Attorney Janell Avila
Janell N. Avila is a partner at the law firm of Solorio Avila Law Firm, LLC. Ms. Avila is a 2002 graduate of DePaul College of Law in Chicago, Illinois.
During law school, Ms. Avila provided services to low-income clients as a Public Interest Law Intern (PILI) for three years at Legal Aid of Metropolitan Chicago (LAFMAC) in the areas of housing defense, public benefits, family law, and immigration.
Ms. Avila also represented families for immigration benefits and in Immigration Court as part of the DePaul College of Law’s Immigration and Asylum Law Clinic.
Following law school, Ms. Avila was an associate for an immigration law firm in Chicago and an associate at a Kansas City firm before joining Solorio & Avila Law Firm, LLC.
Ms. Avila has also worked for UMKC Law School as the diversity and inclusion coordinator. Ms. Avila is first generation Bolivian-American and was raised in Kansas City, Kansas. Ms. Avila is bilingual in Spanish.
EDUCATION:
- Bachelors degree: The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1999 – Emphasis Political Science
- Juris Doctor Degree: DePaul Collage of Law, Chicago, IL 2002
PROFESSIONAL LICENSE:
- Illinois Supreme Court
- Kansas Supreme Court
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE:
Ms. Avila limits her practice to the area of immigration law. Ms. Avila’s practice is primarily focused on family-based immigration cases, removal cases in Immigration Court, lawful permanent residency and naturalization cases.
PUBLICATIONS AND RADIO:
Ms. Avila previously authored a monthly immigration column for a Spanish language magazine, Ñ Magazine for over 12 years as well authored articles in various other regional publications. Ms. Avila previously presented a weekly radio call in show on Spanish language radio for two years in Kansas City.
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS:
- Cristo Rey High School – past board member & student mentor
- Hispanic National Bar Association – board member & various leadership positions
- Latina Giving Circle – past steering committee founding member
- MANA de Kansas City, a national Latina organization – past board member
- Mattie Rhodes Center, Si Se Puede Program – past volunteer attorney
- Mexican Consulate, Kansas City – Legal advisor on immigration matters
- The American Immigration Lawyer Association – Kansas City & Chicago chapter – member
- The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association – member & diversity section co-chair
- The Earl E. O’Connor Inn of Court – past board member & community outreach co-chair
- The Greater Kansas City Hispanic Bar Association – past president & board member
- The Hispanic Development Fund – past board member
- Sigma Lambda Gamma, a national Latina sorority, KU Chapter – founder / alumna
- UMKC Avanzando Program – past student mentor
- U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Committee Midwest Region – past member
