About Us
Where we are
Our team works 100% remotely and we meet our clients virtually via videoconferencing.
Team LJD Law’s office is located in the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, in a place that we now call Toronto. The Team is grateful to be in these lands where we acknowledge that immigration has a historical and a continuing direct impact on the indigenous populations of Turtle Island. We consciously strive that our work in immigration law be driven by the principles of reconciliation.
How we work
Team LJD Law is a collaborative law firm. This means, we work with our clients in their matters. We take pride in our ability to be flexible to the needs of our clients through technology-driven solutions.
Meet the Team
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Lou Janssen Dangzalan
FOUNDER
Languages:
Tagalog & English (native/C2), French (professional/C1), Spanish (intermediate/B1)
About:
Lou brings his diverse personal and professional background in his immigration law practice.
His area of focus are in economic immigration and family reunification. He assists temporary residents in finding routes to permanent residence in Canada. A large part of his immigration law practice involves Federal Court of Canada litigation involving temporary residence refusals and misrepresentation findings.
Lou has appeared before various committees at both chambers of the Parliament of Canada: the House of Commons, as well as the Senate, as an invited expert witness.
Lou has constantly appeared in Canadian and Filipino media, in English, French, and Tagalog (see Media Appearances).
Outside work, Lou loves weightlifting, solo travel, and exploring local culture and cuisine.
Education:
Bachelors in Sociology, University of Santo Tomas
Master of Arts in Global Politics (Graduate Scholar), Ateneo de Manila University
Master of Social Sciences (Research Scholar), National University of Singapore
Licence en droit (droit civil), Université d’Ottawa
Juris Doctor (common law), University of Ottawa
Affiliations:
Founding Member, former Vice President for Policy, Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA)
Canadian Bar Association (CBA), Immigration Law Section
Artificial Intelligence Monitor for Immigration in Canada and Internationally (AIMICI)
Socials:
[image credit: William Garcia]
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Carmelo "C.J." Ramos
CASE MANAGER
Languages:
Tagalog (native/C2), English (native/C2)
About:
Carmelo, or CJ, is the firm's immigration case manager based in Manila, Philippines. He has a passion for humanitarian work. He is detail oriented and hardly anything escapes his attention in reviewing our files.
He previously worked as one of the Philippine Red Cross’s national project officers under the National Society Development project, funded by the American Red Cross.
His father being an overseas Filipino worker, CJ cares greatly for migrant workers. He works towards the reunification of migrants/immigrants and their families, knowing the hardships of being separated from loved ones.
Outside work, CJ loves music and has a strange interest in retro video games.
Education:
Bachelors in Diplomacy and International Relations, with specializations in East and Southeast Asian Studies, Ateneo de Manila University
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Albertson "Chon" Otchengco
ARTICLING STUDENT
Languages:
Tagalog (native/C2), English (native/C2)
About:
Albertson, or “Chon,” is a licenced lawyer in the Philippines. He joined LJD Law as a law student having immigrated from the Philippines recently.
He focuses his work on economic and business immigration, as well as on complex matters such as inadmissibility, sponsorships, and applications on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Before joining LJD Law, Chon worked as a business lawyer, representing Philippine and international corporations across diverse industries, including data, energy, technology, crowdfunding, and construction, and working on contracts valued at upwards of 200 Million Pesos (4.7M CAD / 3.5M USD).
His passion for advocacy began in law school, where he worked in the field of human rights, assisting fellow Filipinos with socio-economic issues such as reproductive health, bullying, drug policies, and poverty.
Outside of work, Chon enjoys keeping up with global news and economic trends, spending time with family, playing basketball and video games, and reading manga.
Education:
Professional LLM in Canadian Common Law, Osgoode Hall Law School
Juris Doctor, University of the Philippines
Bachelor of Arts Major in Applied Psychology, University of the Philippines
Affiliations:
Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA)
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)
Socials:
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Andrew Koltun
OF-COUNSEL / LEGAL CONSULTANT
Languages:
English (native/C2)
About:
Andrew is a practising immigration and refugee lawyer. He is based in the Niagara Region in Ontario. Andrew is a strong believer in open borders for all.
At LJD Law, Andrew worked on a diversity of immigration and refugee files, ranging from complex temporary resident visa applications to “crimmigration” (the intersection of criminal and immigration law) with inadmissibility and removal issues. He also has strong foundations in working on applications involving humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Andrew has appeared in immigration stories in the Canadian media. He has also testified before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
Prior to joining LJD Law, Andrew worked as a student caseworker with the immigration division of the Community Legal Services of Ottawa. He also worked as a research assistant at the Refugee Hub where he supported federal court litigation on issues bridging criminal law and immigration law.
Education:
Bachelors in Political Science and History (honours), Wilfrid Laurier University
Master of Arts in Global Governance, University of Waterloo
Juris Doctor, University of Ottawa
Affiliations:
Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL)
Canadian Bar Association (CBA), Immigration Section
Junior Refugee & Immigration Lawyers Network (JRILN)
Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA
Law and Mental Disorder Association
Artificial Intelligence Monitor for Immigration in Canada and Internationally (AIMICI)
Socials: