Presently, Ambassador Siegel is Chairman of the Board of The Siegel Group, a multi-disciplined international business management advisory firm specializing in real estate, energy, utilities, infrastructure, financial services, oil & gas and cyber & security technologies. Ambassador Siegel serves on the Board of Directors and Advisory Boards of numerous public and private companies, and private equity groups. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Connecticut in 1973 and received a Juris Doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law in 1976.
In addition to his 30 years of entrepreneurial success, Ambassador Siegel has a distinguished record of public service. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Mr. Siegel served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas from October 2007 to January 2009. In 2006, he was appointed by President Bush to serve with Ambassador John R. Bolton at the United Nations in New York, serving as the Senior Advisor to the U.S. Mission and as the United States Representative to the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Prior to his Ambassadorship, he was honored with a Presidential appointment to the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), where he served from 2003-2007.
Jonathan Avirom earned degrees from the University of Virginia (B.A. in 1960) and from Brooklyn Law School (LL.B in 1963 and an LL.M in 1964).
Mr. Avirom is a past President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and currently is a member of its Board of Directors. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at the AILA Annual Conferences and a member of an International Network of Boutique Law Firms.
Mr. Avirom has been listed in the Best Lawyers in New York and Super Lawyers for the past 25 years.
Martin Rothstein joins the firm as Senior Counsel and brings with him a wealth of professional knowledge. Mr. Rothstein has earned degrees from the City College of New York (B.A. in 1965) and from New York University School of Law (J.D. in 1968). Prior to joining Wildes & Weinberg he was a general attorney for the Federal Communications Commission, a trial attorney for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and a partner at Barst, Mukamal, and Kleiner, specializing in U.S. Immigration Law. Mr. Rothstein is admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of International Trade, the Second, Third, Fifth, Ninth, and Federal Circuits of the U.S. Courts of Appeals, the Eastern, Southern, and Northern New York Districts, the District of Columbia, District of the U.S. District Courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
A seasoned and prominent immigration lawyer Mr. Rothstein has earned substantial recognition for his work and has been featured in the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America, New York Super Lawyers, and “New York Area Best Lawyers” in New York Magazine in addition to being a proud recipient of Martindale Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating indicating that the legal community ranks him at the highest levels of professional excellence.
Mr. Rothstein is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) where he served as Chair of the New York Chapter and on its National Board of Governors, and the New York, American, and Federal Bar Associations. He has been a faculty member at the AILA Annual Conference and a lecturer on AILA’s Immigration Law and Practice seminar as well as guest lecturer at numerous continuing legal education institutes and law schools. Moreover, he is the co-author of “US Immigration Laws: Working, Living, and Studying in America” which has been translated into Japanese and Chinese.
Born, raised and educated in Southern California, Helen Yu Leseberg has spent more than two decades advocating on behalf of artists, songwriters, producers, and creative talent in the entertainment industry. As the principal attorney at Hollywood-based Yu Leseberg, A Prof Law Corp, Ms. Yu is a noted authority on entertainment business strategies and contract negotiations. Working under the highest ethical standards, she is an advocate for her clients and the go-to attorney for recording artists on matters pertaining to entertainment business strategies.
In her two decades of experience, Ms. Yu has represented a variety of artists including: Ty Dolla $ign; David Guetta; members of the Black Eyed Peas; Snoop Dogg; producers Printz Board; Keith Harris and George Pajon; Earth Wind & Fire’s Verdine White; Estate of Jimmy Holiday; L.A. Rebellion film movement leader Jamaa Fanaka; the late Latin-Regional Mexican Superstar Joan Sebastian; Laid Back Luke; Tupac Shakur Super Producer Deon Evans; YG; the T. Rex and Marc Bolan Music Catalog; and television composers Transcenders, just to name a few.
Ms. Yu is the founder of North Hudson Music, a finely-curated music publishing administration company that assists songwriters in collecting royalties for their works throughout the world. This includes copyrights of songs performed by a variety of artists, including Justin Timberlake, Wiz Kahlifa, Snoop Dogg, Bruno Mars, Mary J. Blige, Christina Milian, Britney Spears, YG, Tyga, and many more.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from Cal State University, Northridge and her Juris Doctor, with honors, from Whittier College School of Law.
Prior to law school, she was a professional musician and interned at California’s premier live music promoter, Avalon Attractions (now Live Nation), as well as at Enigma Records. During law school, Ms. Yu interned in the legal and business affairs department of Motown Records. Prior to founding Yu Leseberg in 2000, she was employed in-house at Virgin Records America and at Sony Pictures Entertainment Group.
She has served as a guest lecturer in legal matters at the largest music industry conference in Europe, the Amsterdam Dance Event. In 2012, she was a guest lecturer for Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter’s Film and TV Conference.
Ms. Yu is licensed to practice law in the state of California and the U.S. District Court, Central District of California. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 1995.
Victoria Calle is admitted to the Bars of New York, New Jersey and California. She has 20 years of experience as an attorney, predominantly in immigration law. Her immigration expertise encompasses all types of employment-based/work visas and permanent residence for foreign professionals and family members; investors from Europe, Canada, and Asia; intracompany transfers; internationally acclaimed athletes, performers, and artists; education visas; as well as immigration appeals; deportation defense and asylum.
Ms. Calle’s experience includes representation before the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Executive Office of Immigration Review throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico (Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals), as well as District Court of Appeals before the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th Circuits. Ms. Calle received over 30 favorable remands, after arguments (including oral arguments), from the Board of Immigration Appeals and Court of Appeals for the 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 9th, and 11th Circuits. Two of these favorable remands were precedential (published), involving immigration issues.
Before joining Wildes & Weinberg, Ms. Calle managed her own law practice for over 15 years. Her clientele consisted of large international corporations to private companies, individuals and artists. In addition to her extensive experience in immigration law, Ms. Calle’s extensive experience includes successful representation of foreigners and U.S. companies before various state agencies and courts across the country in licensing and commercial disputes; negotiating and handling commercial leases, shareholder agreements, commercial and residential sales of property, businesses, hotels, joint-ventures, as well as artists’ contracts with collaborators, agents and entertainment companies. Ms. Calle also handled federal, state and local criminal defense. Most notably, Ms. Calle successfully defended a federal “economic espionage” case as co-counsel after a three week jury trial and one week of deliberations. She was appointed for two years (2010-2012) as a federal defender under the Criminal Justice Act for the 3rd Circuit.
Mr. Retter has earned degrees from City University of New York, City College (B.A.), and Brooklyn Law School (J.D.). Mr. Retter is licensed and admitted to practice law in both Florida as well as in New York. Mr. Retter served as the Secretary of the South Florida Immigration Lawyer’s (AILA) local chapter for many years. He has authored multiple Consular practices and procedures articles for the official AILA Consular and Visa Processing Guide series , covering Moscow, St Petersburg, and Kiev. Mr. Retter has also lectured extensively at annual AILA conferences throughout the United States.
A seasoned and prominent lawyer, Mr. Retter brings to Wildes & Weinberg a wealth of experience in several practice areas such as Real Estate and Business Law, as well as more than 40 years of practice in U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law. Mr. Retter will be established and offer immigration consultation services in our Miami ( Aventura) office.
Mr. Retter is also a Talmudic Scholar and the author of the Sefer HaMafteach®, an Indexed Reference Guide to Talmud Bavli and the Mishnayos, in Hebrew and English, now a free app, and a frequent contributor of feature articles to The Jewish Press.
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