Jessica Yañez, Of Counsel

Ms. Yañez is a North Carolina Board Certified Immigration Law Specialist. She managed her own immigration law firm for more than a decade before transitioning into academia. In July 2024, she will join Washington & Lee University School of Law as the Visiting Director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic where she will also teach immigration law.

Her practice areas include removal defense, BIA appeals, waivers, consular processing, asylum, naturalization, U visas, T visas, and VAWA cases.

She graduated from UNCG with a B.A. in Spanish in 2007 and earned her Juris Doctor from Elon University School of Law in 2011. Ms. Yañez taught English at Grimsley High School from 2023 – 2024, where she acted as an advisor to the Mock Trial Team. She served as an Adjunct Professor of Immigration Law at Elon University School of Law from 2017 – 2023. She served as the AILA Carolinas liaison for the Charlotte Immigration Court from 2017 – 2020.

She is admitted to practice law in the Middle District Court of North Carolina, the 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Yañez is passionate about education and social justice. She loves reading and always has a book with her. She enjoys mentoring high school, college, and law students. She is a member of the International Bar Association, the National Immigration Project, and ASISTA, a legal organization dedicated to advocating for immigrant survivors of domestic violence. She is also a volunteer for AFS, a cultural exchange program that empowers people to become global citizens through intercultural experiences. 

Ms. Yanez has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star from 2018 – 2021 and a Business NC Legal Elite from 2018 – 2022. Her previous memberships include the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice.

She and her husband, Agustin, reside in Greensboro with their children, Henry and Sophia, and their dog, Dash.