NEW LEAF FAMILY - Key Persons
Amber is a Colorado native, who got an early start in litigation working for several large law firms as a litigation assistant/paralegal. She is now an experienced trial attorney who is devoted to working towards the best possible resolution for her clients. Amber practices in the areas of Family Law, Criminal Defense/DUI, and General Civil Litigation.
Amber is also an experienced mediator, with great success resolving cases with high conflict family dynamics.
Amber McClain spent over twelve years in the San Francisco Bay Area, but has returned to help empower her clients during their family conflict and transition.
Community activism and civil rights have always been important to Ms. McClain. She continues to volunteer regularly in her community for various causes.
Christopher is a really smart guy (no … he did not write this!) He can analyze and pick apart a dense legal argument...
Dylan is enthusiastic to achieve and help our clients reach their goals.
Born and raised in small town central Illinois, Dylan stayed close to home and received both his B.S. and J.D. at the University of Southern Illinois. His legal career began there as a Law Clerk working in Asbestos Law. After hundreds of hours of tedious depositions, Dylan learned that his passion to advocate was better suited to empower both individuals and families in their daily lives.
Long before he had begun his legal career, Dylan knew that his love of the mountains would one day bring him to Colorado. During law school, he clerked at several Downtown Denver Law Firms practicing both Personal Injury and Criminal law before he found his way to New Leaf Family. Dylan is driven to become an expert at everything he devotes himself to.
Outside of devoting himself to work, Dylan enjoys skiing, biking, hiking, climbing, and playing sports almost as much as he enjoys attending sporting events. Very few can relate to Dylan's level of passion for the Chicago Cubs.
Alexa Hoven, or Lexi, is passionate about helping families visualize and create the healthiest and happiest version..
Lexi grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming and graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She received her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School, immediately moved to Colorado because she missed the mountains, and has been practicing Family Law here ever since.
Outside of work, Lexi loves to camp, paddle board, hike, cook, watch movies, go to hockey games, and visit breweries. You can usually find her at a dog park or on a mountain somewhere with her two dogs: a French Bulldog-Boston Terrier named Sophie, and a Siberian Husky named Sitka (yes, quite the odd couple). Lexi's favorite band is Fleetwood Mac, her favorite color is sage green, and she is a die-hard Colorado Avalanche fan. Go Avs Go!
Mary Beth grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and earned her B.A. from Haverford College. In 2018, she left the land of soft pretzels and headed west to attend the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder. She received her J.D. in May 2021. During law school, Mary Beth served as an Associate Editor on the Colorado Law Review, and her academic and professional experiences focused on employment, labor, and civil rights law. As a third-year law student, she worked a as a student attorney in the Civil Practice Clinic representing workers in working condition, denial of rightful compensation, and wrongful termination cases. Mary Beth was admitted to the Colorado Bar in October 2021.
After law school, Mary Beth worked in the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE). In her role as a Compliance Investigator at the CDLE, Mary Beth reviewed wage complaints filed by workers and gathered evidence related to alleged violations of Colorado wage and hour law. At the conclusion of these investigations, she wrote determinations applying the law to the facts gathered and assessed owed wages, penalties, and fines where appropriate. Mary Beth found it most satisfying when she could help an employee efficiently recover owed wages while simultaneously educating the employer on the requirements of the law.
Mary Beth enjoys attempting ambitious baking projects and cooking food with friends. She loves to explore new towns, near and far, and is always on the hunt for a good cup of coffee.
Penn Dodson is passionate about empowering those experiencing conflict to not only find a way through to a new life, but to also grow from the experience. Penn is a proud co-founder of New Leaf Family.
Penn has been practicing law since 2003 and before that worked in several law firms in other capacities for close to a decade before that. After growing up in Arkansas, Penn graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire with a double major. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. Among her awards and recognitions, Penn has been named a Super Lawyer; listed among the Top Women Attorneys in New York; rated AV Preeminent by the lawyer rating company Martindale-Hubbell; and elected President of a state-wide lawyers' association.
Outside of law, whenever the opportunities present themselves, Penn enjoys skiing, hiking, gardening, knitting, exploratory cooking, and making bad puns. Penn's father gave her a rifle for her first birthday, and her favorite word is serendipity.
Ryen C. Schimerman is a Lead Attorney with New Leaf Family. In addition to family law, he has a strong background ...
Shelly is passionate about helping support people in trauma, those experiencing domestic violence, as well as those individuals undergoing family transitions that happen during the course of life. She believes it is both and honor and privilege to walk beside someone seeking a change in their life. Her practice includes civil protection orders, dissolutions, custody disputes and other general civil legal matters.
Shelly Dill has been licensed to practice law in Colorado since 2006 and received her Juris Doctor from American University, Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. For 16 years Dill has practiced both litigation and mediation throughout Colorado.
Shelly is a trained mediator and has completed her mediation certification.
Prior to joining New Leaf Family, Shelly owned her own firm, Uhuru Law & Mediation. Uhuru means freedom in Swahili and it is her passion to see people walk in greater freedom, whatever that may mean for the individual or the family. She created and directed the Pro Bono Project at the Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Center and Project LIFT at Tessa, both aimed at serving victims of domestic violence. Early in her career Shelly clerked for Judge Margie Enquist in the 1 st Judicial District, for Judge Jim Casebolt at the Colorado Court of Appeals, and for Justice Greg Hobbs Jr. at the Colorado Supreme Court. She also worked as a Staff Attorney at the Judicial Arbiter Group, the leading mediation and arbitration firm in Colorado, as well as the Colorado Department of Labor.
Shelly has served served on the Board of the Colorado Women's Bar Association for five years, chairing the Publications, Policy, and Legal Services Committees. She also served two prior terms on the Board of Governors for the Colorado Bar Association. She was a member of the Colorado Bar Association's COBALT Leadership Training Class in 2015 and Emerge Political Leadership Class in 2016. Over the years she has authored, coauthored, and edited multiple articles published in the Colorado Lawyer focusing on her two legal passions access to justice and women issues. For three years she chaired and co-chaired the Denver Bar Association Access to Justice Committee. She has also previously volunteered with the Colorado Lawyers Committee Legal Nights and Project Homeless Connect as well as the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMAIN). Additionally, she is a NITA Trial Training National Participant.
Shelly also holds an MA from American University's School of International Service in Political Economy, an MA from the University of Kwa Zulu Natal in Economic Development, and a BA from Baylor University in International Relations.
Shelly is admitted to practice law in the State of Colorado, United States District Court for the District of Colorado, and in the 10 th Circuit of Appeals. She is currently a member of the Arapahoe County Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, and the Colorado Women's Bar Association. Presently she serves on the Board of Governors of the Colorado Bar Association on behalf of the Denver Bar Association for the 2021 and 2022 terms. She also serves on the 2023 Leadership Nomination Committee for the Colorado Bar Association.