Our Team
Joel Coxander (Sanderson)
Founding Attorney
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Before starting MIRA, Joel worked at Ozment Law, one of the preeminent immigration and civil rights firms in the region. He previously completed a federal clerkship with Judge Jane B. Stranch of the Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Joel also worked in human rights law for the war crimes courts for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Immediately after law school, he managed a women's rights organization in Tanzania called Inherit Your Rights.
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Sanderson attended law school at the University of Virginia School of Law and graduated in 2012. He is a member of the Tennessee and Virginia state bars.
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Joel is committed to protecting immigrant rights. Americans often treat immigrants as though they are not people. This is a human rights and civil rights problem that we must fix.
Faisal Tayyab
Attorney
Faisal received a BA in Political Science from Wayne State University and his law degree from the University of Miami Florida. Faisal has been practicing immigration law since 2013 and is a member of the Florida Bar and the Michigan Bar. He is originally from Pakistan but mostly grew up in Michigan. He is fluent in Urdu and Hindi as well as understands Punjabi well. Faisal enjoys working at MIRA Legal because he appreciates his colleagues, serving others, and making a difference in the immigrant community in Nashville.
Blanca Sanchez
Paralegal
A native of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Blanca was raised in Atlanta, Georgia and moved to Nashville in the Spring of 2008. Prior to working at MIRA Legal, Blanca volunteered with the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition. In response to the need for honest servants and fair treatment of the immigrant community, Blanca completed a Paralegal Certificate Course at Tennessee State University in the Summer of 2018. She also received certified training offered by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and TIRRC for accreditation from the Department of Justice as a non-attorney representative before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Grecia Esquivias
Receptionist and Legal Assistant
The oldest of three, Grecia was born in Puebla, Mexico but moved to the United States when she was one year old. After living in Santa Ana, California for some time, she and her family moved to Nashville in 2005. In Nashville, she was granted DACA and began participating in immigrant rights advocacy events. Due to her personal experiences with immigration, Grecia is excited to be part of MIRA Legal’s team. She is very interested in learning more about immigration law to be able to further help and advocate for her community. Grecia is happily married and is proud of coming from a single mother household.
Illeana Sanchez
Administrative Support Specialist
Ileana received her BS in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras and a Master’s in Chemical and Physical Biology from Vanderbilt University. She is originally from Puerto Rico but moved to Nashville in 2007. Ileana enjoys working at MIRA Legal because she is passionate about serving others and helping immigrant people navigate the process of gaining legal status in the United States. She is grateful and proud to have the opportunity to serve others, be a mother of two beautiful kids, and fulfill all the other roles in her life.
CONTACT US
Call: 615-307-6472
Text: 615-933-8537
Fax: 615-577-0766
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486 Bell Road, Suite B
Nashville, Tennessee 37217
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