Named one of the top immigration attorneys for start-ups by Business Insider and a Rising List Attorney by the National Association of Women Lawyers, Hiba M. Anver is a Partner with Erickson Immigration Group.

Her practice focus is primarily on the employment-based nonimmigrant visa and green card process and I-9 compliance. She leads an international team that manages clients in various industries, including tech, social media, e-sports, fintech, e-commerce, retail, medicine/oncology, investment, and education. She also advises corporate clients on complex immigration matters resulting from restructuring, including mergers, acquisitions, and reductions-in-force.

Hiba is widely respected within the immigration and mobility field. She has briefed congressional staffers on Capitol Hill and is frequently called upon to provide commentary to television/publication media outlets such as Bloomberg Live, CNBC, Business Insider, PBS Nightly Business Report, The SF Chronicle, Bloomberg Law, and Politico Pro, and is a frequent contributor to the EIG Immigration Nerds podcast, which she co-founded.

In December 2021, she joined The George Washington University College of Law’s Adjunct Faculty as Professorial Lecturer in Law. Previously, Hiba has also lectured at American University Washington College of Law, the George Washington University School of Law, and the University of Texas at Arlington, and participated as a panelist for AILA, BAMM, ERC, PLEN, SHRM, and CFGI events.  Her experience includes Appeals/Oral Argument before the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, Texas.

In 2022, Hiba received the 2022 Diversity in Business Award by the Washington Business Journal in recognition of her efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Hiba is the founder of EIG’s internal Women in the Law group, a regular meeting forum and mentorship platform which provides mentorship for other women attorneys and legal professionals at EIG. The group also serves as a platform to discuss issues of gender, diversity, and bias, as well as an opportunity to celebrate the strides and progress that women are making in all industries around the world.

The Power of Her Story: Storytelling as a Tool for Women’s Empowerment

In 2019, I founded a Women in the Law program at my company. I wanted it to give women attorneys and legal professionals a place for mentorship, for honest conversation about gender, diversity, and bias, and for celebrating women’s accomplishments. I came to see that storytelling was the most powerful tool for all three goals.

In this session, I share how the program grew from an idea into a speaker series of more than ten conversations with women leaders. They came from prosecution, federal service, public education, nonprofit advocacy, legal academia, international justice, and the U.S. Senate. Drawing on those conversations, I explore why it matters for professional women to share their journeys. Stories make bias visible, expand what feels possible, pass on the unwritten rules of a profession, and build connection across generations and cultures. I highlight themes that came up again and again: breaking barriers and claiming identity, navigating career pivots and crises, and advocating for vulnerable communities at home and abroad.  

Participants will leave with practical ideas for using storytelling in their own organizations to advance gender equity, workplace inclusion, leadership, and social impact.