Attorney Disna Weerasinghe, a native of Sri Lanka (formerly
Ceylon), immigrated to the United States in the late 1980s. She
is a graduate of Widener University School of Law, Delaware,
where she obtained her LL.M. degree in Corporate Law and
Finance. While at Widener, she served as a research assistant
and joined Widener’s Tax Clinic, participating in the IRS's VITA
(Volunteer Income Tax Assistant) Program, which provided
services for indigent tax clients in the State of Delaware. For
her work with VITA, she received “The Spirit of America is in
the Heart of the Volunteers” certificate from the State of
Delaware.
Before practicing on her own,
Mrs. Weerasinghe worked with a senior immigration attorney in
West Chester, Pennsylvania. In addition, Mrs. Weerasinghe’s
professional experience includes serving as a staff member to
two Superior Court judges in Pennsylvania. She also worked for
the Legal Department of Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Mrs.
Weerasinghe is admitted to the New York Bar and the Sri Lankan
Bar. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers
Association and the New York Bar Association, and has been
admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals,
for the Second Circuit.
Mrs. Weerasinghe is also a
consultant for the Gerson and Lehrman Group in New York. She
serves as a volunteer for numerous non-profit organizations in
Philadelphia and New York areas. In 2008, she was awarded a
certificate of achievement by American Immigration Lawyers
Association for her pro bono contribution to the
community. In 2007, she received the “Empire State Counsel”
honorary title from New York State Bar Association.
Prior to pursuing her higher
studies in the United States, Mrs. Weerasinghe worked as a
junior criminal defense attorney for Kingsley W. Associates, a
boutique criminal defense law firm, in Sri Lanka. She also
worked for the D.L. and F. DeSarams Law Firm in Colombo, Sri
Lanka. She obtained her JD from Sri Lanka Law College, Hultsdorf,
Colombo 12.
In addition to
practicing law, Mrs. Weerasinghe engages in creative writing.
Her first cookbook, The Fine Art of Sri Lankan Cuisine: Clay
Pot Style and Other Methods, which is available through
Amazon.com, has won the country-specific best easy recipes
category from the Fourteenth Annual Gourmand World Cookbook
Awards for 2009.
