Louisa Barnes is an Associate Attorney at Rostova Westerman Law Group. Ms. Barnes has a long history of advocacy on behalf of the immigrant community which dates back to her days as an undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts where she graduated magna cum laude with her degree in Political Science. While studying at the University of Massachusetts in 2006, she spent the summer in Washington D.C. lobbying our Congress for funding to assist families with ESL classes and other types of classes that would help immigrant families transition to the United States and receive proper documentation. She also worked as a Congressional Aide for Massachusetts State Senator Stephen Brewer, advocating for change within our political system.
While attending St Thomas School of Law in Miami, Florida, Ms. Barnes continued her fight for immigrants’ right, interning for Broward Legal Aid for a year where she was able to provide pro bono services to low income families and focused on the preparation of U visas for victims of serious crimes and VAWA petitions for domestic violation victims. Realizing that the battle also needs to be won in court and not just in the legislature, Ms. Barnes accepted an internship at the Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Miami where she worked at the Miami Immigration Court, attending hearings and assisting government attorneys in trial. She also worked with the Department of Homeland Security to raise awareness about issues of human trafficking.
Ms. Barnes has been practicing immigration and civil law for more than three years. She has worked in several law firms throughout South Florida, handling a wide variety of immigration matters including asylum, deportation proceedings, employment-based and family-based visa petitions and enjoys working with clients to solve their immigration issues and provide them with valuable solutions. Ms. Barnes regularly attends hearings at the immigration court and interviews before USCIS. Ms. Barnes was raised in Grenoble, France and is fluent in French and English and proficient in Spanish.