Wynne P. Kelly

Founding Partner

Founding Partner - Washington DC

Wynne P. Kelly has extensive litigation experience both in private practice and in the Department of Justice — as an AUSA in the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office Civil Division appearing before the trial and appellate courts in the Nation's Capital, as Principal Counsel to the Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and as an Immigration Judge and Assistant Chief Immigration Judge in the D.C. region. Before his government service, he practiced at large law firms in New York and Miami specializing in complex commercial litigation. He brings a cross-disciplinary litigation background that few immigration attorneys match.

At Emeriti Law

Wynne's practice focuses solely on immigration law. He has provided strategic guidance and consulting to organizations on immigration enforcement risk, including worksite enforcement matters. Wynne has provided counsel to companies large and small when served with requests for information, subpoenas, or notices of inspection, working to produce favorable outcomes and mitigate risk in interactions with immigration officials and non-U.S. citizen stakeholders. He works with the full team on appellate strategy, providing counsel and expert guidance before BIA briefs are filed — leveraging both his immigration experience and his experience writing appellate briefs for U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal and arguing before appellate panels on numerous occasions. His background — spanning False Claims Act litigation, federal tort and civil rights litigation, federal employment litigation, worksite enforcement actions for alleged unauthorized hiring, civil denaturalization proceedings, and immigration court leadership in the D.C. region — brings a cross-disciplinary perspective to complex immigration matters.

Emeriti Law PLLC

Founding Partner, September 2025

Senior Counsel, Associate Attorney General's Office

Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group, U.S. DOJ | Jan–May 2025

Principal Counsel for Conduct and Professionalism

EOIR Office of the Director | June 2024–Jan 2025. Senior Leader (SL) appointment by the Attorney General.

Assistant Chief Immigration Judge

Sterling Immigration Court | Jan 2023–Jan 2025

Immigration Judge

Arlington-Annandale Immigration Court | Feb 2019–Jan 2023. Details to New York and Houston.

Assistant U.S. Attorney

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Civil Division | Nov 2008–Feb 2019.

Associate

Large law firms, New York and Miami

Judicial Clerk

The Honorable K. Michael Moore, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida

Education
  • J.D., Fordham University School of Law — Editor-in-Chief, Fordham International Law Journal
  • B.A. Government and English, Georgetown University
Bar Admissions
  • New Jersey, 2006
  • New York, 2006
  • Florida, 2007
  • U.S. Supreme Court 2015
Honors
  • Attorney General Award for Distinguished Service, 2019; U.S. Attorney Special Achievement Award (7)
  • Co-founder, Dave Nee Foundation — depression prevention and suicide awareness in the legal community

Your case deserves to be heard.

Emeriti Law was built on the premise that every client — whether a hospital system managing enforcement risk or an individual who never had the chance to present their case — deserves counsel that understands the system well enough to make sure their position is heard.

Our attorneys spent decades deciding cases from the bench. They know what it takes to build a record that holds up, frame an argument that reaches the decision-maker, and present a case with the precision the forum requires. That is the standard we bring to every matter.

Attorney & Institutional Inquiry

For General Counsels & Referring Firms
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Co-counsel engagements, organizational counsel, appellate representation, worksite enforcement defense, and expert consultation on immigration consequences.

Individual Consultations

For Individuals & Families
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Appellate representation for individuals in removal proceedings, BIA appeals, motions to reopen, and direct representation in complex removal matters.