Zatulovsky, Inna

Ms. Youssef is of counsel with the firm of Slowik & Robinson. She specializes in a variety of immigration matters, including employment-based non-immigrant and immigrant visas, consular issues, and domestic partner visas. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Ohio State and Columbus Bar Associations.

Before joining Slowik & Robinson, Ms. Youssef worked as in-house immigration counsel for a publicly-traded, international fashion retailer.  During her three years in that position, Ms. Youssef learned a great deal about immigration issues from the employer's perspective and became an expert in obtaining visas for creative professionals.  Prior to that, Ms. Youssef worked as an associate in a large law firm, where she started an immigration practice in the firm's Columbus office.

Ms. Youssef graduated from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where she served in many leadership roles, including Symposium Editor of the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, Secretary of the Public Interest Law Foundation, and President of the Law School Democrats.  Ms. Youssef also received numerous academic awards, including the FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Fellowship in Arabic during her second and third years. 

In 2009, Ms. Youssef was named as an Ohio Rising Star Super Lawyer, an honor awarded to the top two percent of licensed attorneys in Ohio who are under the age of 40 and have been practicing ten years or less.  Ms. Youssef also serves on the Board of Directors for Community Refugee and Immigration Services, a non-profit agency serving refugees, asylees and immigrants in Central Ohio.

Personal Biography Presented by Leslie Youssef:
 
Why did you decide to become an attorney?

After graduating from Ohio State with degrees in International Studies and Spanish, I got my first full-time job as a Sponsorship Developer for a non-profit agency responsible for resettling international refugees in Ohio.  While my official job description was to find sponsors for incoming refugee families, my role quickly expanded to that of counselor for many of the individuals whom I assisted with resettlement.  Because I was one of the first people who the refugees met when they came to this country, I felt an enormous responsibility to provide them with as much assistance as possible.  However, I soon realized that many of their problems were legal in nature, and ended up referring many of their issues to immigration lawyers.  When I decided to go to law school a few years later, I knew that my goal would be to specialize in immigration law. 

What experiences help you to be a better attorney?

My in-house experience helped me to be a better attorney, because I saw the practice of law from the client's perspective.  I also learned a great deal about the inner-workings of a large publicly-traded company and came away with a better appreciation of how a business is run.  

Describe your ideal client.

Someone who has all of his/her documents organized and available when I need them.

Describe your personal interests and hobbies.

Most of my free time is spent with my husband and two young daughters.  I love fashion and (therefore) shopping, especially for myself and my girls.  I also enjoy cooking semi-homemade meals, practicing yoga, reading, travelling, and spending time with interesting people who don't take themselves too seriously.

Areas of Practice:

Employment-based non-immigrant visas
   H-1B
   TN
   L-1
   O-1
   E-3
J-1 training visas
Employment-based immigrant visas
Consular issues
Dependent and domestic partner visas
I-9 compliance