Lorraine D’Alessio: ‘Super Lawyer’ opens gates for multitudes to new life and new opportunities
Named “Super Lawyer” from 2023 to 2025 and a Rising Star every year since 2012, Immigration attorney Lorraine D'Alessio of D'Alessio Law is a force to be reckoned with. In 2024, she was honored as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers by the Los Angeles Business Journal. She was also a recipient of the Top 25 Women of Influence award.
With such accolades to her name, it is hard to imagine that she ever dreamed of being anything other than an attorney. However, according to Lorraine, she started out her career as a model and subsequently an actress. The ‘tough as nails’ attorney also has a pretty face!
It was through her travels as a model and actress that she personally witnessed the many challenges people experienced around immigration. Originally from Toronto, she explained she spent her early career as a Ford Model and worked globally as an actress and business development consultant on campaigns for brands such as Snickers, Lipton, and Volkswagen.
She realised then that the immigration process was fraught with uncertainties and challenges, and determined that she could be a part of the solution. She decided to combine her educational background in political science and public administration to earn her U.S. Law degree.
An empathetic approach towards immigration law
Today, through D'Alessio Law, she serves a broad client base, using her experience and training to offer an empathetic approach towards immigration law.Being a woman in a male-dominated career field has done nothing to quell her determination and she wants to elevate her law firm to new status in North America, and to establish it as the go-to, premiere boutique immigration, entertainment and business law firm for North America.
That’s an ambitious project, but then Lorraine has never been one to shy away from challenges.
A growing need for effective immigration attorney services
Lorraine considers her work necessary, meaningful and impactful: “Immigration law is one of the hottest issues of each presidential administration. With changing policies, and non-stop scrutiny into the process, the immigration process itself is unpredictable and ever-evolving,” she says.She recounts one of her biggest career challenges during the recent Covid-19 pandemic. At the height of the pandemic, global border closures and travel restrictions created unprecedented obstacles for her firm and its clients seeking immigration to the United States. These extraordinary circumstances posed significant risks to the firm’s operations and the immigration goals of its clients.
In response, she and her team proactively expanded strategic collaborations with legal professionals and firms around the world, providing clients with alternative pathways and solutions. Additionally, the firm strengthened its capabilities in assisting clients with Golden Visa applications and other investment-based immigration programs. These strategic efforts continue today, offering timely and reliable solutions to clients facing complex immigration challenges globally.
Today, she also serves on the boards of MangoRX, American International Holdings Corporation, Artists for Change, and the Young Presidents’ Organization, and has lent her counsel to U.S. embassies worldwide, as well as to the World Trade Center.
A vision for the future
With this firm foundation of success; and eagle tenacity, resilience, and insight, Lorraine remains one of the most sought after thought leaders in immigration law. She is also constantly looking for solutions for both how to stand out from her competitors, and how to help her clients achieve their Visa goals amidst the ever-changing cycle of immigration law.This is no easy feat and Lorraine doesn’t pretend that it is: “The immigration process can be very daunting and confusing, and it's easy to get discouraged by any number of the challenges one faces when trying to obtain a work Visa or Green Card in the United States,” she says.
“Our advice is to trust your immigration lawyer and their team. We do this every day and we have a lot of tricks up our sleeve to help clients achieve their Visa goals no matter whether the process is a breeze, or whether it requires creative problem solving.” Many times it does require the latter, which is why experience and training in the field, such as that gleaned by Lorraine over the years, is essential.
She says that it is these challenges around immigration have given her law firm wings. She hopes to position D'Alessio Law as a go-to resource for immigration, business, and entertainment law needs. As a strategic, no-nonsense professional with a soft heart in her profession, she adds that she wants to do this based on an empathetic approach.
For her, it’s all about helping others achieve their dreams through securing their immigration rights, and even if this involves some challenges; then she and her team are up for the challenge and ready to assist with all client immigration needs.
