Our Team

Legal Team

• Desmond P. FitzGerald, Esq. - Managing Director
• Christina K. Salib, Esq. - Associate Attorney
• Clary Geraldino - Legal Staff Supervisor
• Michelle De Oliveira - Paralegal
• Jodi Ziesemer - Paralegal
• Sumayya Essack - Paralegal
• Isela Patricia Mejía - Paralegal

Adminstrative Team

• Gloria Lara - Executive Director
• Ynes Hernandez - Accounts Receivable Coordinator
• Nadia Morales - Administrative Coordinator

Legal Team

Desmond P. FitzGerald, Esq.
Managing Director

As the son of an Irish immigrant Desmond FitzGerald understood why people wanted to come to America.  As an attorney who helped his Colombian-born wife become an American citizen he understands what it takes to make this happen.

Through his personal and legal experience it became apparent to attorney FitzGerald that there was little ingenuity and a lack of a consultative, proactive solutions-based approach to the area of immigration law. In order to better meet this need in the community, Mr. FitzGerald decided to start his own firm, which through his leadership, creative approach and litigation success, grew into what is now FitzGerald & Company.

Understanding first hand the anxieties associated with immigration, Desmond has not forgotten the importance of serving every client in a respectful and personalized manner.  He likes to work closely with clients to identify their objectives and provide them with a goal-based strategy to help accomplish them.  For Desmond and his team there is no greater joy and reward in the practice of law, than to provide clients with the results they dream of.  This why the majority of the new clients that come to the firm, are referred by satisfied clients.

Attorney FitzGerald has successfully filed legal actions against numerous government agencies, including the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, for improperly denying licenses to immigrants and against the Immigration Department (USCIS) for failing to properly and timely adjudicate immigrant petitions.

Significant legal accomplishments include establishing the rights of step children of U.S. citizens to be recognized as “unconditional” legal permanent residents as well as getting the Immigration Service to accept applications from detained immigrants without a fee. As an experienced criminal litigator, attorney FitzGerald has particular expertise in minimizing negative immigration consequences of criminal charges.

Desmond FitzGerald is the legal counsel for the Colombian Consulate for New England and his firm has always recognized the benefits that the immigrant community provides to our region and nation and the importance of offering quality legal services to protect it.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College, Attorney FitzGerald had the opportunity to live in Bogotá, Colombia, where he studied Spanish at the Unversidad Javeriana, before he received his law degree from the New England School of Law.

Attorney FitzGerald has been admitted by the Bar to practice law in Massachusetts, Florida, and Washington, D.C. and is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Christina K. Salib, Esq.
Associate Attorney

Born in Michigan, U.S. of Egyptian immigrants, Christina speaks Spanish, English and some Egyptian Arabic. Attorney Salib brings knowledge of the court system from her work as a judicial law clerk in the Rhode Island Supreme Court Law Clerk Department, where she researched and wrote draft judicial opinions for judges in multiple areas of law. Attorney Salib has handled a variety of immigration matters including asylum, deportation, TPS, NACARA, family and employment petitions. Ms. Salib has represented asylum seekers and other immigrants in U.S. Immigration Court and worked with the PAIR (Political Asylum/Immigration Representation) project and Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights (Human Rights First).

Ms. Salib has also served as a legal consultant for a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) project strengthening transparency and accountability in law-making processes in the Middle East. Before law school, Christina spent time in Latin America researching labor law, while serving as an International Monitor for Guatemala’s first human rights trial.

Christina is admitted to the bar in Massachusetts and New York. She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 2004 and graduated with honors in international law. A joint degree student while in law school, she received her M.A. from Boston University Graduate School of International Relations and has her B.A. from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. As a law student, Christina was selected as a European Union Moot Court Competition regional finalist and a Stanford University School of Law International Law Symposium Young Scholar. Christina served as a Note Editor for the Boston University International Law Journal and is a Consultant for the International Consortium for Law and Development. Christina has also presented her research on post-apartheid constitutional law developments in South Africa at Yale University, and she has researched issues related to the Sudan for the Program on Negotiation and Global Equity Initiative at Harvard University. With much family abroad, Christina has always enjoyed leadership in multicultural organizations and pursued service to persons from a wide variety of cultures.

Clary Geraldino-Karasek
Legal Staff Supervisor

Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic; fluent both in Spanish and English, Clary exemplifies the culture of customer service that we encourage at FitzGerald & Company. As such, Clary is the legal staff supervisor and she is responsible for the supervision, training and coordination of the activities of other legal staff members of the firm as well as management of the overall company schedule. She is also responsible for paralegal duties such as preparing immigration petitions, complaints, demands, and overall maintenance of client files. In addition, she helps prepare clients for interviews, interprets, translates, and corresponds with clients, medical professionals, and insurance companies. Through her communication skills, her desire to help, and her courteous nature, Clary is always ready to provide appropriate support and guidance to our clients, throughout the development of their case.

With an Associate degree in Liberal Arts, a degree in Bilingual Office Assistance, a paralegal certificate, and pursuing a Bachelor Degree in Political Science at Northeastern University, Ms. Geraldino-Karasek has a wide educational experience. She also has significant professional experience in customer service, working for several years with American Airlines. Ms. Geraldino-Karasek is well aware of the importance of maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction for a company and has made this the top priority of her job. Clary went through the immigration process herself and is happy to be able to help others going through a similar experience.

Michelle De Oliveira
Paralegal

Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English, Michelle is responsible for preparing immigration petitions, complaints, demands, client and court communications, and overall case management. Her case load has included many immigrant and non-immigrant visa petitions, and she has established great expertise in handling PERM cases. Her knowledge of the Portuguese language has also been key in helping to better serve our Portuguese speaking clients.

Michelle received a BS from Northeastern University, and has been living in the United States since 1988. Her goal is to attend law school and practice immigration law.

There is no doubt that Michelle's experience working at the Boston Bar Association and volunteering at the Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School has greatly enhanced her passion for working in the legal profession. It is her desire to provide our clients with the best assistance possible.

Jodi Ziesemer
Paralegal

Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Jodi serves as a part-time paralegal, handling a wide variety of immigration and criminal cases. Jodi has been working with legal immigration matters both in Chicago and Boston for the past five years specializing in asylum, family-based immigration, and visa petitions. Jodi prepares applications, briefs, and appeals both with the immigration service and with the courts and is fluent in Spanish and English.

Jodi was a Board of Immigration Appeals Accredited Representative with a non-profit firm in Chicago for three years prior to moving to Boston. She now studies international and human rights law at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Jodi has lived abroad in Latin America and has traveled extensively throughout the world. She is dedicated to helping immigrants navigate legal issues and advocate for their rights.

Sumayya Essack
Paralegal

Born in Connecticut to Irish and South African-Indian parents, Sumayya speaks Spanish and English, and she is responsible for preparing immigration applications, client relations, government correspondence, and general case management. She also handles our relations and work with the Colombian Consulate in Boston for which we are the legal counsel for the New England area. Sumayya draws upon her intercultural communication skills and experience as a first generation American when helping our clients navigate the immigration process.

Sumayya graduated with honors at the top of her class at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where she received her Bachelors Degree in Communications and International Studies. She has traveled the world extensively and lived in Spain, Greece, and Argentina. With a multicultural background and substantial international experience, Sumayya has a particular understanding of immigration issues in the context of globalization.

Isela Patricia Mejía
Paralegal

Born in David, Republic of Panamá. Fluent both in Spanish and English, Isela is responsible for preparing immigration petitions, complaints, demands and overall client relations and case management. Ms. Mejía graduated from the School of Law and Political Sciences of the Universidad de Panamá obtaining her degree in Law and Political Sciences. She was admitted to practice law in the Panamá Bar in 2000. She also completed a postgraduate course in Mediation and Arbitration as well as a High Management postgraduate course in the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá. In the summer of 2004 Isela obtained an LLM (Master of Laws for Foreign Attorneys) in Temple University, Philadelphia. During the LLM Isela had the opportunity to study the US Immigration and Nationality regulations and became very interested in the subject.

She worked in Panamá City in the Law Office of Pedreschi and Pedreschi from early 1996 until she immigrated to the United States in April of 2003. She worked from January 2005 to June 2008 in the Law Office of Mark T. Atkinson in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as the Senior Paralegal for Immigration Matters. Having gone through the immigration process herself, Isela takes great satisfaction in helping and guiding others to understand and navigate the complex system of the diverse immigration processes.

Adminstrative Team

Gloria Lara
Executive Director

Born in Bogotá, Colombia. Ms. Lara's responsibilities are wide in scope, ranging from strategic planning, marketing, and operations, to human resources, accounting and billing. Though this may sound like a huge task to manage, she is a believer in teamwork and delegation. Her top priority is to make sure our clients are being taken care of appropriately at all times. Gloria is one of our leading problem solvers; her background in business consulting, marketing and Internet start-ups has been key to managing the growth at FitzGerald & Company and making sure that the firm adopts the best business practices among service industries.

A graduate from Boston College undergraduate School of Communication, and Boston University's dual MBA and MA in International Relations graduate program, Gloria has helped propel FitzGerald and Company into the efficient and service-oriented business it is today. Formerly, Gloria served as Marketing Director at NewDeal Inc. and Espanol.com. In addition, she served as Internet and management consultant at AGENCY.COM, DIGITAS, Arthur D. Little, and Monitor Company. She is an active member of the Association of Legal Administrators and the Legal Marketing Association. On a personal note, Ms. Lara has held 5 different types of visas to reside in the U.S., including B1/B2, F1, E2, H1, residency, and now citizenship. She is fluent in Spanish, French, and English.

Ynes Hernandez
Accounts Receivable Coordinator

Born in Barquisimeto-Edo Lara, Venezuela. Ynes supports the Executive Director and is a member of the Administration team. She manages the accounts receivable and collections process. Ynes is in charge of maintaining our receivables records, monitoring our aging accounts, creating client invoices, generating monthly receivable activity reports, reviewing bills and ensuring the appropriate application of billing procedures. As part of the administrative team, Ynes helps ensure that our office is running smoothly at all times and with her cheerie attitude she helps make our office a fun place to work at.

Ms. Hernandez is fluent in Spanish and English. She has an Associates degree in Business Administration from Bunker Hill Community College and will be pursuing her Bachelors degree in Business Management at UMASS Boston. Ynes has experience working as a Spanish/English interpreter and extensive experience working for car rental companies, which has taught her the importance of providing exceptional customer service to clients. She is always willing to listen, understand and respond to any inquiries or quiestions that clients may have about billing client concerns with superior customer service at all times.

Nadia Morales
Administrative Coordinator

Born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Nadia Morales supports the Executive Director in all aspects of firm administration. Specifically, she assists with client contracts, bill payment, vendor relationships, client database maintenance, marketing and technology projects, filing system administration, maintenance of the office calendar, and supervision and coordination of firm operations.

Fluent in Spanish and English, Nadia came to the United States in 1999, graduated from East Boston High School and has several years of experience in customer relations in the restaurant, hospitality, and tourism industry. Nadia is well aware of the importance of maintaining high customer satisfaction for a company and has made this the top priority of her job. Ms. Morales went through the immigration process herself, and she is happy to be able to help others going through a similar experience. Her personal experience with the immigration process helps her provide a comfortable environment to our clients since she can directly relate to their experience