Gabriela Goretti Raful

Gabby graduated magna cum laude from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Political Sciences and Paralegal Studies. She earned her Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law. While at law school she was a member and then the president of the International Law Society. During her last two years of law school, Gabriela participated in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court competition and she received an award for best brief. At Widener, Gabriela was the recipient of the Pamela K Karpouzis Memorial Scholarship Award and the Paul Isaac Leiter Memorial Scholarship Award.

As a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, she is fluent in Spanish. By working with the Hispanic population in their native language, they do not have to worry about the language and cultural barrier, and can be confident they are getting the legal service they need.

Gabriela is passionate about immigrant rights and the injured worker. In 2006, she was part of the five-member committee that organized a ‘Day without an Immigrant’ march in Reading, PA, where more than 3,000 people attended and rallied for an immigration reform. She continues to help immigrants by representing indigent migrants pro bono.

Gabby is active with the Berks County Bar Association, where she sits on the Board of Directors and serves as Co-chair of the Minority Law Section. The section/committee’s purpose is to promote full and equal participation of minorities in the justice system in general and to identify issues minorities are facing within the judicial system and find solutions for the same.

In 2015, Gabriela wrote a chapter for The ABA Medical-Legal Guides: Head Trauma and Brain Injury for Lawyers. This legal treatise details the law surrounding traumatic brain injuries.

Prior to earning her law degree, Gabriela worked for three years as a social security and workers’ compensation paralegal. She was also a court interpreter in personal injury and immigration hearings. Prior to her arrival to the United States, Gabriela worked for the United Nations Association of the Dominican Republic organizing educational and volunteer programs.