Ruby Powers
As early as 1933, Ruby B. Powers was listed as an attorney practicing before U.S. District courts at Tennessee’s Fifth Federal Building, adjacent to Carnes Avenue on Union Street (now known as Danny Thomas Boulevard). The building also initially housed news icon WDIA radio station studios located across the Federal Building near Third Street and Beale Avenue. She appeared regularly before two special judges who heard appeals cases: Judge John A Howland and Judge Cotesworth M Shaw Jr., representing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, Ohio, West Publishing law reports indicate.
She became a darling to many YWCA women’s groups affiliated with Memphis’ prestigious University Club as early as 1938. The club was founded October 16, 1892, by nine prominent and affluent Memphians, including Mrs. Charles C Piper, wife of the editor of The Commercial Appeal newspaper (then known as The Daily Appeal).
According to an August 19, 1938 issue of The CA News, Ms. Powers advised on “Immigration Problems” before a group called City Federation of Women’s Clubs at their regular Thursday morning meeting held at the home of Mrs. John T Robertson in East Memphis. The group represented the Diamonte and Fair Oaks groups of the YWCA. The August 19, 1938 article included an extensive discussion about “How Citizenship may be obtained” for immigrants, including those from Europe.
Chris Manning
Manning is part of the new wave of entrepreneurial immigration lawyers. After graduating from Columbia Law School, he started his practice in New York City and has grown it to become one of the top firms specializing in H-1B visas and business start-up immigration. Manning is a lawyer, but he’s also been an entrepreneur, having started his own small business at age 11 — so he knows what it takes to get a start-up off the ground. Manning’s firm is called Manning & Marderosian, and they have offices in New York and Massachusetts.
Manning takes an efficient approach to immigration law. According to his Web site, “Our goal is to provide our clients with the highest level of legal services possible by focusing on results instead of just billable hours.” And he means it — Manning’s firm offers reduced flat fees for clients who choose this option and end up avoiding an unnecessary (and expensive) green card process. Not many firms offer this type of program these days; however, Manning & Marderosian feels it can bring experienced-based, cutting-edge immigration services at a price point that any entrepreneur can handle.
Jorge Garcia
An internationally recognized authority on immigration law and citizenship, Jorge Garcia is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law. He has published numerous articles related to these areas of the law, and his books have been cited by Ninth Circuit federal judges in their opinions. He holds an A.V. rating from Martindale Hubbell (the highest rating for ethics and professionalism), is served as a co-author for LexisNexis Practice Guide: Unexplained Wealth Orders, serves as a general editor for The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Immigration History, and sits in the Editorial Advisory Boards at Stanford University’s Journal on Migration & Human Security, Cornell University’s Latino Policy Review and the American Immigration Law Foundation’s Briefer on Immigration.
In addition, he has chaired law school immigration clinics and presented training seminars at some of the country’s top schools. He is a frequent speaker on national radio programs, including AirTalk with Larry Mantle (Southern California Public Radio), Weekends with Alex Witt (MSNBC), The Brian Lehrer Show (WNYC), and All Things Considered. He also appears regularly in Spanish media outlets throughout the country. Jorge is also a featured blogger for the American Immigration Council and America’s Voice and an Expert Interviewee for PRI’s The World show.
A recognized leader in his field, Jorge received two Presidential Citations from former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton during his tenure as president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
Vanessa Ruiz-Powers
A great lawyer who speaks English and Spanish fluently. She attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia (USC) and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. She then attended the American University Washington College of Law, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Immigration Law Forum and served as an Executive Board Member on the Immigration Law Students Association. She also won numerous awards throughout law school, including winning best Oralist at The Georgia Appellate Moot Court Competition and being named one of five top oralists in the nation.
After graduating from law school (May 2009), Vanessa worked for one year as a clerk to Judge David L. Bazelon for U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division, and another year working in Miami as an associate attorney before opening her firm: Ruiz-Powers Law Firm P.L.
Vanessa is an active member of The Florida Bar, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC). She serves as Vice President for AILA Miami Chapter and has regularly participated in numerous immigration conferences regionally and nationally.
Roberta Kerman
An immigration lawyer for 50 years, the first woman ever admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit and only one of seven women out of about 1,600 lawyers in Pennsylvania when she was admitted, Kerman is considered by some Philadelphia lawyers to be one of their profession’s pioneers.
She said: “My law firm has won a lot of cases, but no one can take away the satisfaction I got from being here when women were not accepted in the legal profession.”
Kerman graduated in 1949 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was one of only two women in her class. She opened a practice with Edward M. Weiss and Edgar J. (“Jerry”) Feigin. After World War II, they had been classmates at Penn’s law school and were among the first local attorneys to aggressively represent immigrants. She was admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit at an age when most attorneys were retiring.
Kerman is listed by Who’s Who in American Law and Women in Communications as among America’s top lawyers. She has served on a wide range of committees, including the Judiciary Committee for the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law, which she chaired for seven years. She served as chairwoman of the ABA’s Commission on Immigration and Nationality Law (CINL), a ninety-member body that studied immigration laws worldwide.
Michelle Stewart
Michelle Stewart is an immigration lawyer by profession and a civil rights activist and co-founder of the United We Dream Network. She joined the movement in 2005 to fight for the rights of undocumented youth after she was denied admission into university despite her straight As because she was an illegal immigrant at age 16.
Ms. Stewart worked tirelessly to create the Dream Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in 2012, granting illegal immigrant students a two-year residency permit, allowing them to work and pursue higher education. Later that year, she was awarded the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship – commonly referred to as a “Genius Award” – for her exceptional advocacy efforts on behalf of undocumented foreigners.
Michelle Stewart has been featured in Time magazine, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and other mainstream media outlets for her notable achievements as an immigration reform activist. She currently works as an immigration lawyer at Fragomen Del Rey Bernsen & Loewy LLP in Washington, D.C., where she devotes 100 percent of her practice time to cases involving immigrants’ rights.
For more information, you may ask or consult with Houston immigration lawyers.
