Marisa was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. She attended Louisville High School in Woodland Hills, and then moved to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB. After graduation, she lived in the Bay Area while attending law school at Santa Clara University. During law school, Marisa served as a summer law clerk at Griffith & Thornburgh, LLP, and was thrilled to join the firm as an associate attorney in 2004. She became a partner in 2009 and served as the firm’s managing partner for several years.
Marisa has been practicing family law for over 18 years. She enjoys working with people to solve often complicated divorce issues. Marisa has experience dealing with complex financial issues, such as business apportionment and separate property tracing.
In addition to her family law practice, Marisa has extensive experience in appellate work, trust litigation and real estate matters, which often arise out of the divorce cases she handles. Believing that the best outcomes are attained through settlement, Marisa works tirelessly to settle cases. Still, Marisa has extensive courtroom and trial experience, and will not hesitate to litigate when necessary.
Marisa and her husband Chad, a Santa Barbara native, have two children. Marisa has leadership roles in Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts and serves as the treasurer of a local Parent Teachers Association. Marisa spends her free time riding horses and hanging out with her family and their two dogs, Moose (a pug) and Roxy (a pug mix).
In addition to traditional full-scope representation, Marisa offers limited scope representation and consulting for parties in mediation or who are self-represented.
Professional
- Partner, Griffith & Thornburgh, LLP: 2009 – Present
- Associate, Griffith & Thornburgh, LLP: 2004 – 2008
- Law Clerk, Griffith & Thornburgh, LLP: Summer 2002
Practice Areas
- Family Law
- Civil Litigation
- Education Law
- Appellate Practice
Memberships
- California State Bar Association, admitted 2003
- Santa Barbara County Bar Association 2004
Education
- Santa Clara University School of Law
- J.D., Magna Cum Laude, May 2003
- Deans List, 2000-03
- Emery Scholarship 2000-03
- Comments Editor, SANTA CLARA LAW REVIEW
- Recipient, CALI Award for Excellence, Dispute Resolution
- Recipient, CALI Award for Excellence, Family Law
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- B.A. in Communications, High Honors, June 1999
- Deans List 1996-99
- Member, UCSB Honors Program