Diane Cohen Haggiag, Esq. 

Immigration Attorney

Diane Cohen Haggiag, Esq. enjoys handling O-1 and Extraordinary Ability cases for a variety of different types of companies.  In particular, she has worked on a wide range of O-1 cases in the following categories: chef (culinary arts), entertainer, marketing executive, actress, fashion designer, model, hairstylist, musician/composer, writer, scientist and athlete.  She has a wealth of experience in handling cases in the fashion industry.

Diane is the Managing Attorney of our Los Angeles office. Born and raised in France, Diane originally came to the U.S. on a student visa and after going through the H1-B, spouse of L-1 and permanent resident status processes, as well as naturalization, now holds dual U.S. and French citizenship.  She is fluent in Spanish, French, and English and has basic reading skills in Hebrew.

She earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School in New York and also holds a “Maîtrise” (Master’s Degree) in Corporate and International Law from the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. After law school, Diane worked as a corporate associate at prominent international law firms (Debevoise & Plimpton in NY, Latham & Watkins in LA) where she worked on complex transactions such as mergers & acquisitions, private equity, project finance and IPOs.  Diane also handled pro bono cases at both firms including immigration law matters.

As a result of such experience, Diane decided to make a transition to immigration law.  She worked at a boutique immigration law firm in Los Angeles until an opportunity to become in-house General Counsel of a French fashion company came up.  During her tenure there, she was providing immigration advice to potential French immigrants and eventually decided to open her own immigration law practice.

Diane’s clients include small businesses and individuals, and her experience encompasses both immigrant and non-immigrant visas, family-based as well as employment-based applications.  She has managed a wide variety of cases in the following categories: E-2, F-1, J-1, H-1B, I-1, L1, O-1, EB1, EB3, as well as naturalization cases.

Diane was naturally drawn to immigration law.  As an immigrant herself, she understands her clients’ fears, manages their expectations and advocates for them to help them achieve their dreams. 

What she loves the most about immigration law is its multi-dimensional aspect: it transcends the legal interests of the client at stake and often translates into life-altering decisions for entire families; it seeks to safeguard national interests while it must take into account international and diplomatic relationships; it protects American workers and yet it recognizes in essence the need for cultural diversity and welcomes the economic contributions of foreigners.

Through immigration law, Diane is able to apply her knowledge of both of the world’s major legal systems: when she advises her European clients, she particularly enjoys explaining the U.S. legal concepts that they’re familiar with only through TV shows and that they’re highly afraid of.

In her free time, Diane enjoys traveling, biking, and skiing (the beauty of LA is that you can ski in the morning and go to the beach in the afternoon). Ever since moving to LA, her favorite hobby has become hiking the Malibu trails, where you can burn calories, suntan and admire gorgeous views all at once!

Her favorite movies are Working Girl, Grease and The Music Box.  The books she found particularly moving are The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs.  She enjoys listening to classical music and is an unconditional fan of Whitney Houston and Barbra Streisand.