About
A firm that only does this
Rivera Family Law opened in 2016 because family cases were being treated as an afterthought at firms that did everything. Ten years later we still do exactly one thing.
Why family law only
Marisol Rivera spent seven years at a general civil firm where the family cases were the ones nobody wanted. They were emotionally difficult, the fees were smaller than commercial work, and they tended to land with whoever was least able to refuse them. The result was decrees drafted in a hurry by people who did not really want to be there.
She had watched clients walk out with orders they did not understand, about children they would be raising for another decade. In 2016 she opened a firm that would take family cases on purpose, and would not take anything else.
That constraint is the point. When every attorney in the building spends every week inside chapters 6, 7, 153, 154, 156 and 161 of the Texas Family Code, nobody has to look up how the multiple-family support table works or which affidavit a one-year modification needs. That fluency is what you are buying.
A decree is a document a stranger has to be able to follow in five years, when both parents have moved on and nobody remembers what was agreed in the hallway.
The firm in figures
- 2016Year the firm opened
- 1Practice area, family law only
- 5Attorneys, two board certified or of counsel
- 187Client reviews, sample
Review count is a sample figure for this demo site.
How we got here
- 2016
The firm opens
Marisol Rivera leaves a general civil practice and opens a family-only firm above a bakery on Stanton Street, with one paralegal and a borrowed conference table.
- 2018
Board certification
Marisol is board certified in family law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a credential held by fewer than one in ten Texas family lawyers.
- 2019
Daniel joins
Daniel Okonkwo arrives from four years at the Office of the Attorney General child support division, bringing the enforcement and income-reconstruction practice with him.
- 2021
East Side office
A second office opens on Montwood Drive with evening appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for parents who cannot take a weekday afternoon off.
- 2021
Thomas joins of counsel
A former family court associate judge joins of counsel, adding the appellate practice and the Fort Bliss military divorce work.
- 2023
Pro bono adoption programme
Priya Raman launches a programme handling two pro bono adoptions a quarter, in partnership with the El Paso Bar Association referral service.
- 2026
Five attorneys, one practice area
Still family law only. Still no wills, no traffic tickets and no personal injury.
The people
Marisol RiveraFounding attorneyContested custody · Complex property division · Trial work
Daniel OkonkwoSenior associateChild support · Enforcement · Self-employed obligors
Alejandra FuentesAssociate attorneyProtective orders · Family violence · Emergency relief
Priya RamanAssociate attorneyAdoption · Mediation · Agreed matters
Thomas BeaudryOf counselAppeals · Complex valuation · Military divorce
Hablamos español
Three of our five attorneys and both of our paralegals are fluent in Spanish. Consultations, hearing preparation, document review and the final walkthrough of your decree are all available in Spanish at no additional cost, and we arrange court interpreters for hearings on request.
This is not a marketing line. In a border city, a client who understands their own decree in the language they think in makes better decisions, and better decisions produce orders that hold.
In the community
- Two pro bono adoptions each quarter through the El Paso Bar Association referral programme.
- Two pro bono protective order matters each quarter, handled by Alejandra Fuentes.
- A twice-yearly continuing education segment on net resources for the El Paso Bar Association.
- Volunteer clinic sessions at the county law library for self-represented parents.
Community commitments described here are sample content for this demo site.