Elyssa Williams

Elyssa received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish from Indiana University. While an undergrad, Elyssa studied at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Madrid, Spain, where she led a study on international doctorate programs for the Instituto Universitario de Investigación Ortega y Gasset.

Elyssa has a J.D. cum laude from Quinnipiac University School of Law, where she was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society and competed as a finalist in the National Appellate Advocacy Competition. Elyssa also studied international law for two months in Florence, Italy. While in law school, she received wide-ranging experience as a law clerk in the Connecticut Superior Courts. She also served as a legal intern for the State of Connecticut Attorney General’s Office in the Environmental Division and as a law clerk in the International, Trademarks and Corporations Group for a large corporation.

Prior to joining the Bronx Defenders, Elyssa worked in private practice for nine years during which time she became partner of a law firm in New Haven, Connecticut. Elyssa spent her time arguing issues of first impression before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, presenting legal seminars on immigration bond hearings and practicing a wide range of immigration law, including asylum, employment petitions, specialized visas and complex criminal immigration appeals.