Attorneys

Leah W. Hurwitz, Esq.
President
Ms. Hurwitz has over 28 years of experience representing clients with their immigration matters. Through her experience with the U.S. Consulates around the world, numerous Immigration Courts, and United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) processing centers throughout the country, she has the proven expertise in immigration law to see and overcome the many hurdles and obstacles that would otherwise impede the aspirations of her clients. As a dual national (Mexican and U.S.) and a first generation United States citizen, she understands the sensitive nature of the immigration process.

Ms. Hurwitz earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her Juris Doctorate from the California Western School of Law in San Diego, California.

Ms. Hurwitz has a rich history of experience and service within the Immigration law community of San Diego. Ms. Hurwitz has served within the Immigration Section of the San Diego County Bar Association as secretary and vice-president and served within the San Diego County Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) as secretary and treasurer. Ms. Hurwitz has guest lectured on Immigration law at the University of San Diego School of Law and currently serves as an AILA mentor for other immigration attorneys. Ms. Hurwitz was also a celebrated speaker at AILA’s Conference on Immigration Law Basics in 2000.

Ms. Hurwitz is admitted to practice law before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit. Ms. Hurwitz is a member of the State Bar of California, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Immigration Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA).

Ms. Hurwitz is fluent in Spanish and French.

Daniel M. Todd, Esq.
Associate
A native of Southern California, Mr. Todd earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego in 1997 and his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2002.

Since joining the firm in 2003, Mr. Todd has worked extensively in all aspects of immigration law, including family-based immigration law, naturalization, removal defense and employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing. Mr. Todd has also successfully argued several complex asylum cases before the San Diego Immigration Court.

Mr. Todd is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice law before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Mr. Todd is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Matthew G. Holt, Esq.
Associate
Mr. Holt earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara with High Honors in 2004 and his Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California as a Trustee Scholar in 2007.

Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Mr. Holt clerked for Guerrero Jacobs & Schlesinger, LLP in 2006 and served as a judicial extern for the Honorable William L. Nixon at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2007. Since joining the firm, Mr. Holt has worked extensively on asylum, cancellation of removal and consular processing matters.

Mr. Holt is a member of the State Bar of California and is admitted to practice law before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

Additionally, Mr. Holt is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA), the Immigration Law Section of the San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA), the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and is a trained and certified mediator.

Mr. Holt is fluent in Portuguese and conversant in Spanish.

Paralegal

Marina Belkin
Ms. Belkin has worked closely with clients and attorneys in all areas of immigration law since joining the firm in 1992. She specializes in navigating clients from all over the world through the PERM labor certification process and works extensively with clients from Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Belarus, Latvia in all matters of immigration, including asylum, cancellation of removal proceedings, adjustment of status, and employment-based visa processing.

Ms. Belkin obtained her Master's degree in English from the Moscow State Pedagogical University in Moscow, Russia and taught English for 18 years. After immigrating to the United States in 1991, she received her paralegal degree with honors from California Coast College.

Ms. Belkin keeps abreast of new developments in immigration law by attending conferences sponsored by the American Immigration Lawyer's Association.

Ms. Belkin is fluent in Russian.

Administration

Angie Quemuel
Ms. Quemuel is a San Diego native. Ms. Quemuel joined the firm in 2007. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Quemuel honed her office management skills through various positions within office management and human resources. Ms. Quemuel assists clients with scheduling and translations and provides clients current information on their cases.

Ms. Quemuel is fluent in Spanish.