CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER

Emily is a legal futurist and a legal techie, and helps lawyers enhance their practices and lifestyles by leaning into technology and remote work.

Emily is always excited to try new software solutions, and she’s obsessed with tech that increases efficiency on a budget.

Emily has a decade of experience as the Owner and Principal Immigration Attorney at Amara Law, LLC, which is based in the Boston area.

Emily represents clients in family-based immigration cases, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases, and criminal defense cases that include an immigration component.

Emily opened her law firm in 2013, the day after being sworn into the Massachusetts Bar.

Since her firm’s inception, Emily has leaned into technology and customer service to deliver personable and compassionate legal representation to her clients.

With a goal of out-smarting the high rents of Boston, she built a remote law firm years before virtual lawyering was in style.

Emily has been named a Super Lawyer, Rising Star for six consecutive years. Boston Magazine named her a Top Lawyer in Immigration Law in 2023.

Emily is the Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Law Practice Division's Outreach-Membership Engagement Committee. She also sits on the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC) Board and is the Chair of LTRC’s Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence. She also sits on the ABA LPD’s Futures Initiative & Attorney Well-Being Committees.

She has been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) since 2012, has served on the AILA National Innovation & Technology Committee since 2021, and on the Product Ideation Subcommittee since 2022. Emily also sits on the Board of Starting Out Solo (SOS).

Emily has previously served as an AILA New England EOIR (Immigration Court) Liaison and Massachusetts State Legislative Relations Liaison, as well as Chair of the AILA New England New Members Division for three years. She also served on the AILA New England Conference Committee for three years.

Emily was previously Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section Council and a member of the Boston Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service Review Committee.

Emily has spoken about immigration law, legal technology, the future of law, innovation, and client & firm communications at 2023 ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago, Illinois, ABA Lawyer Mastermind Series, 2022 ABA Women of Legal Tech, ABA Law Practice CLEs, and the 2023 AILA Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida.

In November 2023, Emily represented Massachusetts and spoke on a panel about legal technology and artificial intelligence in the practice of law to the leadership of all New England Bar Associations at the New England Bar Association Annual Meeting in Salem, Massachusetts. She recently guest lectured an immigration law course at Suffolk University in Boston, MA on law practice management, legal tech, and the future of law.

Her speaking engagements also include: Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), AILA New England Conference, AILA New England Chapter, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Bar Association, Social Law Library, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Virginia State Bar Tech Show, Legal Toolkit, Above the Law Non-Eventcast, CLE by the Sea, and MyCase webinars.

Emily graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in Spanish Language & Literature and a minor in French Studies. She spent her junior year studying abroad in a Spanish immersion program at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.

Emily holds a J.D. from New England Law | Boston where she was a Dean’s Merit Scholarship recipient.

Hi, I’m Emily Amara. I live in the South Shore of Massachusetts with my partner, Jeff, and my sweet 5 year old maltipoo, Bianca (aka our VP of Client Happiness).

I speak Spanish, some French, and I am learning Portuguese, but Italian will always have my heart.

I remember the first time I played with a “real” computer. Yes, I’m an 80s baby. I was around 6 years old and my dad took me to wait in a long line at a bookstore in Northampton, Massachusetts for a coveted 5 minutes to play with the first CD-Rom that had arrived in the area. When it was my turn, he told me, “Emily, don’t forget this moment. This is the future.” And from that moment on, I was obsessed with thinking about the future and how technology could shape it.

Becoming a lawyer was my lifelong dream. I hit a few bumps in the road along the way, including an unexpected detour teaching Spanish to elementary school children. That detour ended up becoming a gift because through that experience, I learned how much I enjoy working with young people. As fate would have it, a large portion of my law practice is dedicated to representing children in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases.

I’ve learned, and am still learning, that it all fits together, even when you think the puzzle pieces never will. Which leads me to this exciting innovation journey where I am lucky enough to combine my two loves: the law and tech in order to help lawyers lawyer smarter and live better.

I love music, which stems from my background as a competitive, classical pianist. Fashion is my passion and dogs bring me so much joy. My tagline (Bravo, call me!) is: Fashion is my coffee and my coffee is espresso.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to getting to know you!