Hon. Lisa Dornell

Hon. Lisa Dornell

Retired Immigration Judge

Panelist, Visions for the Future: Ways to Create a Just and Humane Immigration System

Judge Dornell began her federal government service in 1986 as a Trial Attorney in the New York district office of the former INS after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 from the University of Vermont and a Juris Doctor in 1986 from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. She served as an Assistant General Counsel at INS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. until 1990. From 1990 to 1995, Judge Dornell worked at the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, last serving there as a Senior Litigation Counsel. Judge Dornell was appointed as an Immigration Judge in April 1995 by Attorney General Janet Reno. She retired from the bench in April of 2019. Judge Dornell has been a guest lecturer on immigration topics in law schools throughout the country as well as at the National Judicial College. She is a member of both the Texas and District of Columbia Bars and currently serves as a Commissioner on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration.