department at James Madison recognized Paul’s work by awarding him a position as Student Teacher for two sections of U.S. History 101 during the 1991-1992 school year, and by honoring him after graduation with the Carlton B. Smith Award for Outstanding Graduate Thesis. Paul began his legal studies at the University of Kentucky in the Fall of 1992. Paul’s writing instructor and mentor at Kentucky was the Director of the Kentucky public defender system. Paul spent his next two summers as an intern with the public defender, interviewing clients and witnesses, accompanying attorneys in court, and ghost-writing appellate pleadings. Following his graduation in 1995 and his acceptance to the Kentucky State Bar, Paul immediately began working as a Public Defender in Lexington, Kentucky in Fayette County, a jurisdiction of 250,000. As a Public Defender, Paul successfully represented clients charged with every degree of crime, including DUI, assault, hit and run, rape, burglary, larceny, drug distribution, and murder. In December 1997, Paul successfully defended Louis Lamont Martin, an 18-year-old charged with capital murder and robbery, and kept him from receiving the death penalty. In 1998, Paul accepted a position as a prosecutor for the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General in the Special Prosecutions Division. The six-member Special Prosecution team handled high-profile and sensitive cases from all across Kentucky, with an emphasis on public corruption, capital murder, white collar crime, and election fraud. In 2001, Paul and his wife Anne moved their family back to Virginia where Paul took a post as a Virginia Assistant Attorney General. For the next five years, Paul represented the Commonwealth in criminal appeals, appearing in multiple cases before the Virginia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Virginia, as well as in the federal district courts in Virginia and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. And as a member of the Capital Appeals Unit, Paul was counsel for the Commonwealth in over a dozen death penalty cases before the Virginia Supreme Court. In 2003, Paul was trained and admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and, in the following years, successfully handled two Petitions for Certiorari filed in the United States Supreme Court seeking to overturn death penalty cases in Virginia. In 2005, Paul left the Attorney General’s Office and assumed a position as Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for the County of Henrico, Virginia. For the next 9 years, Paul was a front-line prosecutor, handling everything from speeding tickets to capital murder. In November 2014, Paul took his vast experience in criminal law and entered the private sector for the first time, forming the Law Office of Paul C. Galanides, P.C. Calling upon his years of contacts with Virginia’s prosecutors and police, Paul began successfully defending clients in criminal cases throughout central Virginia. In 2016, Paul combined his practice with that of former Virginia General Assembly Delegate and renowned local criminal defense attorney, Joe Morrissey, and the two operated as Morrissey and Associates in Highland Springs, Virginia. Paul ran Joe's law office when Joe made his run for Richmond Mayor in the Fall of 2016. Over the next two years, Joe and Paul became a formidable team that successfully defended their clients against the most serious of criminal charges throughout central Virginia. In May 2018, Paul Galanides joined Carlson and Collier to help his friend David L. Carlson ease out of his active law practice. David's guidance and experience was inspiring and his battle with cancer heroic. He will be sorely missed. Now, Paul has re-located his law practice. He brings with him 27 years of experience in every aspect of the criminal law. Paul has established a reputation for his professional performance in court, his extensive knowledge of the law, and his aggressive representation of his clients. Paul Galanides will expertly guide you through the legal minefield, whether it is in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, General District Court, Circuit Court, the federal courts, or the Virginia Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.