About Our Team
Court Admissions. Ms. Ferguson is admitted to practice law in the states of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia. She has been admitted to the United States District Court for the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida, the United States District Court for the District of Colombia, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and to the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Ratings and recognition. Ms. Ferguson is listed in Martindale Hubbell with an AV rating, the highest ratings for both legal ability and ethical standards. She has also received significant recognition for her book on waivers published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2008.
Publications. Ms. Ferguson recently wrote a guide on the most commonly used waivers. The book titled AILA’s Focus on Waivers was published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2008.
Education. Ms. Ferguson holds a Bachelor’s degree from De Pauw University, in Greencastle, Indiana, a Juris Doctor degree from The American University, The Washington College of Law in Washington, DC and a Master’s degree in International Affairs from The American University in Washington, DC.
Affiliations. Ms. Ferguson is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and The National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. She chairs the South Florida AILA Asylum Committee and serves on the AILA National Refugee and Asylum Committee. She is a member of the Young Founders Board of the Mt. Sinai Medical Center Foundation. She has served as a panel member on Miami Dade County’s Independent Review Panel, which addresses serious complaints about Miami-Dade Police of other County employees or departments. She also volunteers for the Alternatives to Violence Project which is an international association of volunteer groups offering experiential workshops on non-violent conflict resolution in prisons and communities through the world.
Languages. Ms. Ferguson speaks English, Spanish and French and she has a working knowledge of Italian and Portuguese.
Associate Attorney
305-539-7263
Following Boston College, Mrs. Westerman-Keuning attended the University of Miami School of Law where she graduated Cum Laude in 2009. During all three years at the University of Miami ("UM"), she worked as a legal intern in the field of immigration law. Mrs. Westerman-Keuning was an intern at UM's Community Health Rights Education Clinic where she provided free legal services to indigent clients, most of whom were HIV+ and homeless. Also while at UM, she worked as a law clerk for more than one year at the law office of Julie C. Ferguson, P.A. assisting Ms. Ferguson with her cases. For the past year, Mrs. Westerman-Keuning has worked under the direct supervision of renowned immigration attorney and author, Ira J. Kurzban, at the law office of Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger, Tetzeli, & Pratt, P.A. She assisted in researching and indexing of the Twelfth Edition of Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook, the most widely used book in the field of immigration law. She has now returned to Julie C. Ferguson, P.A. as an Associate Attorney.
Apart from her legal knowledge of immigration law, Mrs. Westerman-Keuning has also personally experienced the immigration process first-hand as the United States’ citizen petitioner for her husband who is a native of South Africa. She brings this personal experience to her representation of each and every client, understanding the emotional aspect of the immigration process when it concerns a loved one.
Mrs. Westerman-Keuning is admitted to the Florida Bar and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association ("AILA") and serves on AILA South Florida’s Pro Bono Committee. Mrs. Westerman-Keuning is fluent in English and Spanish and has a limited proficiency in Hebrew.
Florida Registered Paralegal
305-539-7263
