Attorney Dornelas has had various experiences throughout her career opening her up to many areas of the law. Before pursuing a law degree, she was a realtor and a loan officer. Her background in real estate has given her a unique understanding of the entire purchase, sale and refinance process, so that she can better counsel her clients.
She spent time interning at a small immigration law office where she helped file family-based and employment-based immigration petitions. She also interned at the Boston Immigration Court, where she sat in on immigration hearings, did immigration research, and wrote many immigration opinions for the Court. These experiences shaped her ability to be an effective counselor and advocate for the immigrant community.
Finally, Attorney Dornelas worked at the Legal Advocacy and Resource Center (LARC), a legal hotline in Boston. At LARC, she gave legal advice on various legal topics including family law, employment law, landlord/tenant law, social assistance/government benefits law, and consumer law. Currently, she is a volunteer with the Community Legal Services and Counseling Center (CLSACC) and the Women's Bar Foundation (WBF), where she represents victims of domestic violence in Family and Probate Court in Massachusetts.
Attorney Dornelas is admitted to practice law in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Jessica M. Dornelas pursued her undergraduate degree at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. In college, Attorney Dornelas majored in International Studies, Latin American Studies and Anthropology. She also studied abroad in Manaus in the Amazon state of Brazil.
After college, Attorney Dornelas obtained her law degree from the New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. There she served as the Managing Editor, on the Executive Board, of the New England Law Review.