Glenn Mandel ’81

Glenn Mandel '81 describes his journey to entering law as “through the back door rather than the front door.” Mandel is an attorney specializing in business immigration whose work focuses on helping businesses navigate the complexities of employment-based visas, such as H-1B, and family immigration matters. Mandel’s career path into law was unconventional, beginning with international recruiting and ultimately leading him to law school. 

During his time at Knox, Mandel had some impactful experiences that defined his intellectual growth. One such moment was in his first term in 1977, when the First-Year Preceptorial requirement was first introduced and was to be taken for all three terms. He was confident in his writing skills but was shocked to receive a C- on his first paper. He rewrote the paper after consulting with his professor and following his comments and earned a B-. ”Knox is about helping you go from a C- to a B-or a B- to an A-. It’s about teaching you how to learn, how to write, and how to think independently,” he said.

At Knox, Mandel recalls several professors who profoundly influenced him, including George Appleton Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Lance Factor, who helped him consider ideas that challenged his perceptions, and build strong arguments, and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology Jon G. Wagner, who helped him hone skills like persuasive writing and research. Mandel remains in touch with these mentors even now and values the role they played in shaping him.

Mandel and his wife were initially involved in recruiting foreign workers, including nurses and therapists, to work in the United States. Despite not being an attorney, Mandel was quick about the immigration process, which was the bottleneck for most cases and a lot of clients from other companies asked him to manage it.

As their business shifted to focus solely on immigration, Mandel decided to pursue law school at the Concord Law School to better serve his clients. “Law school became a necessity rather than an option,” Mandel explained. 

Now, as an attorney, Mandel’s practice spans complex legal processes like the H-1B lottery,  where employers sponsor skilled international professionals for employment in the United States. He guides employers and candidates through each step of this process.

Throughout this journey, his wife has been his partner. He met her at the University of Chicago while doing his masters where they were enrolled in the same program. “Her strength complements my weakness, and vice versa. Everything we’ve done, we did together,” he added.

Mandel now runs a family-oriented law practice, where his wife and he are partners and his children work remotely for his firm. His son, based in Rome, serves as a senior legal assistant, and his daughter, working from Israel, is a junior legal assistant. He describes this setup as “a dream come true.” 

“It’s 10 minutes of business and 50 minutes of personal talk. That’s the perfect balance,” he said.

Mandel encourages students to explore subjects outside their comfort zones. Reflecting on his own experience, he wishes he had taken a class he knew he wasn’t going to be good at,such as dance or pottery. “Years later, ballroom dancing became a fulfilling part of my life, and I never would’ve imagined it back then,” he added. 

Mandel also emphasizes honing writing skills. “Law is about telling stories,” he explained. “When I submit a brief to the court, I have to tell a story—about who you are, why you’re qualified, and how you fit into the position. Without the ability to write persuasively, you can’t do that.”

Mandel remains passionate about his work and has no plans to retire. He loves what he does and draws motivation from mentoring aspiring professionals and seeing his family actively involved in the practice. For him, the most rewarding aspect of his career is helping clients understand something complicated. “I love when I can give clients clarity about something confusing and see their relief—that ‘aha moment.’ I live for those,” he said. 

Looking ahead, he hopes to continue mentoring and creating opportunities for the next generation of legal professionals.