Melissa Harms

Melissa is a Business Development Principal at BAL. She focuses on building and nurturing relationships in the Northern California region, strategically growing BAL’s client portfolio, target market and overall business.

Before joining BAL, Melissa practiced immigration law for more than two decades, beginning her legal career in employment law before joining an immigration firm to combine her interest in legal advocacy with her desire to affect social change. She has been a strategic legal partner for small startups, multinational corporations, large public universities and private research entities, providing counsel to her clients on all facets of immigration law.

Melissa has taught immigration law courses for human resources professionals at California State University and the University of California. She has served in many leadership roles with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) during her 20-year membership and most recently served on the AILA national Technology and Innovation committee as chair of government collaboration. She currently serves as philanthropy chair on the board of Bay Area Mobility Management (BAMM).

Melissa routinely speaks on immigration law at numerous local and national venues, including AILA national conferences, the Worldwide Employers Relocation Council, BAMM, the National Association of International Educators, the Employers Advisory Council, the Marin County Bar Association and the UC Davis Wine Law symposium. She has also been interviewed by BBC TV as an expert on immigration issues.

In her free time, Melissa enjoys hiking nearby Mount Tamalpais, paddleboarding, pickleball, making jewelry and learning new things from her three children in college.