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The Mouth that Pours

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Invacare, the Elyria medical-supply company, might fit into this category. "Everybody tells me her price is not low, but she's very professional and she knows what's she doing," CEO Malachi Mixon says.

A local woman who retained Wong to represent her brother in a deportation matter says that Wong is not cheap, but neither was the competition she interviewed. "I wasn't concerned that I spent the amount of money that I did, once [Wong] actually got the work done for me," she says.

The woman's brother escaped deportation and now has his green card. The woman, who did not wish to be named, appreciated Wong's optimism and respectfulness throughout the process. "I was totally impressed with the way she communicated with me, even though I'm 25 years old. She treated me as equal, as she would treat anybody 40 years old."

Hugh Wilson, a Jamaican reggae artist, also credits Wong with being accessible and personable. Wilson says that Wong spent hours with him, plotting a course for him to stay in this country, before money was discussed. "She's always ready to do what she can for people," he says. "I would recommend her to anyone and everyone."

Wong suggests that her fees are an issue because the competition is overwhelmed by her colossal reputation. "They cannot say I am not great, because I am great," she says.

But a local church leader with no apparent motive to hurt Wong's business says she takes advantage of the vulnerable. Chor-Bishop Khachan advises the immigrants he knows -- Maronites are Lebanese and Syrian, typically -- to seek counsel from someone other than Wong. "People who come from overseas have nothing," he says. "They work hard to get a few dollars to be able to live. She doesn't have no feelings. She is 100 percent business, and her business is too high. She charges too much."

Khachan adds: "I want to be fair to her. Nobody is asking them to go to see her. Many times I give the names of other lawyers. They wind up [at Wong's office]."

It has been suggested that some clients wind up with Wong because she promotes herself as having pull with authorities. "She would represent to clients that she had some influence with Immigration [and Naturalization Services] to get them to retain the firm," Kálnoki said in deposition. Scene spoke with two former clients of Wong's who support this claim but did not want to be identified. "She said she could get things done," one said.

Wong is at least optimistic. The woman whose brother was nearly deported says she felt initially that Wong "was sugar-coating things, quite honestly." But the service provided did prove to be sweet. "Once she tells you that she's going to get something done, she actually does it for you," the woman says.

Wong does not say that she peddles influence; rather, she says she has knowledge. "I know all of them," she says, speaking of immigration authorities. "I work with them for 30 years. And in the meantime, they all switch, like, you know, State Department people who went from Korea to Mexico to the Philippines. We know them. We know who to call. We know how to get the job done. That's why I'm the best in the country."

At this point, McLaughlin steps in. "Well, hopefully, your experience and the fact that you've done it so many times, and you know people, and you've been there and battled --"

"Absolutely," Wong says.

"-- It serves you well. Yeah, so, that's fine. Next question."

In mailing her prying survey to immigration lawyers, Wong claimed to want to "better understand what makes us immigration lawyers do what we do."

But the lawyer who seems to intrigue Margaret Wong most is Margaret Wong.

"As a fellow immigration lawyer for over twenty-five years now," the cover letter began, "I have seen the triumphs and tribulations of immigration law. As my children prepare to go to off to college, and as a mother over fifty years of age, I begin to reflect what it is that makes immigration attorneys spend long hours away from family and other priorities to continue to practice immigration law in the face of the adversity that is ever-present in our field.

"Each morning when I arrive at the law firm, I wonder to myself what incentives drive me to forge ahead, come to the firm every morning, review new files, and fight for a client's rights so valiantly. Answers to these questions are hard to come by, and so, I would like to enlist your help."

Whatever Wong learned from her survey, she has not shared much to date. Her May newsletter printed only a small portion of the results (4 answers to 39 questions) and gave no indication of how many attorneys responded. It is hard to imagine that a great many would part easily with the personal and proprietary information solicited. One area immigration attorney who received the survey speculates that Wong wanted to learn what lawyers make good money and, therefore, pose a threat. Survey results, the attorney adds, might also serve to boost Wong's ego. Who, after all, can claim more employees than the surveyor?

Indeed, for all her board appointments and free seminars, reciprocity does not appear to be a strong suit of Wong's. As a football coach, she would not be the sort to distribute post-victory game balls to her players. She is proud of a recent case in which her firm argued successfully that a fifth-degree felony charge of drug possession was not grounds for deportation, but in recounting the win, she still manages to belittle a subordinate: "It took me eight years to push one of our lawyers to get it," she says. "It took me eight years . . . If I had better lawyers, I could have done it in two years. Because I know Ohio. When you talk about good lawyers, I'm one of the best in the country."

So good, in fact, that in all these years, she has not found a lawyer worthy of partnership. Wong's initials and Wong's initials alone hang from the facade of the Chester Avenue building. "When the time is right, I will [bring on a partner]," she says. "On my own terms."

But you've been an attorney for a long time. You've never come close? she is asked.

"When I find the right people, I will. When the time comes, I will.

"I'm still one of the best in the world, and I like to hold it at that."

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