Attorneys / Administrative

Managing Partner

Honorable William P. Joyce

William P. Joyce Esq. retired as an Immigration Judge in the United States Immigration Court in July 2002. Prior to becoming an Immigration Judge, Judge Joyce served as Legal Counsel to the Chief Immigration Judge who supervised 210 Immigration Judges throughout the United States. In that capacity, Judge Joyce worked closely with other branches in the Justice Department and Congress in complex legal matters affecting the Immigration Court.
Judge Joyce was also an Assistant United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia, the Associate General Counsel of INS, and worked under Bill Weld at the United States Attorney Office in Boston. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the Georgetown University Law School.

Judge Joyce serves as Managing Director of Joyce and Associates. He has personally represented clients in extremely complex immigration cases with excellent results. These cases range from detained criminal aliens to individuals seeking relief through family and business petitions. He also can provide detailed analysis of individual cases with the likelihood of success. Further, Judge Joyce is actively involved in our business practice both in the obtaining of business visas and providing technical assistance to companies with compliance with immigrant requirements.

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Associate

Laura C. Joyce

Laura C. Joyce received her Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School. She received her Master’s in Social Work, specializing in clinical social work with children and families as well as her Bachelor’s degree in sociology, also from Boston College. Prior to joining Joyce & Associates, Laura worked as a therapist at the Boston Children’s Hospital, the Brandon Residential Treatment Center, and she continues to work part time at Bright Futures Adoptions. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. At Boston College Law School, she was the president of the Children’s Rights Law Group and represented children and their families in juvenile court and in family court matters. Laura has a particular interest in the overlap between family law and immigration law and represents many of our clients in the Family and Probate Court. Laura is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Associate

Adam Risser

Adam holds over six (6) years of immigration experience, predominantly with business-related visas such as H, L, TN, E, B, and employment-based immigrant petitions. He assists in responding to government requests, ensuring corporate and individual compliance with immigration regulations, as well as representing clients in front of USCIS, DHS, and DOL. Adam’s meticulous attention to detail and ardent advocacy secures immigration benefits for nonimmigrants, immigrants, students, refugees, asylees, and their dependents.

Adam graduated from New England Law | Boston, Cum Laude, in 2023. Throughout law school, Adam furthered his commitment to social justice issues through studies of Civil Rights Law, Administrative Law, and Immigration Law. He earned Dean’s List honors from 2019-2023 and was recognized for outstanding performance in the courses of Negotiations and Remedies. During undergraduate at Westfield State University, Adam majored in Criminal Justice and double minored in Political Science and Psychology. He brings a well-rounded approach to each of his client’s problems.

Adam is a member of AILA and is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Outside of the office, he can be found reading, cooking, and exploring nature by kayak, bicycle, or foot.

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Associate

Alina Voronov

Alina Voronov is an attorney in the firm’s immigration, appellate, and litigation practices. Ms. Voronov works on mandamus complaints and petitions for review before federal courts, as well as appeals and related motions before USCIS, immigration courts, and the Board of Immigration Appeals. She also works on complex immigration cases, including waivers, family-based petitions and adjustment of status, naturalization, asylum, and deportation defense, among others. She earned a JD from Boston College Law School and an AB from Harvard College. She joined the firm in 2019.

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Associate

Benjamin Peña

Benjamin Peña is experienced in family-based immigration, asylum and humanitarian relief, and deportation defense. He advises clients on criminal convictions that could impact their immigration status. Benjamin earned his B.A. from Hamilton College, and his J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. During law school, Benjamin participated in the Criminal Defense Clinic, the Civil Rights Clinic, and interned at various public defender offices throughout Lawrence, Massachusetts, and New York City.
 
Prior to joining the firm, Benjamin was an attorney at a Boston based immigration office where he represented clients before the Immigration Court on matters concerning asylum applications, cancellation of removal, and bond. He also represented clients facing misdemeanor and felony charges in criminal proceedings throughout Massachusetts. Benjamin began his legal career as a public defender in New York City. There, he represented clients facing misdemeanor charges in Manhattan Criminal Court from arraignment through hearings and trials. He collaborated with attorneys and advocates in the Civil, Family and Immigration Practices to avoid or mitigate consequences arising from client’s contact with the criminal system. Benjamin was born and raised in Harlem, a diverse immigrant-rich neighborhood in New York. He has successfully litigated dozens of cases in the areas of immigration and criminal defense. He is dedicated to serving the immigrant community with honesty, transparency, and grit.
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Associate

Ellen Connolly

Bio Coming Soon.

Associate

Kemelly Fortunati

Kemelly Fortunati counsels clients in a variety of immigration matters. She received her B.A., magna cum laude from Suffolk University and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law with concentrations in Business and Commercial Law, Privacy Law, and Intellectual Property & Innovation. She is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is also fluent in Portuguese. As the daughter of immigrant parents, Kemelly is dedicated to serving the immigrant community with transparency and attention to detail.

Operations Manager

Leandro Saes

Leandro received his Master’s Degree in Business Intelligence and his Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems from the Faculdade de Informatica e Administracao Paulista in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For years, Leandro worked providing technology services to Sao Paulo Court of Justice, bringing the digital process to 42% of the Civil Court throughout the State and 100% of the Appeal Court. After working as a Business Intelligence consultant for many years, he had a career change to Immigration Law when he came to the United States. He now serves as the Operations Manager of Joyce and Associates. His passion is to assist immigrants, like himself, in understanding the immigration process and bringing joy to people following their dream of living in the United States. Leandro speaks English and Portuguese.

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Executive Assistant

Jaqueline Loris

Jaqueline received her degree in visual arts from Federal University of Espirito Santo, in Brazil. She gained experience in the area of costume service and creation of projects for business through the art of communication. For five years, Jaqueline worked creating strategies to better serve the public with visual contact and auditory communication within contemporary art companies. She now serves as the Executive Assistant of Honorable William P. Joyce. Jaqueline has a great passion to help the immigrant and she speaks English and Portuguese.

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Executive Assistant

Thais Serafim

Thais received her Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Universidade Vila Velha in Espírito Santo, Brazil and was approved on the Brazilian Bar Exam. She worked as a Conciliator in the Civil Court in Brazil. Thais started working at Joyce & Associates as an Executive Assistant and she also got involved with Immigration Cases as a Paralegal. From her experience with Social Media since she was in College in Brazil helping other Law School students to study and pass Brazil’s bar exam, Thais now serves as the Social Media Manager of the firm together with an Executive Assistant role. Thais has a passion for Marketing and helping other Immigrants. Thais is fluent in English and Portuguese. 

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Qualified Legal Attorneys

Our attorneys have cumulatively decades of experience, have graduated from top tier institutions, and have helped thousands of immigrants and families.

Decades of Experience

Our staff has experience in federal and state courts, defending our clients in immigration court, and more.

Thousands Helped

Over the years we have helped thousands of immigrants and refugees achieve their dreams.

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