Mahlia's strength as an attorney lies in her desire and ability to connect with people so that each client's values, dreams and fears are honored during the estate planning process. She strongly believes in a team approach, working closely with the client and the client's financial advisors.
Before moving to Boulder, Mahlia was a prosecutor in the domestic crimes division of the Miami Dade County Attorney's office, and also worked in private practice representing clients in a broad range of litigation matters, including commercial, personal injury and insurance defense. Mahlia shifted her focus from trial work to estate planning in order to work with people in a cooperative rather than confrontational capacity. She is able to draw on her litigation experience to effectively counsel her clients about the sensitive and contentious issues that may arise in the context of estate planning.
Mahlia is licensed to practice in Colorado and Florida. She is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, the Boulder Bar Association, the Florida Bar Association, the Trusts and Estates section of the Boulder Bar Association, and Wealth Counsel, LLC. She graduated with a degree in economics from Emory University and received her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1987, where she was on the Law & Policy in International Business Law Review. Immediately following law School, Mahlia attended classes in Salzburg, Austria an interned at a law firm in London through a program at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge Law School and received a Diploma in Advanced International Legal Studies.
In addition to her law practice, Mahlia practices mindful parenting with her two daughters, Dylan and Zoe. She has two dogs, Annie and Willow, and a Leopard Gecko, Leo. Mahlia volunteers for KGNU Radio, where she produces and hosts a news and public affairs call-in show. When not practicing law, parenting, or on the radio, she likes to travel, read, ski, hike, jog, and practice yoga.
After taking several years off from practicing law, during which she wrote a novel and worked as a broadcast journalist, covering the 2008 Presidential campaign and Democratic Convention, Liz took and passed the Colorado Bar exam in July 2009. She is also admitted to practice law in New York and California.
Liz’s law career began on Wall Street at Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander and Ferdon, where she worked in both the tax and litigation departments. Several years later, she relocated to San Francisco and joined the litigation department of McCutchen Doyle Brown and Enerson. But the impersonal and corporate nature of these practices did not allow for enough client engagement and Liz left McCutchen to join her cousin’s solo law office, giving her exposure to a more personal, client-centered law practice.
In 1992, Liz moved to Boulder and went “in-house,” serving as General Counsel for Colorado Commodities Management Corporation (“CCM”), an investment firm which traded international currencies and metals for high net worth individual and institutional clients. When the founder of CCM retired in 2000, Liz continued working in the financial services field, becoming General Counsel of Mentor Capital Consultants , an NASD-registered firm which raised and invested capital for small, cutting edge entrepreneurs.
Liz’s experience with these two financial services firms endowed her with a keen understanding of asset allocation and portfolio management and equally important, balancing financial risk and return with reference to many of the same life, family, and legacy considerations that are critical in estate planning. In addition to her professional credentials, however, Liz has a genuine interest in each clients' family history--where they are from, how they got here, and the unique life experiences and perspective that inform and guide each individual's personal and professional life path.
Liz graduated with a BS in International Affairs from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a JD from Boston College Law School. She is an active volunteer and Board member ofthe Chinook Clubhouse, a Boulder-based vocational rehabilitation program for adults recovering from mental illness.Liz also hosts and produces public affairs programs at KGNU Radio Boulder/Denver. She is an avid skier, runner, cyclist and yogi. Liz's husband Jim is also an attorney. They have two teenagers, Cubby and Katharine, who attend Boulder Valley public schools.
Kathleen spent over thirty years in the information technology field. Her project management and extensive accounting background made it an easy transition into the estate-planning arena five years ago. Her previous programming experience has helped her become patient, versatile, and able to answer questions and assist clients in a succinct, exacting and helpful manner.
She trained for 3 years with one of the area’s largest estate and business planning law firms before joining Mahlia’s team in January of 2007. Kathleen functions as case manager, client services and funding coordinator, estate administrator, probate coordinator, and general go to person for our clients.
Kathleen’s commitment to excellence, attention to detail, and willingness to go above and beyond to accomplish her objectives are among her strongest assets.
Kathleen, originally from Chicago, was a world traveler before settling in Berthoud Falls, Colorado with her husband David, her dogs Maus, Daisy and Polly, her cat Kally and myriad "wild" visitors both feathered and furred.
Mahlia's strength as an attorney lies in her desire and ability to connect with people so that each client's values, dreams and fears are honored during the estate planning process. She strongly believes in a team approach, working closely with the client and the client's financial advisors.
