As a founding partner of Leiter Rahme, Barbara J. Leiter has helped shape the firm’s immigration practice for more than three decades.

Admitted to the Barreau du Québec and the New York State Bar, Barbara brings extensive experience in Canadian and U.S. immigration law, with a particular focus on complex U.S. and cross-border matters.

Barbara earned both her LL.B. and B.C.L. from McGill University in 1989. During law school, she served on the Editorial Board of the McGill Law Journal, worked with the McGill Legal Aid Clinic and participated in the Students’ Judiciary Committee.

Her professional involvement has included membership in the immigration sections of the Canadian Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Association québécoise des avocats et avocates en droit de l’immigration (AQAADI).

She has been recognized by a Québec court as an expert witness in U.S. immigration law, has participated in Canadian Bar Association conferences and has served on arbitration boards of the Barreau du Québec.

Today, Barbara maintains a selective practice focused on U.S. and complex cross-border matters, while continuing to provide strategic guidance to the firm’s lawyers and clients on matters where her experience can have the greatest impact.

Before entering law, Barbara pursued careers in music and real estate — experiences that contributed to the broad perspective and practical judgment she brings to her legal practice. Outside the office, she is an avid traveler, trekker and cyclist.

Gissa Rahme is the Managing Partner and owner of Leiter Rahme, where she leads the firm’s Canadian and U.S. immigration practice, legal strategy and client service.

Admitted to the Barreau du Québec and the New York State Bar, she is part of a relatively small group of lawyers able to advise clients on immigration matters involving both Canada and the United States.

Her practice encompasses business and investor immigration, family immigration, temporary work authorization, cross-border matters, refusals, waivers, rehabilitation and complex inadmissibility issues.

Gissa’s academic background is as distinctive as her legal practice. She completed a multidisciplinary program in law and molecular biotechnology at the Université de Sherbrooke, earning a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) together with graduate studies combining molecular biotechnology and law. She later earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) in North American Common Law from the Université de Montréal and achieved a result placing her within the top 3% on the New York Bar examination.

Her scientific training has strongly influenced the way she approaches legal problems: analytically, methodically and with an ability to examine difficult issues from multiple perspectives.

Gissa has been recognized by her peers as a leader and pioneer in her field through the Young Bar of Montréal’s “Leaders of Tomorrow” recognition. She has also been actively involved with professional organizations including the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), the Association québécoise des avocats et avocates en droit de l’immigration (AQAADI) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

She is frequently described as a lateral thinker. Rather than viewing an immigration problem from a single angle, she looks at the broader legal and strategic picture, identifying alternative pathways, anticipating complications and developing solutions for cases that may initially appear difficult or uncertain.

Her combination of cross-border legal knowledge, analytical thinking and personal commitment has made complex and high-stakes immigration matters a central part of her practice.