 | |
| Industry | Law |
|---|---|
| Founded | Toronto, Ontario |
| Founder | Mario D. Bellissimo |
| Website | bellissimolawgroup.com |
Bellissimo Law Group PC is a Canadian law firm based in Toronto, Ontario. [1] The firm specializes in citizenship, immigration, and refugee protection law. [2] Its founder is Mario D. Bellissimo, an immigration lawyer and an author of multiple legal publications. [3]
Mario D. Bellissimo is the founder of Bellissimo Law Group Professional Corporation, setting up its head office in Toronto. [4] He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and became a Certified Specialist in Citizenship and Immigration Law and Refugee Protection. [5] His experience includes serving as the past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Law Section and an appointed member of the Federal Court Rules Committee. [6] [7]
Bellissimo Law Group PC specializes in Canadian citizenship, immigration and refugee law. It deals with individual and corporate litigation, immigration inadmissibility, and protected persons cases. [8] It also handles applications for permanent residency and temporary residency in Canada. [2] The firm has appeared before all immigration tribunals and courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. [9] In 2005, it provided co-counsel for the Hilewitz v Canada and De Jong v Canada case. [10] In 2017, Bellissimo Law Group PC worked on Hassouna v Canada. [11] The firm represented one of the applicants, successfully reversing an unconstitutional citizenship revocation law. [12] [13] Former Justice Jocelyne Gagné ruled that Canadian citizenship is a right and not a privilege. [14] [15]
Bellissimo Law Group PC has testified before the Parliament of Canada committees and Senate of Canada committees, contributing to the proposed amendments to citizenship, immigration, and protected persons laws. Bellissimo, a legal expert on medical inadmissibility, spoke about the subject before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) in 2017. [16] [17] Additionally, Bellissimo Law Group PC submitted recommendations to the CIMM in 2022. [18] The brief proposed technological reforms to the use of artificial intelligence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). [19] [20]
In 2023, Bellissimo Law Group PC submitted a brief to C-27 regarding the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA), the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act (PIDPTA), and the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA). [21] [22] Its recommendations include the need for a universal Canadian Charter of Digital Rights and Freedoms and legislative right to data security and transparency in the use of AI. It also recommended legislative protections of AI under user control, AI legal training requirements, and legislated external audits. [23] In the same year, Bellissimo testified before the CIMM regarding his analysis of Bill S-8, which involves applying sanctions on foreign nationals. [24] [25]
Bellissimo Law Group PC is involved in providing legal analysis and policy papers to the Canadian government. [26] [27] Bellissimo has proposed recommendations on behalf of immigration advocacy associations and an individual capacity. [28] [29] Bellissimo Law Group PC has served on multiple committees involving the Federal Court of Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), and the Department of Justice Canada. [30]
Over the years, Bellissimo Law Group PC has been interviewed by numerous media sources as an authority on immigration law. Its print interviews include the National Post , The Globe and Mail , Toronto Star, and others. [31] [32] [33] Likewise, its television and radio interviews include CBC News, CTV News, OMNI News, and other outlets. [34] [35] [36] The firm has spoken extensively to the media about international students in Canada. [37] [38] In August 2023, Bellissimo appeared in CBC Radio's The Current to analyze the topic and propose changes to the international student system. [39] In addition, Bellissimo has taught immigration law courses and presented at nationwide legal seminars. [40] [41] [42]
Bellissimo Law Group PC has years of experience handling pro bono cases. [16] [43] It acts pro bono for COSTI Immigration Resettlement Services, serving as the Immigration Law and Policy Advisor. [44] In addition, the firm is one of the pro bono partners for Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (HSC), providing counsel for numerous families. [45] Its work involves helping ill children and their parents at risk of deportation. [46] [47]
Bellissimo Law Group PC has released multiple legal publications about different facets of Canadian immigration law. [48] The works include Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law and A Practical Guide to Canadian Citizenship and Inadmissibility. [49] [50] In 2019, Bellissimo authored Labour Market Impact Assessments, Compliance and Enforcement: A Practical Guide. [51] He is also an Editor-in-Chief of Immigration Law Reporter and ImmQuest, which examine immigration cases and policies. [3] [52]
Bellissimo has also authored Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility: Criminal Law Edition. [53] His other publications include A Practical Guide to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law: Corporate Edition, A Practical Guide to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law: Refugee Law Edition, and A Practical Guide to Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Inadmissibility Law: Immigration Practitioner’s Edition. [54] [55] [56]
In 2016, Bellissimo Law Group PC received the Canadian National Pro Bono Law Firm Award from Pro Bono Ontario (PBO). [43] In 2023, PBO and Canadian Lawyer recognized Bellissimo Law Group PC as an awardee for the Best Pro Bono Law Firms in Canada. [57] Additionally, Best Lawyers named Bellissimo as Lawyer of the Year for Immigration Law in Toronto, Canada in 2016, 2018, and 2021 and The Best Lawyers in Canada for Immigration Law in the 2024 edition. [58]
Jason Thomas Kenney is a Canadian former politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022 and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Calgary-Lougheed from 2017 until 2022. Kenney was the last leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party before the party merged with the Wildrose Party to form the UCP. Prior to entering Alberta provincial politics, he served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2015.
Andrew Peter Telegdi, PC was a Canadian politician. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2008, representing Waterloo and the successor riding of Kitchener—Waterloo.
Jeremy Dean Hinzman is an Iraq War resister who was the first American deserter to seek refugee status in Canada.
In Canada, a security certificate is a legal mechanism by which the Canadian government can detain and deport permanent residents and all other non-citizens living in Canada.
The War Resisters Support Campaign (WRSC) is a Canadian non-profit community organization, founded in April 2004 in Toronto, Ontario to mobilize support among Canadians and worldwide to convince the Canadian government to offer sanctuary to all U.S. military personnel who wish to come to Canada because of their opposition to the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Canadian immigration and refugee law concerns the area of law related to the admission of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights and responsibilities once admitted, and the conditions of their removal. The primary law on these matters is in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, whose goals include economic growth, family reunification, and compliance with humanitarian treaties.
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, also known as Hale & Dorr and WilmerHale, is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. It is co-headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Boston. It was formed in 2004 through the merger of the Boston-based firm Hale and Dorr and the Washington-based, firm Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, and employs more than 1,000 attorneys worldwide.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,200 legal professionals in 31 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mergers with other law firms stimulated global growth and led to a ranking of eighth on The American Lawyer's 2018 top 100 firms by gross revenue list. It is also the largest law firm chaired by a woman and represents "three-quarters of the Fortune 100 companies."
Dechert LLP is an American multinational law firm of more than 900 lawyers with practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, financial services, asset management, and private equity. In 2021, the firm raised revenues by 25%, with a total of $1.3 billion. On the 2022 Global 200 survey, Dechert ranked as the 41st highest grossing law firm in the world.
Mohammed Zeki Mahjoub is an Egyptian national who was arrested in May 2000 on a security certificate for his alleged membership in the Vanguards of Conquest.
Mayer Brown is a global white-shoe law firm, founded in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It has offices in 27 cities throughout the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, with its largest offices being in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York City, Hong Kong, and London.
Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 15 offices and more than 680 attorneys and principals who provide legal and advocacy services to clients in the United States and around the world.
Legal aid in the United States is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system in the United States. In the US, legal aid provisions are different for criminal law and civil law. Criminal legal aid with legal representation is guaranteed to defendants under criminal prosecution who cannot afford to hire an attorney. Civil legal aid is not guaranteed under federal law, but is provided by a variety of public interest law firms and community legal clinics for free or at reduced cost. Other forms of civil legal aid are available through federally-funded legal services, pro bono lawyers, and private volunteers.
A war resister is a person who resists war. The term can mean several things: resisting participation in all war, or a specific war, either before or after enlisting in, being inducted into, or being conscripted into a military force.
Barbara Louise Jackman is a Canadian lawyer specializing in immigration and refugee law, with particular emphasis on cases involving domestic violence and international human rights issues, torture and other cruel or unusual punishment, allegations of membership in and/or support of terrorist organizations, the rights and protections afforded by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Canada's responsibilities under international treaties. She has been described as being one of Canada's most effective advocates for immigration and refugee rights.
The Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) is a voluntary bar association with more than 16,000 members throughout Los Angeles County, California, and the world. Founded in 1878, LACBA has strived to meet the professional needs of lawyers, advance the administration of justice, and provide the public with access to justice.
The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) is a standing committee of the Canadian House of Commons that studies issues related to citizenship and immigration in Canada.
Warren Leonard Creates, B.A., J.D. is a leading Canadian Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship lawyer based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He was designated as a Certified Specialist in Immigration, in Citizenship and in Refugee Law by the Law Society of Ontario in 2006 and has maintained this designation every year since.
The Alaska Immigration Justice Project(AIJP) is a non-profit agency that provides low-cost immigration legal assistance to immigrants and refugees in all immigration applications including citizenship, permanent resident status, work permits, asylum, family-based petitions and immigration petitions for immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.
Arif Virani is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada since July 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, Virani represents Parkdale—High Park in the House of Commons. Prior to his appointment as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, he held a number of parliamentary secretary portfolios, including to the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship from 2015 to 2017, and to the minister of Canadian heritage (multiculturalism) from 2017 to 2018, to the minister of justice and attorney general from 2018 to 2021, and to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development from 2021 to 2023.