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BOLD Bellmore attorney wins the 'Gold'
Before settling into life as a resident of Bellmore over 30 years ago, Linda Nanos traveled the world and lived in countries such as Mexico, Spain and Germany.
But today Ms. Nanos is firmly planted as a practicing attorney in Nassau County, having a law practice in Hempstead specializing in immigration matters.
Ms. Nanos said, “I was a language major in college. I lived in a few different countries. I knew what it was like to not know the language, so I was empathetic to people in America that don’t know the language.
“But a deeper motivation comes from an interview I did with my grandmother in fifth grade for an assignment. I still remember her stories and how impressed I was that a 13-year-old girl would travel on a ship across the ocean to a place that she was not familiar with at all. She suffered terrible hardships that motivated her to immigrate, and she worked hard in the U.S. This is the greatest reason why I have compassion for immigrants.”
Ms. Nanos combined this compassion with her language background and love of court and became an immigration lawyer.
The Nassau County Bar Association (NCBA) has recently presented Ms. Nanos with this year’s President’s Award for her outstanding dedication to Bridge Over Language Divides (BOLD).
BOLD was launched by the NCBA in 2009 in response to the changing ethnic diversity of Nassau County. “This is a different Nassau than I grew up in,” said Ms. Nanos.
BOLD serves to enhance the NCBA’s ability to work with non-English speaking communities. Ms. Nanos helped BOLD incorporate Language Line, which is capable of translating calls in 170 languages.
“The first challenge we were presented with after installing the Language Line was the earthquake in Haiti. We had people on the taskforce that spoke Creole and French, so we were able to advise people in need,” said Ms. Nanos. An educational seminar was presented in these languages discussing Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
BOLD also offers a mock U.S. citizenship interview, free-of-charge, for those trying to gain American citizenship. It also holds a Senior Citizen Clinic, which is a cause especially close to Ms. Nanos’s heart.
“It makes me think of my grandmother. She came to the U.S. at age 13. She had a heavy accent and never spoke English very well. She would have benefited from a Senior Citizen Clinic,” she said.
BOLD doesn’t just deal with immigration. It is also concerned with real estate, criminal defense, and providing education to attorneys if new treaties are passed.
Other accomplishments Ms. Nanos is proud of, aside from her contributions to BOLD, include raising two children with her husband, who is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of the Bellmores. Their daughter works in the entertainment industry, and their son just graduated from law school.
Ms. Nanos also wrote a novel titled “The Minor Respondent” about 13 years ago. She used certain clients for inspiration, including some who had escaped from civil wars in other countries.
Ms. Nanos has achieved a great deal of success and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. She concluded, “I want to continue to work with BOLD and be an immigration lawyer. It’s been a rewarding career, and I couldn’t ask for more.”
