Leigh de la Reza | Austin Divorce & Family Law Lawyer

Leigh de la Reza grew up with inspiring parents. Both school teachers, they taught her the importance of social justice, tolerance, and individuality. "My mother worked tirelessly advocating for disabled children in the school system. My parents were incredibly compassionate people and there was never a question that my sister and I should use our lives helping people. For me, law was the best way to help others."

While attending college at the University of Texas at San Antonio, Leigh had the opportunity to live with a family in Italy and study art. The following year she again went abroad only this time to England for a full year. It was here that she studied her favorite subject: law and social justice. Returning to San Antonio, Leigh graduated with two bachelor's degrees, one in English Literature and the other in Communications with a focus on technical writing. Her love of detail and her writing skills are invaluable to the practice of law and her craftsmanship is evident in her work.

After college, Leigh went on to law school. She knew that the best way to learn how to practice law with dedicated compassion was from those who were already doing that. So she attended St. Mary's School of Law and quickly joined the schools Center for Legal and Social Justice under the direction of Stephanie and Mark Stevens.

She began practicing with the Travis County Juvenile Public Defenders. Her dedication and work ethic paid off. She was given a full case load and had the opportunity to work on a juvenile appeal as well as several determinate sentence cases. She then went to work for the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission as an administrative law judge and attorney for the agency. "I learned a lot about the law and legislation, I know the family code like I know my own name, but I missed advocating for people. I would answer these complex legal questions for the field and just think how I wished I was the one fighting the fight. I went to law school to help people and that's all I ever wanted to do."

So with the encouragement of her husband Andre, an Austin firefighter, she opened her own practice. Her dedication to everything in her life is apparent, from practicing law; to social activism; to raising a family (which includes her lovely twin daughters). At a time when many attorneys become cynical with the legal system, Leigh maintains her strong beliefs in social equality, individuality, and the importance of compassionate advocacy.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Attorney	Texas Juvenile Probation Commission		2006–2008
Attorney	Travis County Juvenile Public Defenders Office		2005–2006

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
St. Mary's University School of Law	Juris Doctor	Law School	N/A
University of Texas at San Antonio	BA	English Literature & Communications	NA

State / Court
State Bar of Texas

• Pro Bono Achievement Award by Saint Mary's University, 2005.

• -"Know When to Hold Them, Know When to Fold Them: Settlement Agreements, Rule 11 Agreements, Informal Settlement Agreements and Mediated Settlement Agreements,"-State Bar Marriage Dissolution, 2013.
  -"Summary Judgments in Divorce"- 38th Annual Advanced Family Law Course, 2012.

• Vaught Law Firm, P.C.