These additions to Blessinger Legal will expand the expert legal services it provides to noncitizens in affirmative and defensive cases, and will broaden those services to handle all aspects of remove proceedings, affirmative filings, appeals, and related federal litigation, including the filings of writs of habeas corpus, mandamus petitions, and APA litigation, among others.
Former Appellate Immigration Judges Kathleen Reilly and Katharine Clark, former Assistant Chief Immigration Judges Megan Jackler and Noelle Sharp, former Immigration Judge Gabrielle Jones and DOJ/OIL Senior Litigation Counsel Jessica Dawgert have joined the Firm. Short biographies follow.
Jess Dawgert
Partner, Federal Litigation
Jess Dawgert joined Blessinger Legal as a Partner in its Federal Litigation Practice, where she will lead the firm’s expansion into federal court litigation. With nearly 20 years of experience in complex immigration cases across U.S. district and appellate courts, she has experience handling petitions for review, nationality claims, habeas and mandamus actions in district court, and programmatic challenges to immigration policies and regulations. Previously, she held senior roles at the U.S. Department of Justice, including Associate Deputy Attorney General, where she oversaw immigration policy and litigation. She is known for her commitment to resolving challenging legal issues and advocating for her clients. Ms. Dawgert is a member of the New York and District of Columbia bars and is admitted to practice in numerous federal courts.
Gabrielle D. Jones
Managing Attorney, Affirmative Team
Gabrielle D. Jones is the Managing Attorney of Blessinger Legal’s Affirmative Team. She has practiced for 24 years and previously worked as an Immigration Judge at the New Orleans Immigration Court. Before that, she worked as the deputy directing attorney of the Family Justice Project at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada (LACSN) for nine years, as a domestic violence attorney, as the Managing Attorney for the Louisiana Civil Justice Center, and in real estate. She is a member of the following bars: the District of Columbia, Louisiana, and Nevada.
Noelle Sharp
Managing Attorney, Removal Practice
Noelle Sharp is the Managing Attorney of Blessinger Legal’s Removal Team. She joins Blessinger Legal after 20 years of legal practice. Before joining the Firm, Ms. Sharp served as the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge at the Houston S. Gessner Immigration Court. She also practiced as an immigration attorney in California, Washington, and Oregon, as a faculty member at The Evergreen State College, and as the Director of Refugee Resettlement Services at Catholic Charities. Ms. Sharp is a member of the Washington State Bar.
Katharine Clark
Senior Attorney
Katharine E. Clark is a Senior Attorney at Blessinger Legal on the Firm’s Removal Team. She has nearly 20 years of legal practice and most recently served as an Appellate Immigration Judge with the BIA. She also previously worked with the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and Ayuda, an immigration legal services nonprofit. Ms. Clark is licensed to practice law in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Megan R. Jackler
Senior Attorney, Removal Team
Megan R. Jackler is a Senior Attorney at Blessinger Legal on the Firm’s Removal Team. She joins Blessinger Legal after 16 years of legal practice and nearly four years of judicial experience. She previously served as Assistant Chief Immigration Judge of the New Orleans Immigration Court, where she supervised seven judges and the adjudication of approximately 50,000 non-detained removal cases for Gulf Coast-area Respondents. Prior to EOIR, Ms. Jackler spent more than 12 years on active duty in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, in Japan, Afghanistan, Virginia, Mississippi, and Hawaii. Ms. Jackler is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, New York, and Virginia.
Kathleen M. Reilly
Senior Attorney, Removal Team
Kathleen M. Reilly is a Senior Attorney at Blessinger Legal on the Firm’s Removal Team. Before joining Blessinger Legal, Ms. Reilly worked as an Appellate Immigration Judge with the BIA. Prior to that experience, Ms. Reilly worked as a trial judge in the Hyattsville Immigration Court and accumulated almost 20 years of experience as an Attorney Advisor at the BIA, contributing to dozens of published decisions. Ms. Reilly is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania. She is presently an applicant for admission to the Maryland Bar
These new additions join the amazing team already at Blessinger Legal, which includes the following attorneys:
Eileen Blessinger
Owner | Attorney at Law
Eileen P. Blessinger founded Blessinger Legal in 2012. She has 17 years of legal practice and has litigated thousands of cases before different government agencies, including USCIS, EOIR, the State Department, federal courts, and state courts. Ms. Blessinger is on the Board of Acacia Center for Justice and the Legal Advisory Committee for the Amica Center. She is also a member of the National EOIR Liaison Committee for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) and previously served on the Executive Committee for the Washington, DC Chapter of AILA. Ms. Blessinger is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
Joseph Moravec
Senior Attorney
Joseph Moravec has worked at Blessinger Legal as a Senior Attorney since August 2022 and has eight years of legal practice. Mr. Moravec is a member of both the Federal Litigation and Removal teams. Since working at Blessinger Legal, Mr. Moravec has handled complex litigation involved constitutional issues and criminal grounds of removability. He recently argued a case before the Fourth Circuit in Zelaya v. Bondi; that decision remains pending. Mr. Moravec is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and Maryland.
Maria J. Ruiz
Senior Attorney, Removal Team
Maria Jose Ruiz Del Rio is a Senior Attorney on the Removal Team at Blessinger Legal. During her time at Blessinger Legal, Ms. Ruiz has successfully argued numerous cases before the Immigration Court and the Asylum Office. She previously worked at the Consulate of Colombia in Washington, DC and at the Organization of American States. Ms. Ruiz is licensed to practice law in the country of Colombia and the state of New York.
Pardis D. Quatrano
Associate Attorney, Affirmative Team
Pardis Quatrano is an Associate Attorney on the Affirmative Team at Blessinger Legal with 10 years of legal practice. Ms. Quatrano works on employment-based applications, humanitarian relief before USCIS, family-based petitions, and consular processing. Ms. Quatrano is licensed in Michigan.
Patrycja D. Soboń
Associate Attorney, Affirmative Team
Patrycja D. Soboń is an Associate Attorney on the Firm’s Affirmative Team with five years of legal practice. Her experience spans adjustment of status, naturalization, asylum, T Visa, VAWA, and deportation defense. Ms. Soboń also dedicates pro bono time to the Legal Aid of Society of Cleveland. Ms. Soboń is licensed to practice law in Ohio.
For questions, please email the Firm’s Director of Operations, Ana Ortiz Perez, at aortiz@blessingerlegal.com.
For a consultation, please email consultations@blessingerlegal.com.