Lawyers & Staff

Brian Aust, Attorney

Brian Aust has been a practicing attorney for more than 20 years. He graduated from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul in May 2000 and was admitted to the Minnesota State Bar in October 2000. He is also admitted to practice before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Federal District Court of Minnesota.

Brian works on all types of immigration cases. He represents individuals in family based immigration matters (marriage cases, fiancé(e) and other petitions), people applying for asylum, employment based immigration including H-1B and Labor Certifications, removal (deportation) defense and naturalization. Brian also has a special interest in representing GLBT clients. Read More >

Malinda Schmiechen, Attorney

For over twenty years, Malinda has been dedicated to improving the lives of people born outside the United States. Malinda understands the stress and strain of living outside your home country and traveling abroad. She has lived in the former Yugoslavia and Poland and has visited countries in Africa, Central America, Asia and Europe.

Prior to going into private practice, Malinda was a staff attorney with The Advocates for Human Rights in the Refugee and Immigrant Program. Read More >

Erna Osmanovic, Paralegal

Erna Osmanovic graduated from Hamline University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies, Women’s Studies and Social Justice. Erna spent her time as a student working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence. As a first generation immigrant, she is passionate about immigration law and assisting other immigrants in their own journey.Read More >

Helen Johnson, Paralegal

Helen Johnson graduated from Vassar College in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Hispanic Studies, and Music Performance. Helen spent her time as a student studying the various ways in which the laws of the United States work against immigrants and people of color, which led her to become interested in immigration law and criminal defense.Read More >

Anaid Plascencia, Paralegal

Anaid Plascencia graduated from Hamline University in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Global Studies and a TEFL Certificate. She was also the commencement speaker for the 2019 Hamline Undergraduate ceremony. For over two years, she has been active in the Latino community of the Twin Cities as an Adult Education Teacher with Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio, Read More >