Maricela Amezola (she/her) is is a support teacher for the 2026 Mindfulness in Law Teacher Training. She was born in California and was raised by migrant working parents in the San Joaquin Valley. She attended California State University, Fresno and graduated in May 2002. She moved to Michigan and obtained her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law where she graduated Cum Laude, and relocated back to California. She was sworn in on December 2007 and shortly after she founded her immigration law firm, Amezola Legal Group, APC.
Currently, Maricela devotes her practice to Immigration Law, Guardianship and Federal Appeals. Her immigration practice is focused in deportation defense, family immigration visas and asylum cases in addition to guardianships and some family law cases. She travels all throughout California and the country representing clients in various immigration courts.
Her goal is simple: to help all people, promptly, with care and exceptional competence. She prides herself in helping individuals when they are most vulnerable and guiding them through the process from beginning to end. In her spare time, she conducts “know-your-rights” presentations throughout the county and she speaks at various colleges and Universities to non-traditional students, high school students at risk and anyone else interested in the law. She is a mentor and role model to many, as well as a passionate advocate for the marginalized and voice-less.
Maricela is also the founder of Detente: Embody your Inner Calm! which is a minority female owned company intended to help professionals with mindfulness practices in their daily lives. She received a Mindfulness for Lawyers Teaching Certificate from Warrior One in 2022 and returned to the program as a support teacher for the Mindfulness in Law Teacher Training 2024 cohort. She regularly teaches meditation to attorneys, law students, and other communities both online and in person through individual workshops and month-long trainings. She has over 300 hours of certification training with the Mindfulness in Law Teacher Training and the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training and Trauma Informed Lawyering. She brings her many years of work and passion to this new venture.
Maricela has received numerous awards for her work, volunteering and mentoring. She is also on various boards and commissions. Maricela lives in San Diego with her husband and her dog Lola. When she is not advocating for clients, she likes to travel and learn from those various cultures to keep enriching her legal and mindfulness practice.