Lisa R. Shellenberger

Lisa R. Shellenberger is a Managing Partner at Setter Roche Smith & Shellenberger LLP and leads the firm's Family Law & Juvenile Law Division. A highly respected and award-winning litigator, Lisa is recognized as one of Colorado’s premier family law attorneys. Throughout her career, she has successfully tried hundreds of cases, earning a reputation for exceptional courtroom skills. Lisa has been honored as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in family law for nine consecutive years (2017–2025), among numerous other distinguished accolades. Most recently, she was featured as one of Denver’s “Most Influential Women” in the April 2025 issue of VOGUE.

In addition to her courtroom skills, Lisa is highly trained in the art of settlement negotiation and conflict resolution. She is a member of the Colorado Collaborative Divorce Professionals group, and she has specialized training in the collaborative divorce process. Lisa also frequently teaches Continuing Legal Education courses to other attorneys and judges throughout the year through the Colorado Bar Association and other organizations. She has also been selected by the Colorado Judiciary, including the Colorado Supreme Court, to work on many prestigious committees to develop court rules of procedure applied within family law and juvenile law cases. Lisa also provides expert consulting services and expert witness services in select areas of law.

Because of Lisa’s extensive experience and her role as the Division Lead for the Family Law & Juvenile Law team, she typically handles the most complex cases at the firm, including representing ultra-high-net worth individuals, as follows:

Divorce

• Complex, high-asset divorce actions, commonly representing clients with marital estates valued in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, often involving the following issues:

  • Complex trust assets and trust income;

  • Executive & deferred compensation;

  • Enforcement or invalidation of premarital agreements;

  • Business interest valuations and related income analyses;

  • Significant separate property assets, including separate property tracing;

  • Common law marriage claims.

Child Custody

• Child custody matters, including cases involving:

  • High-conflict cases;

  • Substance abuse;

  • Interpartner violence (domestic violence);

  • Coercive control;

  • Child abuse;

  • Parental Kidnapping/fleeing to foreign jurisdictions;

  • Jurisdictional disputes;

  • Third party/non-parent custody cases.

Post-Decree Actions

• Modification or termination of spousal maintenance;

• Modification of child support;

• Modification of parenting time and decision-making authority;

• Enforcement of orders, including contempt proceedings.

Adoptions, Dependency & Neglect, & Other Case Types

• Adoptions (stepparent, kinship, custodial, and agency adoptions);

• Defense of parents and intervening parties in Dependency & Neglect cases;

• Child abuse & neglect investigations by the Department of Human Services;

• Paternity & Maternity actions;

• Guardianship actions;

• Grandparent Visitation Proceedings;

• Indian Child Welfare (ICWA) proceedings.

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Expert Witness & Consulting Services

• ICWA Qualified Expert Witness (QEW) Services;

• Expert Witness Services (regarding nuanced family law & juvenile law issues);

• ICWA Consulting Services;

• UCCJEA / Foreign & Tribal Jurisdiction Consulting Services;

• Other Consulting Services.

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In addition to family law and juvenile law practice, Lisa also engages in work in the field of tribal law. She was appointed to the bench in January, 2018, to serve as an Appellate Judge for the Havasupai Court of Appeals in Supai, Arizona. 

Lisa is also extremely involved in matters related to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in Colorado. She is regarded as a leading specialist in the field of ICWA. Lisa is one of the most well-versed attorneys that actively represents clients in ICWA cases, and she is also often retained as a qualified expert witness (QEW) to evaluate and provide an expert opinion and report to the Court in ICWA cases. Lisa further serves on numerous ICWA judiciary committees for many state judicial districts. 

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Prior to coming on full-time with Setter Roche Smith & Shellenberger, LLC, Lisa served as a Clerk to Justice Nancy E. Rice at the Colorado Supreme Court. Lisa’s legal work has been highlighted in numerous national news articles, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and National Public Radio (NPR).

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Lisa attended law school at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, Colorado. Lisa completed her undergraduate degree at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, with honors. Lisa is an Oklahoma Native, and she is a member of the Choctaw Nation.

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Outside of work, Lisa is an outdoor and fitness enthusiast. She enjoys CrossFit, traveling, camping, equestrian horse jumping, mountain biking, dirt biking, and scuba diving. She enjoys doing all of these activities with her husband, Kyle, and their two dogs, Moose and Millie.