Meet Paola I. Neri-Michel, Esq.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paola I. Neri-Michel, Esq.

Hi Paola, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Hello, VoyageLA! Thank you for featuring me in your Inspiring Stories series. I am a licensed attorney and have been practicing immigration law for over nine years. I worked at two private immigration law firms in Los Angeles and in 2020, after seven years of practice and a month before the pandemic, I opened my own law firm, Neri Law Offices, in Los Angeles County. I am an immigrant myself born in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. I immigrated to the United States when I was five years old and grew up in San Diego. My immigrant story began with tragedy, with the loss of my father, but grew into a beautiful narrative of will, perseverance, and determination.

After graduating high school, I attended the University of California, Irvine, where I graduated in three years with a major in Criminology, Law, and Society and a minor in Psychology and Social Behavior. After college, I attended Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, and graduated in 2012. Since opening my own law practice, and even through the pandemic, my business has grown at a fast pace and I attribute that growth to being proactive as a new businesswoman and giving back to my community. I have a presence on social media where I share news, updates, host Instagram Lives with guests covering a range of topics, some law-related and some not, and I invested in a website for my business. I hold various positions in both a volunteer and leadership capacity. I am an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the largest immigration attorney organization with over 15,000 members across the United States and abroad, where I began as a Law Student Liaison from 2018 to 2019 and am the current Vice Chair on the Executive Committee for the AILA Southern California Chapter 2021 to 2022. This June 2022, I will be the Chapter’s Chair and I will continue to support our AILA Southern California members. I am a volunteer for AILA’s Military Assistance Program (AILA MAP) where I take pro bono cases to help military service members in need. I am also an active member of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) where I serve as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the Los Angeles Chapter’s Immigration Committee and last year in 2021, I joined the Executive Committee of the Immigration Section for the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA). I am currently on three Executive Committees in Los Angeles, California. I also recently came out with a new book called “Latinas Who BossUp,” which made the Amazon Best Seller’s List in the categories of Women Writers, Women Author Literary Criticism, and Caribbean & Latin American Art History. This past March 2022, I emceed my first professional event for the Mexican American Bar Association’s (MABA) 62nd Annual Installation of Officers & Awards Gala at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. I am also the proud recipient of the Super Lawyers Southern California Rising Star award for 2021 and 2022, an honor reserved for only 2.5% of attorneys in Southern California and have received the Avvo Client’s Choice Award in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, currently ranking 10 out of 10 or “superb.” My heart is full, and the hustle never stops.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My journey as a new business owner has been great. Since I opened my law firm during the start of the pandemic, I had the opportunity to organize myself and decide what kind of business I wanted to run. My vision was to run a business that is ethically driven by being both sustainable and eco-friendly, and it is exactly what is happening. I recycle and do not print on paper unless I need to. My organization skills are top-notch (thanks, mom!), which allow me to manage everything on my own while having a big caseload and being in high demand. I am a one-woman show and used to call myself a “little machine” before a colleague politely corrected me and said, “No, you’re a big machine.” I agree.

Learning the financial side of owning a business has been a learning curve, i.e., I am new to QuickBooks, I hired a bookkeeper to categorize items for tax purposes, etc. This year, I became a corporation and there are many changes that come with incorporating. As bumpy as the road can get as a new business owner who is learning the ropes, owning and managing your own business is absolutely rewarding and I have no regrets.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I love the practice of immigration law and focus on family-based immigration cases; Permanent Residency (green card process in the USA or abroad), Naturalization (U.S. citizenship), Fiancé Visas, U Visas for victims of crime, VAWA for victims of domestic violence, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Freedom of Information Act Requests (to request your immigration records), and much more. My office currently serves 15 countries around the world and 14 states in the United States with the goal of serving all 50. I practice federal law which means I take cases across the United States and abroad. I am known for being ambitious, very meticulous and organized, a great communicator, and for being involved in my community. I run a boutique law firm with a personal and dedicated touch. I do not buy followers on social media; every follower and every review written about me and my law firm is organic. I am most proud of staying true to who I am and reaching the success I have reached thus far out of my own efforts. I always strive to improve and achieve the utmost level of legal knowledge and personal growth. My law firm’s mission is to be effective and ensure that our clients are well-informed about their immigration process and receive exceptional customer service. I put forth excellent work product and fight to obtain the best outcome for my clients by thinking outside the box and employing tactics that are substantive, detailed, and creative. The values at the core of my business are honesty, integrity, and reliability. Neri Law Offices always delivers more than expected.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I have learned is that only I will make or break my career. What I believe about myself and my abilities is everything. I am intentional in my actions and maintain that being a genuinely good person, supporting others, and treating people with dignity and respect is important to success. Talk is cheap. You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do. With this mindset and through my deliberate actions, the universe has brought many wonderful opportunities my way. If you believe in yourself, anything is possible.

Contact Info:

• Email: paola@nerilawoffices.com
• Website: www.nerilawoffices.com
• Instagram: abogada_paolaneri
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerilawoffices
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/abogada_paoneri
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzLUSGdO8XJUDqfBnAnNRWw
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/neri-law-offices-glendale
• Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdmfvmYB/