Gloria Contreras Edin
Founder & Managing Attorney | Immigration & Federal Litigation Attorney | Adjunct Professor
Gloria Contreras Edin is the Founder & Managing Attorney of Contreras Edin Law, P.A., where she represents individuals and families in complex immigration matters, removal proceedings, federal litigation, and appellate advocacy. Throughout her career of over two decades, she has advised and represented thousands of clients from more than 25 countries and has developed extensive experience litigating matters involving the federal immigration system, constitutional protections, detention, and removal.
Ms. Contreras Edin has been recognized since 2023 as a Most Influential Lawyer, with recognition appearing in The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News, and The Washington Post. Her numerous professional honors also include Super Lawyers, Lawyers of Distinction, the 2026 Great North Innocence Project Pro Bono Champions Award, and Minnesota's 2026 L'Étoile du Nord (Star of the North) recognition from Minnesota United. Her earlier honors include the Women of Color Achievement Award, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Women in Business recognition, MEDA Entrepreneur of the Year, the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association Distinguished Service Award, Minnesota Lawyer Up & Coming Attorney Award, and a Bush Foundation Fellowship. Her longstanding record of professional and community recognition dates back more than two decades.
Ms. Contreras Edin's work extends beyond individual representation. In 2026, she was invited to speak before Congress regarding Operation Metro Surge, bringing the perspective of an experienced immigration practitioner to the national discussion regarding federal immigration enforcement and its effects on individuals, families, and communities.
Ms. Contreras Edin is also committed to strengthening the legal profession and educating its next generation. She serves as an Adjunct Professor of Immigration Law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, where she also serves on the Board of Trustees. She is a member of the Second District Ethics Committee and has been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) since 2006. She has written and presented extensively on immigration law, constitutional protections, federal litigation, and the effects of immigration law and policy on immigrant communities, including co-authoring a chapter of the Immigration Practice Deskbook.
Before founding her firm, Ms. Contreras Edin served as Executive Director of Centro Legal, Inc., where she advocated on behalf of women and vulnerable communities, and helped strengthen the organization's statewide and national presence.
Ms. Contreras Edin is admitted to practice before the Minnesota Supreme Court; U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota; U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits; and the Supreme Court of the United States.
She earned her Juris Doctor from Hamline University School of Law and her B.A. in Sociology from California State University, Northridge. Her advanced professional development includes the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Harvard Executive Leadership Program, and National Hispanic Leadership Institute.
Selected Recognition
2026 — L'Étoile du Nord (Star of the North)
2026 — Great North Innocence Project, Pro Bono Champions Award
2023–2026 — Most Influential Lawyer recognition appearing in The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News, and The Washington Post
2023–2026 — Super Lawyers
2018–2026 — Lawyers of Distinction
2022 — Women of Color Achievement Award, 100 Black Men–Twin Cities, Inc.
2021 — Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, Women in Business Honoree
2020 — Metropolitan Economic Development Association, Entrepreneur of the Year
2016 — Francisco Rosales Community Award, Academia Cesar Chavez
2010 — Century College Woman of Distinction
2009 — Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association, Distinguished Service Award
2008 — Hamline School of Law Alumni Scholarship Award
2007 — Minnesota Lawyer, Up & Coming Attorney Award
2002 — Bush Foundation Fellowship
2001 — Centro Legal, Inc., Excellence in Service Award
2000 — Minnesota Supreme Court Community Justice Award