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Schedule a Consultation with Carla
Carla Scarpone
 Attorney Carla Scarpone with The Harris Law Firm is a New Jersey native who has made Colorado her home for over seven years. After graduating Hamilton College with a BA in Philosophy, Ms. Scarpone worked as a paralegal for Lehman Brothers in New York City. Her move out to the Rockies was influenced by a need for a change of pace. The change could not have been more drastic. She left the Twin Towers for a sleepy ski town, Steamboat Springs, and traded her suit and secretary for a janitor's bucket and hiking boots. While in Steamboat, working as a janitor at a performing arts camp, Carla volunteered at a local non-profit that helped victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. This soon became a full time job, and as summer turned to autumn, she knew that Colorado was her new home. In her work at Advocates Against Battering and Abuse, she wrote grants, organized fundraising efforts, trained and managed twenty volunteers, advocated for victims in court, developed workplace safety policies with businesses in the community, and facilitated a violence prevention program at two high schools. She also learned a lesson that would change her life and career path: law is one of the most powerful instruments for social change. This job was the impetus for her decision to go to the University of Denver and pursue a dual degree in Social Work (MSW) and Law.
Carla's graduate education was endlessly benefited by numerous volunteer, clinical, and work experiences. In her first year in law school, she had the opportunity to clerk for Presiding Judge Robbins in the domestic courtroom in Denver District Court. Her Torts' professor, Arthur Best, invited Carla to act as his research assistant to help on universally used evidence publications. In her second year, she was awarded the University of Michigan Child Welfare Law Bergstrom Fellowship, which afforded her the opportunity to work for the National Association of Counsel for Children. Here, she collaborated with lawyers, doctors, and social workers on the many complex legal and social advocacy issues affecting disadvantaged and abused children. While completing her MSW, Carla interned at the Kempe Center where she was a therapeutic mentor and advocate for adolescent victims of child abuse in foster care. Following this position, she was accepted to the Child Advocacy Law Clinic where she represented victims of child abuse and domestic violence as a certified student attorney under the auspices of the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center.
Throughout law school, Ms. Scarpone was also an active member of the Public Interest Law Group (PILG), the Social Justice Action Group (SJAG), the Child Legal Advocacy Group (CLAG), and the Preventative Law Journal. Through SJAG, she was one of a group of students awarded the Julie A. Nice Award for Outstanding Writing and Research for her contribution to a handbook on domestic violence.
Carla's education, work, and extra-curricular activities strengthened her desire to work with families experiencing high levels of conflict. In her final year of law school, she began clerking at The Harris Law Firm. Almost immediately, she knew that she wanted to build a career in this firm. The collaborative environment among the attorneys, the Firm's ethic, pro bono commitment, and child centered focus all greatly appealed to her. While at the firm, Carla was trained and certified by Katz and Loizeaux as a Child and Family Investigator which further confirmed her commitment to helping to alleviate the pain involved in high conflict divorces.
Ms. Scarpone is also a member of the Executive Council of The Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the Colorado Bar Association. In this position, she collaborates with other board members to organize fundraisers for local charities, CLE events, and networks with CU and DU students. She is also on a task force to determine the needs of Colorado's young lawyers and how the YLD can better serve them.Carla is also on the executive board of the Denver Bar Association's Access to Justice Committee and a member of the Denver Health Volunteer Association Board of Directors.
Carla's work at the Kempe Center was recently highlighted at Kempe's annual "Story Hour" fundraiser . For over 40 years, The Kempe Center has assisted victims of child abuse and neglect and their families; Carla was honored for the therapeutic mentoring she did with adolescent victims of child abuse in foster care.
Carla has committed to volunteering for a charitable organization in Denver called The Family Tree. Since 1976, The Family Tree has provided a broad range of services and shelter to families and youth of metro Denver to overcome child abuse and domestic violence. Carla volunteers every month to provide legal help and advice to victims of domestic violence.
At the end of the work day, Carla's favorite ways of unwinding are by enjoying all that this wonderful state has to offer. She enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, and snowboarding. Recently, she has embraced the challenges of high altitude gardening. When the sun goes down, she loves to relax by cooking exotic dishes for friends and family.
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