Jennifer’s practice is unique to the mid-coast region of Maine. She not only represents clients in Estates and Trusts, Wills and Probate, Business, and Family matters, but also brings her dogged determination, practical know-how and attention to detail to the complex and ever-evolving practice of Immigration Law, where she guides individuals, couples, and families through immigrant, non-immigrant, and citizenship processes.

More details about these services can be found on GVD Law’s Immigration services website.

Jennifer earned her undergraduate degree in zoology from Connecticut College in 1985, studying abroad in both the U.K. and Kenya. After five years working on wildlife conservation issues in Newfoundland Canada, she returned to the U.S. graduating, cum laude, from Cornell Law School in 1993. Upon admission to the Massachusetts Bar in 1994, she began her legal career focused on environmental issues, working for the Conservation Law Foundation and the Quebec Labrador Foundation. During this time, she and her husband completed two international adoptions, creating permanent bonds and deep connections to both Guatemala and India. In 2013, she transitioned away from more than two decades of work in natural resources and started her own immigration practice, the Law Office of Jennifer Atkinson, which concentrated on family-based immigration, citizenship, and asylum matters. Jennifer went on to practice for four years at Goeschl Law Corporation, a California-based Immigration firm serving entrepreneurs and corporations, before her admission to the Maine Bar in 2022. She now practices exclusively at Gallagher, Villeneuve and DeGeer.

Jennifer lives with her family in Damariscotta. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Maine State Bar Association, and the Lincoln County Bar Association, where she serves as Treasurer. She also serves on both the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of the Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust and is a member of the Pro Bono Panel of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Portland. In her spare time Jennifer enjoys both creative and outdoor pursuits.

Jennifer can be reached at (207) 563-5828 or by email at jatkinson@gvdlaw.com.