Our Team
Louisa Schlieben, Attorney
I provide clients with empathetic, solutions-oriented representation during some of the most difficult periods of their lives. Most of my clients are going through divorce and or custody cases, which may include disputes around spousal support (maintenance), division of assets and debts, parenting time and decision making (custody), child support, emergency motions, domestic violence and child abuse.
My no-nonsense approach to family law is informed by my training as a public defender. I started representing clients while still in law school, interning with the Innocence Project, then representing clients on a student license with the Alaska Public Defender Agency in Fairbanks and with the Legal Aid Society in New York City. I moved to Denver after graduation to work as a deputy public defender. Through these opportunities, I was able to represent hundreds of clients facing traffic, misdemeanor and felony charges, and participated in over a dozen jury trials before the one-year anniversary of my bar admission.
Over the last decade of working with families, I have dealt with complex jurisdictional matters, high asset divorces, incredibly messy businesses, support calculations involving unconventional income sources, international and interstate abductions involving the FBI and the State Department, devastating relocation cases, emotionally wrought struggles between biological parents and the friends/family/acquaintances entrusted to care for their children, and more. Through it all, I have witnessed some of the best and worst that these situations bring out in people.
My path to a legal career was different than most attorneys. I am one of five children and grew up in a redlined neighborhood of what was then considered Harlem. I was a dedicated student of classical ballet from when I started walking until I was seventeen years old and performed with the New York City Ballet and the American Ballet Theater as a student. I went to elementary school at a German school in White Plains New York, spent middle school at an elite all-girls private school on an employee scholarship, then attended two different performing arts high schools before graduating from the Waldorf school my grandfather once ran. I worked full time to pay my way through Hunter College (CUNY), spent a year working for one of the first women to graduate law school, then attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law on a full academic scholarship.
I have lived the experiences of many modern families. I know it takes courage to entrust a stranger (especially a lawyer) with some the most important things in life: your long-term financial security, the wellbeing of your children, and your physical and emotional safety. I believe in collaborating with clients throughout their case to find the best path forward for their unique circumstances and I always strive to put children first. You can trust that I will not judge you for your confidences or your tears and I will always be honest with you and fight hard for what matters most to you.
Education
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D.
Hunter College (C.U.N.Y.), B.A., History and Political Science (Cum Laude)
Honors & Distinctions
Cardozo Merit Scholar, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 2009 – 2012
Symposium Editor, Cardozo Public Law, Policy, and Ethics Journal, 2012
Memberships
Colorado Bar Association
CBA Family Law Section
CBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section
Colorado Collaborative Divorce Practitioners
Veronica C. Gonzales, LLP and Paralegal
I have 26 years of experience as a paralegal and bring tenacity, perseverance, and empathy to every case.
I started my legal career in high school, with an internship for a young attorney who did court appointed juvenile work. Supporting the work she performed as a GAL and Respondent Parent’s Counsel in Dependency and Neglect cases, and in truancy and delinquency cases taught me how impactful legal professionals are on people’s lives. I worked for her after high school, during college and while getting my paralegal certificate.
After that, I transitioned to Workers’ Compensation. I loved the challenge of managing the large, document-heavy caseloads and took pride in keeping everything organized and running smoothly, even as I had my daughter, raised her as a single mother, and finished my bachelor’s degree.
After my boss and mentor retired, I returned to family law, this time focusing on divorce, custody, and other domestic relations matters. I found that this work combined the client engagement and high stakes of juvenile work, with the structure and organization of Workers’ Comp, and I’ve never looked back.
Recently, I took the next step in my career, by becoming a Licensed Legal Paraprofessional (LLP). I passed the first ever LLP Bar Exam to be offered in Colorado and was sworn in by the Colorado Supreme Court as part of the inaugural class of this new category of legal professionals, and am now authorized to practice law (with some limitations) in the field of Family Law.
My work as a paralegal and an LLP is informed by my personal experience as much as my professional qualifications. Having raised my daughter as a single mother from the time she was a year old, I understand the situations of so many of our clients. I know the trials and challenges of single parenthood and co-parenting, but also the pride of seeing the child you put your heart and soul into raising, grow up into an incredible young adult.
In addition to my legal work, I exercise my organizational skills and passion for travel by running my own travel agency. I enjoy visiting new places, going to brunch, line dancing, and spending time with my daughter and a close group of friends and professional women.
Education
University of Colorado at Denver, B.A., Sociology and Law Studies
Community College of Denver, A.S., General Studies with Paralegal Certificate
Memberships
Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association
Colorado Bar Association
Denver Bar Association
CBA Family Law Section
Metro Volunteer Lawyers