Hanis Irvine Prothero PLLC

Margarethe Merritt was born in Poland. Upon completion of Boleslaw Chrobry High School in Bytom she immigrated to Germany and became a German citizen. She quickly learned German, two years later she graduated with honors from Geschwister-Sholl Preparatory School in Mannheim, Germany, and was admitted to the Heidelberg University, where she majored in chemistry and biology. During her 6 years in Germany she also completed a foreign language correspondent course (English/German). A year later she met her future husband, a U.S. soldier stationed in Germany. When her husband’s brigade was transferred to Fort Lewis, WA, she moved to the U.S. In 1995 shortly after her arrival, she enrolled in the ABA approved paralegal program at Highline Community College. In 1997 she graduated with honors and a GPA of 3.96 as the only non-American paralegal student, and was awarded an applied science degree. In 2001 she joined Curran Law Firm in Kent, WA and begun assisting attorney Gregory F. Cromwell whose practice focuses on the Homeowners’ Associations field. In November of 2009, their HOA team joined Hanis Irvine Prothero. After 15 years of living in the U.S. on July 8, 2010 she became a U.S. citizen. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, her husband and their two children, Michael (11) and Ashley (6), jazz and tap dancing at the British Dancing Academy, skiing, reading, decorating and breeding and showing her Siberian cats of Frosty Forest Siberians.

Alexandra “Ally” Cruz is an associate practicing immigration law at Hanis Irvine Prothero, PLLC. Her practice encompasses all areas of immigration law, with a focus on complex removal defense litigation, administrative and federal court appeals, and family-based petitions.
Ally is fluent in Spanish and is very involved in the Latino community. She is the co-chair of the Immigration Committee of the Latino Bar Association of Washington (LBAW) and volunteers in LBAW’s monthly legal clinic at El Centro de La Raza.

Ashley Grover recently joined the firm as a Paralegal in our Homeowners’ Association Department. She will be working alongside Margret Merritt and Alison Pacunski and assisting Partner, Greg Cromwell and Associate Attorney Amy Meharry.

Sean Prothero, 25, is the new legal assistant in the Criminal Law Department. Sean is a college student, working on a paralegal certificate and his bachelor’s degree. He is also the head swim coach for the Kennedy High School girls and boys swim teams. As the son of Partner, Mark Prothero, he has grown up with an interest in the law and criminal law in particular. HIP welcomes Sean and believes his skills will fit in well with the needs of the criminal department.

July 14th – On this day in 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett shot and killed William Bonney better known as “Billy the Kid.”

Billy the Kid was one of the most notorious outlaws of the American West. According to legend, he killed at least 21 men, one for every year of his short life, before he was killed in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.