Shaju
Jacob
Managing Partner
Shaju Jacob is the Managing Partner of Ellis Porter, where he works alongside the firm’s leadership team to shape its strategic direction, strengthen its culture, and continue building on the client-first approach that has defined the firm from the beginning. He also maintains an active role in the firm’s corporate immigration practice, helping employers navigate complex work visa and employment-based green card matters.
A large part of Shaju’s work today is focused on the people and systems that make Ellis Porter successful. Working closely with the firm’s Executive Leadership Team and partners, he helps foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement. His focus is on creating an environment where attorneys and staff can do their best work and where every client receives the same thoughtful, responsive, high-quality experience, regardless of who they work with.
Shaju has helped lead many of the firm’s most important transformations, including operational improvements, technology adoption, and new approaches to collaboration and client service. He enjoys bringing people together around a shared goal, finding common ground, and helping turn good ideas into meaningful change. He believes the strongest organizations are built not by one person, but by people working together toward something they believe in.
Shaju is also one of Ellis Porter’s ambassadors to the broader immigration community. He enjoys speaking with clients, colleagues, industry partners, and other professionals about immigration and the people and businesses it touches. A natural communicator and teacher, he has a particular talent for making complex issues understandable and approachable.
As the son of Indian immigrants, he was introduced early to the courage, sacrifice, and determination that are often part of the immigrant experience. His parents’ journey initially inspired his interest in immigration, but over the course of his career, it has been his clients who have continued to inspire him.
Their stories reflect what Shaju sees as the enduring immigrant ethos: the courage to leave behind the familiar, the willingness to take a risk in pursuit of something better, the determination to build a new life, and the desire to create greater opportunities for those who come next. He believes those qualities are not only central to the American story—they are among the reasons immigration has been such a powerful force in the growth and evolution of the United States.
Shaju views immigration as one of America’s greatest competitive advantages, a “secret weapon” that brings talent, ambition, entrepreneurship, innovation, and new perspectives to the country. His work is ultimately about helping people and organizations make the most of that opportunity.
Outside the office, Shaju enjoys martial arts, reading, all things Detroit, and anything with Velveeta on it. It’s cheese and he will die on that hill.
- EDUCATION Wayne State University Law School (J.D., 2001)
Wayne State University (B.A., Biology, 1998) - PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES American Immigration Lawyers Association
South Asian Bar Association of Michigan (Past President) - BAR ADMISSIONS State Bar of Michigan
- AWARDS dBusiness Top Lawyers (2016)
Super Lawyers Rising Star (2008, 2013, 2014, 2015)
Corp! Magazine Diversity Business Leader (2009)