The Law Office Of Schoenleber & Waltermire / Specializing in Immigration Law



Michael W. Schoenleber	Mr. Schoenleber became an attorney in 1980 soon after obtaining his law degree, J.D., from the UCLA School of Law. He first worked as a staff attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance in Delano, CA, then for a short time as a Deputy District Attorney in Yolo County. He has been practicing primarily in the area of immigration and nationality law since 1983. He has been certified as a specialist in immigration and nationality law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California continuously since 1989. Furthermore, he served a full term on the Immigration and Nationality Law Advisory Commission of the Board of Legal Specialization from 1998-2001. He was the principal attorney for the immigrant in two published federal court decisions: Singh v. INS, 94 F.3d 1353 (9th Cir 1996)(Fijian asylum); and Vang v. INS, 146 F.3d 1114 (9th Cir. 1998)(Hmong asylum). He has been honored annually by his colleagues as a “Northern California Super Lawyer” in the immigration law category (recognizing the top 5% of immigration lawyers in this region) from 2005-2008. Earlier in his legal career he co-authored a law review article in the environmental field. See M. Steinberg and M. Schoenleber, Riparian Rights to Salinity Control, 19 PACIFIC LAW JOURNAL 1143-1164 (1988). Between college and law school he spent several years working in agriculture, first on a cattle breeding ranch in San Diego, then as a packing foreman in a large Valencia orange packing house in Irvine, CA. He received his B.A. from Stanford University in Anthropology in June 1972. As part of that university program he spent six months living and studying in Mexico City. He wrote a case study on the history of the Mexican agrarian reform program. He is fluent in Spanish and enjoys traveling, reading, skiing, walking, bodysurfing, and bridge.

Mary M. Waltermire	Ms. Waltermire was an associate attorney in this office for more than five years before becoming a partner in 2002. She received her J.D. from King Hall, UC Davis School of Law in 1995. She received BAs in International Relations and History from UC Santa Barbara in 1984. She is certified as a specialist in immigration and nationality law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Before joining the firm, Ms. Waltermire served as a law clerk to Judge Harry Pregerson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Before attending law school, she worked several years for a non-profit international refugee assistance agency in the capacities of caseworker, office director, and deputy regional director. Ms. Waltermire also worked as a supervising attorney at UC Davis School of Law’s Immigration Law Clinic in 2001. Among her other community activities, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Southeast Asian Assistance Center (SAAC), a local non-profit assisting refugees. She authored a law review article on regulatory changes to the U.S. asylum system. See Mary M. Waltermire, An Analysis of the Clinton Administration's Proposed Asylum Reform Regulations, 1 U.C. Davis J. Int'l L. & Pol'y 1 (1995).

Johnny C. Walker	Mr. Walker is an associate attorney with our firm. He received his law degree from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2004 and his B.A.degree with high honors in Political Science from the University of Georgia in 2001. Prior to joining our staff Mr. Walker worked for the Legal Aid Society of Nashville, Tennessee, representing domestic violence victims in family court. During law school he worked for Public Defender offices in Athens, Georgia and Miami, Florida. Mr. Walker has lived and studied in Central America, is fluent in Spanish, and is a veteran of the U.S. Army. He is a member of the California and Tennessee State Bars.

Kimberly K. Haky	Ms. Haky is a part-time associate attorney here. She received her J.D. from King Hall, UC Davis School of Law in 2000. She received her M.A. in Latin American Studies from UCLA in 1996 and her B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley in 1992. Prior to joining my staff, Ms. Haky was an associate attorney at a well-regarded business immigration law firm. During law school, she worked for firms specializing in criminal defense and criminal immigration law. Before attending law school, Ms. Haky worked for over four years in Los Angeles as an immigration law paralegal handling family-based, employment-based, naturalization and deportation matters. Ms. Haky has lived in Spain and Costa Rica; she is fluent in Spanish.

Caryn H. Crosthwait	Ms. Crosthwait is an associate attorney with our firm. She received her law degree from King Hall, U.C. Davis School of Law in 2007. Prior to that, she earned Bachelor's (B.A.) degrees with high honors in History and Spanish from Drew University in 1996 and a Master's degree (M.A.) in History from Tufts University in 1999. For her Master's degree, she focused her study on U.S. immigration history. During law school, she worked for the U.C. Davis Immigration Law Clinic and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. Before attending law school, she worked for six years in Boston, Massachusetts as a paralegal at a well-regarded immigration law firm handling employment-based and family-based immigration matters. She also studied abroad in Valparaiso, Chile and worked for several summers at a fruit packing company in Ukiah, California. She is fluent in Spanish.

Ana María Mejía	Ms. Mejía works as a Senior Legal Assistant. She was an attorney at law in Colombia. She received her law degree in 1988 from The University of San Buenaventura in Colombia. As an attorney for more than twelve years, Ms. Mejía worked in General Corporate Law, Trademark and Health Registration issues. Ana Maria's native language is Spanish and she attended a bilingual French high school in Colombia. She immigrated to the United States in 1999. Since her arrival she has worked in the immigration law field.

Ana Rosa Salas	Ms. Salas works as a Legal Assistant. She was an attorney in Mexico. She received her law degree in 1995 from the Autonomous University in Guadalajara. As an attorney for three years in Mexico, Ms. Salas worked in General Corporate Law, Business, Civil, Labor, and Family issues. She also was a law teacher at the “Unico” College in Guadalajara, Mexico. She worked for almost two years at the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, California as an Assistant in the Protection and Documentation Department. She immigrated to the United States in 1999.

Maria de Jesus Serrano	Ms. Serrano works as a Legal Assistant. She was an executive secretary in Mexico. She received her diploma as a Secretary and Private Bookkeeper in 1979. Ms. Serrano worked for many years for the International Bank in Mexico. She also worked for the State of Durango, Mexico. She and her family immigrated to the United States in 1999. Maria enjoys playing volleyball and bowling in her spare time. She is married and has three sons.

Maria E. Perez	Ms. Perez works as our receptionist/office assistant. She received her Associate of Science degree in Business at Yuba Community College (Lake Campus). She is fluent in English and Spanish, and her parents are immigrants from Mexico. She moved to Sacramento in the summer of 2006 to continue her schooling. She grew up in Kelseyville, a small town on the edge of Clear Lake, California. She enjoys traveling, the outdoors, music and spending time with her family and friends.

Laura A. Arreola Camarena	Ms. Arreola works as a part-time student intern. She currently attends UC Davis, majoring in Spanish, Chicano Studies, and Sociology. She hopes to attend law school and become an immigration lawyer. She immigrated to the USA with her family from Jalisco, Mexico. She has been very active with community service and school organizations in Woodland and UC Davis. In her spare time she enjoys the outdoors, sports, dancing, and spending time with her family and friends.

Please contact us with any questions and we look forward to meeting you!