The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce & GALLA presents its monthly networking program tailored for attorneys, judges, and legal professionals.  This free webinar will be conducted via Zoom and is open to both GALLA members and to the community at large.

Participate and network with fellow legal and business professionals.  Our panel of distinguished attorneys from "Rotella & Hernandez, P.A", "Canero Immigration Law Firm", and "Candela +Eig + Jurgens, LLC Immigration Law Center" will discuss the impact of the pandemic on the immigration process and other current relevant issues.  Topics to be addressed will include; Employment Law Changes (Students), Family Based (Public Charge), Fee Increase, Immigration Court (Closed Back Log), Detained Cases (Magistrate's order on COVID releases, etc.), USCIS (new procedures for interviews), Natz Interviews (changes in oath ceremony, back logs, others)

 

Michelle Canero Born in Venezuela, Michelle moved to Miami, FL when she was eight years old. Michelle graduated from The University of Miami School of Law in 2006 after having received her Bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Hartford CT. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2007. After a short career in civil litigation, Michelle joined Antonia Canero PA in 2009 and began practicing immigration exclusively. Now a managing partner at Canero Immigration Law Firm, she represents foreign nationals from all over the world in all types of immigration matters with a focus on business immigration. She currently sits on the Board of Immigrants List and AILA South Florida Chapter. Michelle has served on and chaired numerous AILA South Florida Committees over the years including, CBP Liaison, Border Patrol Liaison, Business and Investment Committee, and Congressional Liaison. She often speaks on immigration issues at local chambers of commerce, professional organizations, academic institutions, AILA South Florida events and webinars, as well as on CLE panels for both AILA and Catholic Legal Services. She is involved in immigration advocacy with state and federal agencies as well as with local, state and federal representatives both independently and through the various organizations she is involved in.



Patricia Hernandez is a founding partner of Rotella & Hernandez, a full-service immigration and family law firm. Ms. Hernandez focuses her practice exclusively to the area of Immigration and Nationality Law. Throughout her career, Ms. Hernandez has represented countless individuals nationwide in removal proceedings, including immigrants with criminal histories. Ms. Hernandez has spoken extensively on Immigration as it relates to Same-Sex marriage, on How Transgender Identity Influences an Individual’s Immigration Experience, on Collaborating with Criminal Counsel in Immigration Removal Defense Cases, on Immigration Relief through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and has conducted several know your rights presentations. In 2020, Ms. Hernandez was voted by her peers as one of Florida’s Legal Elite in the area of Immigration and Nationality Law. Ms. Hernandez has also been recognized by the community for her advocacy of immigrant and LGBTQ rights. She received the Visionary Award from the Miami-Dade County Bar Association, the Community Champion Award from the Miami-Dade County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board, and the People’s Luminary Award from SAVE, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advocating for the LGBTQ community. Ms. Hernandez is a member in good standing of the Florida Bar and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She is a board member and Chair of the LGBTQ committee for the American Immigration Lawyers Association South Florida Chapter, a board member of the Miami-Dade LGBTQ Advisory Board and Aqua Foundation for Women, and an active member of the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association (GALLA). 



Richard Jurgens is a founding partner of CANDELA EIG JURGENS, LLC. He is a former Assistant Chief Counsel who spent 13 years as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Mr. Jurgens represented the United States government in removal proceedings including political asylum, adjustment of status, cancellation of removal, human smuggling, terrorism, persecutors, Russian organized crime, sexual predators, drug traffickers, and other special interest cases.  Mr. Jurgens clerked at Florida Legal Services in Miami, Florida and also at the headquarters of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington, D.C.  Mr. Jurgens focuses his practice on family-based visa petitions, adjustment of status, naturalization and immigration appeals. He specializes in complex litigation, deportation defense, and troubled cases.  Mr. Jurgens graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 2003. While in law school he was an editor for the International and Comparative Law Review, the Vice President of the Honour Council, a member of the Moot court Board, the International Moot court Board, and on the championship team of the national Moot Court competition. He was also known to be in the Bar and Gavel society.  Prior to law school, Mr. Jurgens studied and conducted research in Morocco as a Fulbright Scholar and participated in a volunteer service program in Xian, China.  Mr. Jurgens graduated summa cum laude from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota with a double major in French and Spanish (1999). He was the first university exchange student at the Universidad Americana in Managua, Nicaragua and also studied abroad at the University de Haute Bretagne Rennes II in Rennes, France.  Mr. Jurgens is a member of the Florida Bar and the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association.  Mr. Jurgens is proficient in French and Spanish and can speak basic conversational Arabic.