Lauren Wylie Gempel was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado and is a proud graduate of Air Academy High School. Lauren graduated from Colorado State University with a double major in Social Work and Human Development and Family Studies. After college, Lauren worked for a non profit organization in Fort Collins, Colorado, providing case management and independent living support for youth in the juvenile justice system and youth who were emancipating from foster care. After three years, Lauren left this position to attend law school at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University where she was awarded a Child and Family Advocacy Fellowship.
While in law school, Lauren participated in a variety of family, juvenile and criminal law-related activities. She was the Managing Editor for Family Court Review, Volume 52, handled pro bono cases in the Juvenile Law Clinic, and worked as a research assistant for Professor Andrew Schepard, the Director of the Center for Children, Families and the Law at Hofstra University. Lauren also enjoyed interning in a number of different settings including the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Defense Practice in Brooklyn, New York, the Adams County Attorney’s Office in Brighton, Colorado, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System’s Honoring Families Initiative in Denver, Colorado, and a judicial internship with the Honorable Jane Pearl, Bronx Family Court, New York City. Her student note, Closing the Crossover Gap: Amending Fostering Connections to Provide Independent Living Services to Foster Youth Who Crossover to the Justice System, 52 FAM. CT. REV. 299 (2014), was published in 2014.
After Law School, Lauren had the honor of clerking for the Honorable Ann Gail Meinster, District Court Judge in Jefferson County, Colorado. After her clerkship, she worked as an associate at Peper Law Office, P.C., focusing exclusively on juvenile, family and criminal representation in the public interest sector. Her work included representation of children as a Guardian ad Litem and representation of indigent parents in dependency and neglect and contempt of court proceedings.
Lauren’s diligent and compassionate approach to family law matters stems from her professional and personal experiences. As a sister to two young men with special needs, Lauren understands the need to tailor her client representation to each family’s unique set of circumstances. When she is not working, Lauren enjoys spending time in the Colorado outdoors or watching cooking show marathons with her husband.
