About

Hard Work - Passion - Experrience

We'll guide you through uncertainty and help you achieve your immigration success.

The attorneys at Rivas & Associates are dedicated to each of their clients and their stories. Guided through shared values and mutual respect, our team is committed to serving those seeking their American Dream.

Lorena Rivas

Senior Attorney

Lorena Rivas is an experienced and accomplished immigration law attorney. She brings a dynamic and accomplished skill set to the firm, highlighted by her work on many complex and high stakes immigration cases in and outside of the state.

Elissa Stiles

Associate Attorney

Elissa Stiles is a rising star in the field of immigration law.

The Tulsa immigration lawyer is a supervising attorney with Rivas & Associates, where Elissa dedicates herself to asylum cases, deportation defense, detained representation, appeals, and federal immigration-based litigation.

Elissa has a particular passion for removal defense and has zealously represented noncitizens in trials before immigration courts across the United States. She continues to fight for clients at the appellate level and has advocated before the Board of Immigration Appeals, as well as the Tenth and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals. Elissa also represents immigrants in mandamus suits before federal district courts to challenge the unreasonable processing delays that prevent applicants from obtaining lawful status.

An adventurer at heart, Elissa Stiles developed her passion for working with people from around the globe during her undergraduate studies abroad in Peru, Madagascar, and Brazil.

Elissa attended law school at the University of Tulsa with the particular goal of becoming an immigration attorney and creating a positive impact on the lives of noncitizens by practicing law from within the Tulsa community. In her first year of law school, Elissa joined Rivas & Associates as an intern and has worked with the firm ever since, transitioning to the role of attorney in 2019. Elissa co-founded and served as president of TU’s Immigration Law Society, in addition to planning and implementing an annual pro bono service trip to an immigration detention center in south Texas.

Elissa currently serves as the chair of the Tulsa County Bar Association’s Immigration Section, as well as the vice chair of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Immigration Section. She presents yearly CLEs to area attorneys on complex immigration topics and serves as a mentor to new immigration attorneys in the Tulsa area.

When she’s not preparing immigrant petitions or advocating in a courtroom, Elissa is often found at a book club discussing a classic novel over a cup of tea, or hiking alongside her trusty pup Calypso.

Grisel Wilson

Associate Attorney

Grisel Wilson is an experienced attorney in criminal and immigration law. She gained trial experience as a former public defender in Eastern Kentucky, representing a variety of clients charged with simple misdemeanors to serious felony offenses.

Braxton Coil immigration review attorney

Braxton Coil

Associate Attorney

Braxton Coil was born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma. She has done criminal defense work and immigration work in the last few years.
She enjoys all things sports-related. Her personal favorites, aside from softball, of course, are baseball and football. She played college softball at Missouri State University.
She currently does not have any children but would love to be a mom someday.
She would say that she is joyful, passionate, and a sensitive person. She wears her emotions on her sleeve- she always has. She thinks it is both her strength and her weakness.
She is passionate about the work we do and about making a difference in the lives of our clients. Each and every day we have the opportunity to change someone’s life for the better. How cool is that?

Natalie Leone

Associate Attorney

Natalie Leone has extensive experience in business, civil and criminal law on both sides of the aisle. She is licensed to practice law in both Texas and Oklahoma and is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, where she serves as a member of the Women in Law Committee and a member of the EPT section, the Texas Bar Association, the Ft. Bend County Bar Association, the Tulsa County Bar Association, and the Delta Theta Phi legal fraternity.


Natalie graduated from Oral Roberts University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Management, The University of Tulsa College of Business in 2008 with a Master of Business Administration, and The University of Tulsa School of Law in 2008 with a Juris Doctorate. Prior to joining Rivas & Associates, she worked as an associate at a defense firm where she focused primarily on insurance defense and estate planning, worked for Bank of Oklahoma as the primary tax guru for large estates, practiced with a boutique estate planning firm, coached other attorneys as an elite trial consultant, and served first as a prosecutor then as a public defender for Tulsa County. In addition to her vast legal experience, Natalie has also launched several businesses as an entrepreneur. She understands balancing all the competing needs of a business and loves helping people realize their American dream. Natalie’s practice at Rivas & Associates is primarily focused on business law where she helps clients form their businesses and protect their assets.


Natalie is originally from Sand Diego, CA but currently resides in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with her three fabulous children, two rambunctious puppies, and one sassy cat. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing nerdy boardgames, doing overly ambitious home improvement projects, and gliding around a ballroom dance floor.

Brenda Doroteo

Associate Attorney

My name is Brenda Doroteo and I am originally from Cali, Colombia. Currently, I live in Yukon, Oklahoma with my husband, Ricardo, and our two daughters, Annalia and Laila. We also have a big loving dog who loves to cuddle and is unaware of her size (half Boxer- half Great Dane), Belle. Our daughters are very involved in competitive sports so between work and sports, we stay busy!

I grew up in Oklahoma most of my life. I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2006. Shortly after graduating, I began working with the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) in juvenile probation and parole. I worked my way up to Assistant District Supervisor in Oklahoma County. After a nearly 10-year career with OJA, I applied and was accepted to law school. Law school was quite the journey as a wife and mother, but with my family’s love and support (and many sleepless nights of studying) I graduated from the Oklahoma City University School of Law in 2019. Since then, I have practiced in the areas of Personal Injury- Medical Malpractice, Criminal Defense, and Immigration. I currently serve on the Board of the Oklahoma Association of Justice for Trial Attorneys and was selected as a 2022 Super Lawyers – Rising Star in the area of Medical Malpractice. The biggest accomplishment I am most proud of is being an example of perseverance and determination for my daughters. I always want them to remember that the sky is the limit!

For the majority of my childhood, my parents and I were undocumented while living in the U.S. We experienced first hand the fears and struggles that come with being undocumented. I believe these life experiences make me more empathetic to the clients we serve at R&A and makes me fight that much harder on their behalf. The “American Dream” looks different for everyone and I am honored to be part of the journey for our clients!

I would describe myself as hard working, compassionate and goal-oriented. If there is no goal- what are you working toward? My definition of happiness is family. Without them, there is no me.

Rivas & Associates

Your Immigration Team

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Looking to join our diverse and exciting team? Visit our careers page for more information and a list of available positions.

Biography

Lorena Rivas is an experienced and accomplished trial attorney with the Tulsa Law Firms of The Lawyers of Kendall Whittier and Rivas & Associates where her practice encompasses both family and immigration law. 

As a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), much of Lorena’s work centers on the legal representation of individuals who are facing the numerous and complicated immigration laws of the United States in affirmative and defensive cases.

For a fourth consecutive year, Lorena Rivas was recognized as one of the nation’s most outstanding immigration attorneys. Super Lawyers recognized Rivas to its prestigious Super Lawyers® Rising Stars list. Many consider her to be one of the most visible Tulsa immigration law attorneys.

Awards and Continuing Legal Education

For her notable efforts, Lorena was the recipient of the 2018 Fern Holland Award, which is annually given to a lawyer who advocates for human rights or the empowerment of women, and was selected as a 2018 Super Lawyers Rising Star.

Additionally, she was selected to speak at the annual American Immigration Council’s American Heritage Awards in Orlando, Florida for their American Dreams speech contest in July 2019.

She is the past chair of the immigration law section for the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) and has served on various committees with AILA. Lorena is a graduate of the OBA’s Leadership Academy and the OBA Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute, and has participated in various seminars with the Trial Lawyers College.

 

Education

She was nominated for the 2015 Williams Women of Inspiration Award and is a member of Leadership Tulsa Class 60. Lorena graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa College of Law where she not only graduated with honors, but also actively participated in the Immigrant Rights Legal Clinic.

Lorena also received her M.A. from Fort Hays State University and a B.S. from Saint Gregory’s University.

Originally from Mutual, Oklahoma, Lorena is the proud daughter of two Mexican nationals who have paved the way for her to continually serve and represent her community as an immigration law attorney.

Super Lawyer Lorena Rivas

Lorena Rivas

senior Attorney

Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Court

Elissa Stiles

Associate Attorney

Biography

Elissa Stiles is a rising star in the field of immigration law.

The Tulsa immigration attorney is an associate attorney with Rivas & Associates, where Elissa Stiles dedicates herself to the practice of immigration law by focusing on family petitions, citizenship applications, asylum cases, visas for victims of crime, deportation defense, and appeals.

Elissa has a particular passion for asylum cases and has zealously represented individuals seeking refuge from persecution in the countries of Cameroon, Egypt, Venezuela, and Cuba, just to name a few. Elissa also enjoys researching and preparing appellate arguments and has advocated for her clients before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

An adventurer at heart, Elissa Stiles developed her passion for working with people from around the globe during her undergraduate studies abroad in Peru, Madagascar, and Brazil.

She attended law school at the University of Tulsa with the particular goal of becoming an immigration attorney and having a positive impact on peoples’ lives by practicing law from within the Tulsa community.

As a first-year law student, Elissa joined Rivas & Associates as an intern and has worked with the firm ever since, transitioning to the role of attorney in 2019. Elissa co-founded and served as president of TU’s Immigration Law Society, in addition to planning and implementing an annual pro bono service trip to an immigration detention center in south Texas.

When she’s not preparing immigrant petitions or advocating in a courtroom, Elissa is often found at a book club discussing a classic novel over a cup of tea, or hiking alongside her trusty pup Calypso.

Biography

Grisel Wilson is an experienced attorney in criminal and immigration law. She gained trial experience as a former public defender in Eastern Kentucky, representing a variety of clients charged with simple misdemeanors to serious felony offenses. She represents parents and juveniles in Dependency, Neglect, and Abuse proceedings, and is a Guardian Ad Litem in Disability cases. She is involved in her community and local politics to help combat opioid addiction in Eastern Kentucky.

Grisel enjoys traveling with her husband during her free time, Cincinnati Reds baseball, Bengals football, and Kentucky basketball.

 

Grisel Wilson

Associate Attorney

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