Galina Dorris
Attorney
Galina Dorris is an Attorney with Gavrilov & Brooks, where her practice focuses on immigration law, including investor and business-based visas, talent- and employment-based immigration, and immigration litigation in state and federal courts.
She has successfully represented investors and entrepreneurs by guiding clients through the full process of investing in the United States, acquiring or establishing businesses, and obtaining investor-based immigration status. Her practice also includes asylum-related advocacy, federal court representation for individuals facing removal and detention, and direct advocacy with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on behalf of clients under threat of deportation. She routinely drafts complex pleadings and motions and contributes to the expansion of the firm’s immigration practice through strategic client development initiatives.
Before entering private practice, Ms. Dorris worked with international humanitarian organizations, supporting refugee protection, resettlement, and survivor services for displaced populations from conflict affected regions. Her work involved managing large-scale humanitarian programs, coordinating with state and federal partners, and developing protections for survivors of human trafficking, unaccompanied minors, domestic violence, and sexual assault. This international experience informs her culturally competent and trauma-informed approach to immigration representation.
Ms. Dorris earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from Lincoln Law School of Sacramento and competed in the National Moot Court Competition with the UC Davis Refugee and Asylum Clinic, scoring in the 90th percentile nationally for oral advocacy. She also holds a Master of Public Health, allowing her to approach immigration matters through an interdisciplinary lens that recognizes the intersection of legal status, safety, and health.
She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and currently serves in the Sacramento Attorney of the Day Program. She also serves as a Board Director for the Council for Cross Cultural Affairs and as a Criminal Justice Act Attorney on the Eastern District Court’s special habeas corpus panel under 28 U.S.C. § 2241. Her work has been recognized with the National Rural Health Association Health Equity Award, and the California Mental Health Champion Award (2022) from the Steinberg Institute. Ms. Dorris is fluent in English and Russian.
Bar Admissions
◆ U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
◆ U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
◆ U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico
◆ U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
◆ U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
◆ U.S. District Court, Central District of California
◆ U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
◆ Superior Courts of the State of California
Education
◆ J.D., with Distinction – Lincoln Law School
◆ Master of Public Health – A.T. Still University
◆ B.S., Biomedical Sciences & Chemistry – California State University
Published Decision
◆ Strunin v. Garcia, 827 F. Supp. 3d 976 (S.D. Tex. 2026)
Honors & Awards
◆ National Rural Health Association Health Equity Award
◆ Annual Rural Health Conference Scholarship
◆ Steinberg Institute – 2020 Mental Health Champion
Professional Affiliations
◆ Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel – Immigration Habeas Corpus
◆ Member of Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court
◆ Freedom Network USA (Member since 2021)
◆ American Immigration Law Association
◆ Member of Sacramento County Bar Association
Community Leadership
◆ Sacramento Together Human Trafficking Task Force
◆ Health, Education, Advocacy, Linkage (HEAL)
Additional Experience
◆ Federal grant proposal contributor, California Anti-Human Trafficking Council
◆ Moot Court Judge – Immigration Appeals
◆ Trauma-informed care curriculum development
◆ Healthcare professional education on human trafficking
Languages
◆ Russian