Hackley & Serrone clients are greeted by our bilingual receptionist whose goal is to make our clients and guests feel comfortable and at home. Every member of our staff understands that the client’s interests always come first and that our success as a law firm comes through hard work, experience, and honest communications with our client. The diversity of the firm allows us to accommodate clients in the Spanish, Italian, French, and German languages, which we find important to our goal of building long, lasting relationships with our clients.

Attorney M. Keil Hackley

M. Keil Hackley, Senior Partner, has 20 years of experience handling complex legal immigration matters. She has served as the Deputy Chief Counsel for the Immigration & Naturalization Service (now Department of Homeland Security) where she directed the in-house law firm of sixty-five trial lawyers and served as legal advisor to the District Director and his executive staff. Previously, Keil was a named partner of one of the largest immigration law firms in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where she focused on commercial immigration. Keil represents a diverse range of clients including international corporations, universities, and hospitals throughout the U.S. In addition, she is counsel to television production companies and has represented international Grammy award winners in immigration related issues.

Keil’s expertise is widely recognized by her peers, and she lectures at state-wide forums for lawyers and law enforcement officials. Keil also lectures at universities and law schools, and she participates as speaker at international conventions hosted by accounting and brokerage firms. Keil is often quoted in the media, and most recently, she was interviewed by WPLG ABC Channel 10 anchors on the controversial subject of high seas interdictions.

Keil is active in a large number of community and business groups. She is a founding Board Member of the Weston Business Chamber of Commerce, a Board Member and International Chair to the Rotary Club of Weston, and a founding Board Member of the Broward Professional Alliance..

Robert Serrone is the Managing Partner of Hackley & Serrone. His background is in the fields of law, mergers & acquisitions, corporate development, and finance. As an experienced corporate administrator, the firm relies on his oversight of and involvement in the matters affecting the management of the law firm.

Prior to joining Hackley & Serrone, Robert managed his own law practice, concentrating in the areas of general civil litigation and corporate law. He has represented a large number of clients in a broad range of complex commercial matters, and has extensive litigation experience.

Robert brings twenty-one years of experience to the firm, not only as an attorney, but also as a business intermediary who specializes in facilitating business purchases for international clients wishing to reside in the United States. Attorney Serrone has worked with such national companies as Prudential Securities where he had advised clients in the area of investments, asset management and estate planning. He has also served as Vice President of Finance for an international business brokerage firm.

With his extensive business background, Robert is ideally suited to advise foreign corporations, their principals and individuals on immigration business matters including: establishing new businesses in the United States whether by start up or purchase; immigration requirements for the transfer of multi national managers and executives to the US; and other immigration law issues affecting foreign business persons wishing to conduct business in the US.

His commitment is shown in his active involvement in the community as a Founding and active Member of the Weston Business Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he sits on the Council of Advisors for the International Business Council.

Robert received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Florida Atlantic University and attained his law degree (JD) from Florida State University. He is a member of the Florida Bar, and Federal Bar for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.

Summer Robertson is the newest Hackley & Serrone partner. Her experience with the firm handling nonimmigrant visa processing has allowed her to successfully participate in the resolution of some of the firm's more sophisticated and complex legal matters. Committed to giving back to the community, Summer is Vice President of Circle of Love South Florida, a group dedicated to helping kids with cancer, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Davie Units Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County. In addition, she has served as the South Florida Chapter Liaison for the AILA's Young Lawyer Division, AILA's Committee against the Unlawful Practice of Law, and the Broward County Guardian Ad Litem program.

Summer graduated from Nova Southeastern University (B.S., Dean's List) and Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center (JD, Cum Laude). While in law school, she was a member of the Moot Court Society and Team Leader of the ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law. She wrote an article on sea interdictions that was published in the ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law. She frequently lectures at universities in S. Florida. Her background as Executive Board Member and Founding Member of Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority and Member of Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity, and Historian Chair of the Legal Studies Foreign Exchange Program to London, England compliments her academic achievements. Summer is a member of the Florida Bar, the District of Colombia Bar, and the Federal Bar for the Southern Districts of Florida. She is also a founding member of the Weston Bar Association.

Attorney Daniel N. Vara, Jr., Of Counsel

Mr. Vara has been nationally recognized as one of the lead immigration authorities in the United States, and was previously the District/Chief Legal Counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), United States Department of Justice, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Miami Division, from 1990-2003.

As the primary government immigration attorney in the State of Florida, Mr. Vara managed and oversaw the litigation and legal advice efforts and activities of a staff of approximately 74 federal immigration attorneys. His responsibilities included both the prosecution and defense of immigration matters throughout the State of Florida. As the lead immigration attorney for the United States in Florida, Mr. Vara provided litigation support and assistance to the various offices of the United States Attorneys in the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida.

Mr. Vara, in his role with INS / ICE and working extensively with such agencies as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, was lead legal counsel and litigator on some of the highest profile immigration law cases in the United States. These cases have included human rights violations, organized crime, international narcotics trafficking, counterintelligence efforts, and counterterrorism matters. He was lead counsel or had an integral role in such cases as the prosecution of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, the Mazen Al Najjar classified evidence litigation, and the Imran Mandhai and Adham Hassoun counterterrorism cases. He also identified, developed, and litigated the novel legal theory which resulted in the 1999 precedent decision, In re: Jorge Luis Rodriguez, on the use of Foreign Agent Registration Act statutes to arrest and remove foreign espionage agents from the United States; a theory that has been used as the basis for many of the successful foreign agent criminal prosecution actions since then.

After being the head attorney for INS / ICE for 13 years in Miami, Mr. Vara was appointed as Chief Counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Orlando, Florida, and remained in that position for 3 years. In that role, he continued to provide oversight, management, and supervision to a staff of federal immigration attorneys, and continued developing significant litigation skills as lead counsel on a variety of federal law enforcement matters which included immigration, fraud, money laundering, human trafficking, violent crimes, and counterterrorism.

Mr. Vara has been legal advisor to high-level INS, ICE, and Chief Border Patrol Agent officials on immigration, asset forfeiture, personnel, and criminal matters. He is an experienced speaker, lecturer, and instructor, having lectured at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) conferences, and National Attorney Training Conferences. As a recognized and skilled litigator, he has been the primary instructor for National Level Courtroom Litigation Skills Training within INS and ICE, and has conducted national, regional, and local training, for federal, state and local law enforcement personnel on counterintelligence, counterterrorism, case investigation, and prosecution matters. In particular, and based on his close work with and success on behalf of the FBI, Mr. Vara was invited to be a recurring speaker at FBI counterintelligence agent training conferences on the use of the Immigration and Nationality Act in combating foreign espionage activities in the United States. In addition, Mr. Vara has been at the forefront of the national initiative to train and certify law enforcement officers and provide them with immigration enforcement authority.

Mr. Vara has traveled extensively throughout the United States, both lecturing and litigating on behalf of the federal government, and currently handles immigration cases throughout not only Florida, but the entire United States.

James D. Goldman is the President of James D. Goldman & Associates, a private investigative agency located in Weston, Florida. Jim's teaming agreement with Hackley & Serrone, P.A. enables him to take on the most difficult and complex immigration cases. Before retiring as District Director of the Miami Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of Homeland Security, formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Jim headed the National Security Section of the Investigations Division. Jim has lectured internationally on the subjects of organized crime and alien smuggling, and is frequently quoted by the media on matters involving immigration.

Grace Angelini is Director of Visa Operations and oversees the filing of all visa petitions, as well as providing expertise knowledge in the procedures of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. She is also a direct liaison with many of the firm's international Corporate Accounts. Born in Venezuela and educated in Italy, Grace is fluent in Spanish, Italian and English. She served as Vice Consul of the Dominican Republic for fifteen years and has a unique understanding of international relations and foreign government protocol, which enhances the firm's ability to engage in consular processing worldwide.

Stephanie Hamels, having joined Hackley Serrone, P.A. in 2003, holds the position of Technical Writer where she works directly with the three Partners in conducting legal research, writing immigration petitions, and editing technical articles for publication. Born in Lyon, France and raised and educated in Heidelberg, Germany, Stephanie brings with her a unique level of diversity and experience. Stephanie offers fluency in the French, German, and English languages enhancing the firm’s objective to make each client feel comfortable and at home while their case is pending. A 2001 graduate of Florida International University, North Campus, Stephanie was awarded her degree in Mass Communications and Journalism further adding to her proficiency in writing petitions for the O-1, extraordinary ability visa and H-1B, specialty worker visa. Stephanie's background also includes acceptance and participation in the Industrial Psychology Master's Program at FIU, where she began her master's studies in January of 2003 until joining Hackley & Serrone. Stephanie gives back to the community by donating her time to worthwhile projects sponsored by the Rotary Club of Weston, such as the Elder Program and the Hurricane Wilma Disaster Relief Project, as well as projects sponsored by the Broward Professional Alliance, including the Thanksgiving Day Outreach Program for the Homeless. She is an avid runner and enjoys Yoga.

Jose Torres joined Hackley & Serrone in 2005 as Administrator. He is responsible for meeting and greeting Hackley & Serrone clients and ensuring that their visit is all that they expect it to be. His fluency in both the Spanish and English languages allow him to make our Spanish-speaking clients at home and comfortable. Jose's college background in accounting enables him to work closely with the office manager in matters pertaining to finance. Desirous of climbing the ranks in the firm, Jose is pursuing certification as a paralegal at Florida Atlantic University. Jose continues his interest in weight training and is a Certified Personal Trainer.