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How did Oxalis Garcia become involved in international Hague child abduction cases?
Garcia became involved entirely by chance. A client came to her after the child's father took their daughter to Trinidad and Tobago. When Garcia's request for a child pickup order was denied by the Hillsborough County court, she sought guidance at an INS meeting — and was introduced to attorney Michael Berry, who specialized in Hague cases and was actively looking for a Spanish-speaking attorney to work with.
As Oxalis Garcia explains in From Courtroom to Carline, the International Hague Treaty deals specifically with international child abductions. It applies when a parent takes a child out of a country and retains them elsewhere — whether that means bringing a child into the United States or removing one from it. The treaty provides a legal framework for the left-behind parent to seek the child's return.
A denied court order that changed the direction of her career
When Garcia first tried to help her client, she did what any family law attorney would do: she went to court. She filed for a child pickup order in Hillsborough County. The court denied the request.
That denial forced her to look elsewhere for answers. At an INS meeting, she was connected with Michael Berry, an attorney who had built a practice around Hague convention cases. Berry was specifically searching for a Spanish-speaking attorney — a fit that made the introduction immediately meaningful. The two eventually merged their firms, as Garcia recounts in the episode, forming a partnership built directly from that first accidental encounter.
From one client's crisis to a niche carved out over 20 years
Garcia has been practicing law since 2006 — and in Florida specifically since 2012. Her multilingual and multi-jurisdictional profile (licensed in Puerto Rico, Florida, and Maryland) made her a natural fit for cases that cross borders and legal systems. That one client's situation opened a door that has defined a significant part of her practice ever since.
Her background — born in Puerto Rico, raised partly in Ohio, trained across three bar jurisdictions — is precisely what makes her effective in cases that require navigating different legal cultures. This is a point she develops further in this episode of From Courtroom to Carline, where she also discusses her broader family law work and her candidacy for Pinellas County Circuit Judge Group 44.
"I bring a multicultural and multi-jurisdictional perspective to the bench, which is something that I don't believe any other judge has at this moment in time in the Sixth Judicial Circuit."
Oxalis Garcia — Attorney, Candidate for Pinellas County Circuit Judge Group 44.
Garcia was born and raised in Puerto Rico and spent part of her teen years in Ohio before completing high school, college, and law school on the island. She holds bar licenses in Puerto Rico, Florida, and Maryland — the result of moves tied to her husband's Army career. With approximately 20 years of legal experience and a practice centered on complex family law and international Hague child abduction matters, she is also known as a legal consultant on the reality TV show 90 Day Fiance. She merged her firm with partner Michael Berry — the same attorney she met by chance at an INS meeting — in 2021 or 2022. Her full account of this trajectory is available in episode #55 of From Courtroom to Carline.
See also
What is the International Hague Treaty and how does Oxalis Garcia handle those cases?
The International Hague Treaty, as Garcia explains, deals specifically with international child abductions — situations where a parent takes a child out of their country of habitual residence and retains them elsewhere. Garcia helps the left-behind parent navigate the legal process to have the child returned.
Who is Oxalis Garcia and what is her legal background?
Oxalis Garcia is an attorney born and raised in Puerto Rico who is licensed in three jurisdictions: Puerto Rico, Florida, and Maryland. She has been practicing law since 2006 and in Florida since 2012, specializing in family law with a focus on complex jurisdictional and international Hague child abduction matters.
Key takeaways
- Garcia's entry into Hague cases was accidental — triggered by a client whose daughter was taken to Trinidad and Tobago by the child's father.
- A denied pickup order in Hillsborough County court was the turning point that pushed her to seek specialized guidance outside the courtroom.
- The INS meeting connection with Michael Berry — who needed a Spanish-speaking attorney — was the direct origin of what became a long-term partnership and merged firm.
- Her multilingual profile and three-jurisdiction bar licenses made her uniquely suited to a practice area that is inherently cross-border.
Oxalis Garcia tells the full story of this career-defining moment — and much more — in episode #55 of From Courtroom to Carline.
Listen to the episode on Listenly