Our firm is excited to announce that Colleen Barberis was featured in the July issue of Peninsula People. Although Colleen has nearly 20 years of hands-on litigation experience, she possesses a lifelong familiarity with the law, having grown up around it since she was a young girl.
Patricia Barberis, Colleen’s mother, founded our firm when Colleen was little. Colleen saw the impact her mother had on the lives of those in the community and was eager to do the same. She began volunteering at her mom’s law office in high school, often answering phones or filing paperwork. “I absorbed the atmosphere around me,” Colleen says, “and I saw that the biggest aspect is helping people in times of need.”
It took a rather catastrophic event, however, for Colleen to realize that she was meant to follow in her mother’s footsteps. After studying English literature at UC Santa Barbara and Oral Roberts University, she worked as a technical writer and editor for a medical/legal firm. At the same time, she started law school of at the University of West Los Angeles.
While Colleen enjoyed writing, her passion for law never fully disappeared. She finally acted on this passion when the firm she wrote for was destroyed by a fire in the Rodney King riots. Colleen became an appellate clerk for the county council, Department of Children & Family Services. She graduated from law school in the top five percent of her class and joined her mother’s firm.
Resolving Family Conflict with Tenacity & Compassion
Since coming alongside her mother, Colleen has dedicated herself to assisting families in the midst of divorce and custody issues. Clients are encouraged to tell their full side of the story and both Barberis’ work through the issues with a keen sense of insightfulness.
Some of the most difficult cases Colleen takes on are when she acts as minor’s counsel. Allegations and parental conflict can make it challenging to reach favorable resolutions, but Colleen never gives up on those she represents.
Colleen and her mother are living proof that the gender gap which previously existed in the legal field has greatly dissipated. Patricia noted that law was not an open field to women in her generation. But for Colleen’s era, nearly half of the graduates at her law school were women.
The Barberis’ continue to strive for excellence in their field of family law and aren’t afraid to deliver legal toughness in the courtroom. After all, their clients are most important and deserve the very best representation that Colleen and Patricia can possibly provide.
To read the article in full, follow this link.
If you are in need of a dedicated family law attorney in Torrance or the South Bay, don’t hesitate to contact Patricia Barberis, A Law Corporation today.