DE MOTT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice - Chair of Texas, Oklahoma & New Mexico
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Alejandra Martinez Attorney
- Attorney / Moderator
Alejandra Martinez was born in Minnesota to immigrant parents who raised her in a Spanish-speaking home in the Rio Grande Valley. Ms. Martinez graduated from St. Mary's University School of Law with cum laude honors. As a law student, Ms. Martinez represented low-income immigrant clients in the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic. Ms. Martinez also served as a staff writer in The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race & Social Justice. Thereafter, Ms. Martinez was selected to serve on The Scholar's editorial board as an associate editor. Ms. Martinez also worked as a research assistant for Professor Ramona Lampley and Professor Erica B. Schommer. Finally, Ms. Martinez worked as a law clerk with DMCA for over a year and helped draft appellate briefs to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Board of Immigration Appeals. Ms. Martinez is now a licensed attorney with DMCA's litigation section.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Amy Thomas Attorney
Amy is a Texas native. She worked as an attorney with Joseph De Mott from 1994 to 1996. During that time her primary focus was in employment-based immigration, handling nonimmigrant visa, labor certification, advanced degree, and National Interest Waiver cases. Additionally, she handled appellate work and represented individuals on suspension of deportation cases in immigration court. While in law school, Amy taught legal research methods and development of legal writing skills at The University of Texas School of Law as a Teaching Quizmaster.
After a break from the practice of law to focus on her family and volunteer work, Amy has rejoined DMCA primarily as a Briefing Attorney. She is responsible for briefs, appeals, motions, and legal memos. In addition, she represents clients in both family and employment immigration.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Ashley Dennis Attorney
Ashley is a native of Dallas, Texas and a graduate of Duke University, where she earned her Bachelor's in History. She worked as a Project Manager in the financial services industry before she earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University. As a law student, Ashley interned with a Nashville-based immigration firm, clerked at the American Civil Liberties Union, and was a research assistant. Furthermore, she partnered with Nashville organizations to carry out emergency response plans in immigrant communities and participated in the Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps JD program. She received the Damali K. Booker Award for Legal Activism and the Pro Bono Service Award.
After earning her law degree, Ashley worked for a Hawaii state agency where her responsibilities included monitoring Federal Fair Housing and Regulatory Compliance, researching amendments to state administrative rules, and drafting agency policies. During her time there, she received an award for High Standards of Excellence for her part in managing a complex legal action plan. She volunteers with Justice for Our Neighbors Houston and Kids in Need of Defense.
Ashley is fluent in Spanish and is licensed to practice law in Texas. She has demonstrated a commitment to serving immigrants with best-in-class service through her extensive experience and education. She approaches each case from a compassionate, strategic, solution-based perspective.
Claudia Baellow was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States as a child. Ms. Baellow attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she earned a double-major in History and Latin American Studies. She received her Juris Doctorate from the American University, Washington College of Law (WCL). While attending law school, Ms. Baellow was a member of WCL's Administrative Law Review, and a student-attorney for the International Human Rights Law Clinic. Ms. Baellow also interned with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).Before joining DMCA, Ms. Baellow practiced employment-based immigration at law firms in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. She is admitted to the District of Columbia Bar Association, and is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).Ms. Baellow is fluent in Spanish, and specializes in business & employment-based immigration.
Job Titles:
- Claudia Hernandez Senior Litigation Attorney
- Senior Litigation Attorney
Claudia began working as a law clerk for DMCA. During that time, Claudia conducted research on novel legal arguments and helped draft briefs to present before the Board of Immigration Appeals and Immigration Courts. In 2012, Claudia began practicing as an associate attorney with the firm. Her primary focus was in removal defense, from appearing at bond proceedings to representing clients in deportation proceedings. She successfully litigated numerous removal cases in federal administrative courts and helped reunite persons with their families. In 2016, Claudia took a position in a family law firm in order to gain litigation experience in Texas civil courts. During her practice in family law, Claudia aided immigrant families in adoption proceedings and aided victims of violence seeking protective orders. In 2017, Claudia returned to DMCA where she handles various removal defense cases at DMCA's litigation section. Claudia is fluent in Spanish.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- David Antón Armendáriz Partner
David is a partner at De Mott, McChesney, Curtright & Amendariz, LLP (DCMA), in San Antonio, Texas. David is a graduate of Southwest Texas State University (now known as Texas State University) and he holds a Juris Doctorate from The University of Texas School of Law. Prior to joining DMCA, he litigated federal civil rights cases with The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law of Texas. Prior to that, he was an attorney at Balber Pickard Battistoni Maldonado & Van Der Tuin, PC, in New York, New York and he clerked for the Hon. William J. Cornelius, Chief Justice for The Texas Sixth Court of Appeals.
David focuses his practice on removal defense and defending non-citizens' rights before the administrative courts of the Executive Office for Immigration Review and before federal district and appellate courts. He also is available to provide real estate representation and assistance with real estate purchases, leases, and seller finance transactions. David is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. David is a NIPNLG member.
Faye practices in several areas of immigration law and is dedicated to providing comprehensive short and long-term immigration legal strategies to individual and corporate clients. She represents clients with a wide range of immigration needs including nonimmigrant and immigrant business visas, consular issues, family immigration, and immigration litigation.
Faye is a frequent volunteer and presenter at immigration-related events including giving public testimony before the Texas House and Senate Committees regarding business immigration and driver's licenses. In 2010, she co-authored a chapter in ILW.com book: The I-140 Book, "Derivative Beneficiaries of Employment Based Immigrant Petitions and the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)." Faye often volunteers her time at pro bono naturalization clinics in Austin and San Antonio.
Faye served as the Citizenship Day coordinator for the Texas Chapter of AILA in 2008 and 2009. She presented at the conference, REGULATING UNREGULATED MIGRATION: European and U.S. Reactions to Immigration at the University of Pittsburgh in May, 2012. She also presented at the American Immigration Lawyers Association Annual conference in June, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Joseph De Mott began practicing law in 1976 and is licensed in both Texas State Court and Federal Court. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from the University of Nebraska. Committed to justice and advocacy, Mr. De Mott is a charter member of the State Bar of Texas Immigration and Nationality Law Section and served as the section's first Vice President for Family-Based Immigration Law. Additionally, he is a member of The American Immigration Lawyers Association and a founding partner of the law firm; however, in 2015 he moved to Of Counsel status. He is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Italian, French, and German. Throughout his career, Joe has helped thousands of immigrants achieve their goals in all aspects of Immigration Law.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Lance Curtright Managing Partner
- Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association
Lance Curtright, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, has practiced immigration law since 2001. He is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Curtright was selected for inclusion in the 2016-2021 editions of The Best Lawyers in America © by Woodward White, Inc. Under Mr. Curtright's lead, DMCA's Litigation Section was awarded the 2013 Best Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer magazine. Mr. Curtright is the firm's managing partner.
Mr. Curtright has successfully represented hundreds of clients in federal removal proceedings. His published decisions include: Mejia v. Barr, 952 F.3d 255 (5th Cir. 2020); Cabrera v. Sessions, 890 F.3d 153 (5th Cir. 2018); Iruegas-Valdez v. Yates, 846 F.3d 806 (2017); Hosseini v. Johnson, 826 F.3d 354 (6th Cir. 2016); Villegas-Sarabia v. Johnson, 123 F.Supp. 870 (W.D. Tex. 2015); Amrollah v. Napolitano, 710 F.3d 568 (5th Cir. 2013); Matter of Lamus, 25 I&N Dec. 61 (BIA 2009); and Mortera-Cruz v. Gonzales, 409 F.3d 246 (5th Cir. 2005). He has published articles about immigration law in several law magazines and is a frequent speaker at immigration law conferences. He previously served as the Immigration Customs and Enforcement liaison for the San Antonio district. He served as the Chair for the Texas/New Mexico/Oklahoma Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2019-2020. In 2021, he was elected to the San Antonio Bar Foundation Class of Fellows.
Mr. Curtright earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Dallas (UD) in Politics. He graduated from UD cum laude in 1998. After college, Mr. Curtright attended law school at the University of Nebraska where he graduated with distinction. He was selected to be on the school's National Moot Court team and was awarded the "Order of Barristers" based upon his advocacy skills.
Mr. Curtright is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the San Antonio Bar Association. Mr. Curtright is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the Western District of Texas, the Southern District of Texas, the Northern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Texas, the District of Nebraska, and Texas State courts.
Marisol Pérez is a native of San Angelo, Texas. She graduated from St. Mary's School of Law in the year 2000 where she was awarded the Richard Green Spirit of Social Justice Award in recognition of her clinical work on behalf of clients in San Antonio and South Texas. Marisol began practicing law in 2001 at De Mott, McChesney, Curtright & Armendáriz, L.L.P. In 2004, she joined the Southwest Regional Office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) as a staff attorney. She served as the immigrants' rights attorney handling litigation and legislative matters for nine states. While at MALDEF, she participated in several notable lawsuits defending immigrant rights around the country. In 2010, she returned to De Mott, McChesney, Curtright & Armendáriz, L.L.P. where she handles a wide range of immigration cases for the firm. Marisol is Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS). She has been involved with several bar associations, state bar committees, and nonprofit organizations. She is currently serving as vice-chair for the Texas, Oklahoma & New Mexico AILA Chapter, one of the largest chapters of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She has also served as a speaker at many continuing legal education conferences locally and nationally. She is also an adjunct professor at St. Mary's Law School where she teaches immigration law. Marisol has received several recognitions, including the LULAC National President's Community Leadership Award in 2009.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Attorney / Moderator
- Miguel De Hoyos Attorney
Miguel was born in Del Rio, Texas to an immigrant mother and a Mexican father. Facing first-hand the forced separation of his parents by a border, Mr. De Hoyos became interested in Immigration law at a very young age. Mr. De Hoyos obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law and has since been licensed in Oregon and Texas. While in law school, Mr. De Hoyos was a board member of the Student Bar Association, the Chicano Hispanic Student Law Association (CHLSA), a student-attorney for the Immigration Clinic, and performed both criminal and immigration defense at several Legal Aids. Mr. De Hoyos began working as a law clerk at DMCA.
Mr. De Hoyos is now a licensed attorney with DMCA's family immigration section. As a native Spanish speaker and someone who understands the hardships immigrants and their families undergo, Mr. De Hoyos has dedicated his career to zealously serving all those in need. Through his hard work, attentiveness, and compassion, Mr. De Hoyos wishes to continue providing the hope that America is built on.
Monica is a native of McAllen, Texas. While at SMU, she belonged to several honor societies and was the Hearing Board Chair for the University Hearing Board. Monica was also a Board Member of the University Honor Council.
While in law school, Monica was an Octa-finalist in the Jenkens & Gilchrist Annual First-Year Moot Court Competition and Executive Articles Editor and Staff Writer for The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Minority Issues. She also studied abroad at St. Mary's Institute on World Legal Problems in Innsbruck, Austria.
Before joining DMCA, Monica worked at a local law firm practicing criminal law and removal defense. She also volunteered with the Bexar County Staff Attorney's Office, in addition to working with ProBAR representing unaccompanied immigrant children. Monica has experience in family-based immigration, naturalization, VAWA and U visa petitions, consular processing, and removal defense.
Monica primarily works as DMCA's lead consular practice senior attorney, assisting clients that appear before U.S. embassies throughout the world to obtain their immigrant or nonimmigrant visas as well as to obtain waivers for any grounds of inadmissibility that may apply in their particular case. She also handles family-based immigration cases. Monica is fluent in Spanish.
Robert Jimenez practices primarily in the area of criminal law and has represented clients in a broad array of both felony and misdemeanor cases. Robert is committed to aggressively defending clients at each stage of their case and possesses the skill and determination needed to be successful in trial. In addition to defending the rights of the accused, Robert also practices family law and helps immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned and neglected apply for residency here in the United States. Whether in the criminal arena or family court, Robert has dedicated his profession to protecting those who need it most.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Robert was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2008 and was a solo practitioner until joining DMCA in 2011. Robert received his bachelor's degree from The University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and is a 2008 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. While in law school, Robert defended clients in Travis County as part of the Criminal Defense Clinic and represented people facing civil commitment as a member of the Mental Health Clinic
Ms. Lozano McChesney has extensive experience in all facets of immigration and nationality law. Primarily focusing in business immigration matters, she represents, advises and provides legal strategy to companies ranging from Fortune 100/Global 500 to small local businesses in various industries such as healthcare, restaurant, petroleum, construction, research, religion, technology, and education.
Experience:
Providing comprehensive legal representation for nearly two decades, she has obtained temporary work visas and lawful permanent residency for individuals and their families, and has provided corporate counsel on issues ranging from mergers and acquisitions to Department of Labor (DOL) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) I-9 and employer compliance audits. Ms. Lozano McChesney has cultivated expertise in advising foreign national investors and U.S. corporations in all areas including the establishment of EB-5 regional centers.
She has successfully represented clients in an array of professions including researchers, professors, international executives and managers, investors, engineers, IT professionals, accountants, priests, Hebrew instructors, national security experts, medical doctors, nurses, physical therapists, Olympic athletes, circus performers, construction workers, airplane mechanics, landscapers, and chefs.
Ruth Lozano McChesney, born in Mexico, immigrated to the United States as a child when her father took a position as a medical doctor with a Texas hospital. She was raised in a Spanish speaking home and has resided in San Antonio since 1994. She has practiced with the firm since 1998 and has managed it since 2000. She spearheaded DMCA's growth form a staff of 10 in one office to its current size in 5 locations and 3 cities.
Ms. Lozano McChesney has been published in professional journals and books, and is a frequently invited speaker at Continuing Legal Education conferences, universities and other professional venues.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Attorney / Moderator
- Valeria Guerra Attorney
Valeria was born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and immigrated to Laredo, Texas at the age of 7 with her parents and her older sister. Her experience as an immigrant inspired her to become an immigration lawyer.
Valeria graduated from Texas A&M International University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Dance. She graduated summa cum laude.
Valeria earned her law degree from St. Mary's University. She was awarded the St. Mary's University School of Law Dean's award and was a Dean's List honoree. She studied abroad through the Legal and Cultural Spring Break Program in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and through the St. Mary's University Law School Institute on World Legal Problems in Innsbruck, Austria. Valeria also served as a staff writer for The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice. In law school, Valeria worked as a student attorney at St. Mary's Center for Legal and Social Justice through the Consumer Protection Clinic, where she represented clients in evictions and homeownership hearings. Valeria also worked as a research assistant for Professor Roberto Rosas, writing and editing annual legal publications.
Valeria is fluent in Spanish. As an immigrant, Valeria is determined to zealously represent and guide her clients through the complexities of the immigration system.