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Under Oath

Raquel Hernandez

Member Spotlight

November 2021

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Profile

Hometown: Colorado Springs
Law School: Florida Coastal School of Law
Live in: Colorado Springs
Works at: The Drexler Law Group, LLC
Practice Areas(s): Family Law, Protection Orders, Guardianship, and Adoption
CBA Member Since: November 2015

Raquel Hernandez is a self-described “military brat.” She was born in Germany, spent most of her early childhood in Florida, and moved to Colorado in 2000. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. She is the chair of the El Paso County Bar Association’s New Lawyers Division and treasurer of the CBA Young Lawyers Division.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Learn how you learn. While this may seem commonplace, it has helped me immensely as a visual learner. Learning how I learn helped me study for the bar and has changed how I approach CLE courses and develop new skills (like caring for succulents and cooking new dishes).

What’s the worst advice you’ve ever been given?

Don’t become an attorney—you won’t be happy. I heard this a lot both growing up and throughout law school. Not only is this statement rude and dismissive, but I’ve found it to be untrue. We all have days that are stressful and hard, but I love my job and wouldn’t change it for any other profession. Finding a niche is important, and so is finding balance in your professional endeavors. Without balancing who you are as a person and who you are in your practice, you will likely struggle with any profession.

What do you like best about your practice area?

My family law practice gives me the opportunity to improve the lives of my clients and their families. When I witness a client’s relief and gratitude at the conclusion of a case, I feel a sense of accomplishment that I was able to help someone through a difficult situation. This is true whether I’ve helped a client adopt a child, secure a permanent protection order, or obtain a divorce decree. We family law practitioners touch on some of the most intimate parts of people’s lives, and it’s a difficult but rewarding practice.

If you weren’t a lawyer, you’d be?

I love cooking and baking, so I think I would have gone to culinary school to become a chef or a pastry chef.

What’s your favorite local restaurant?

Marigold Café & Bakery.

What’s your favorite place to escape to in Colorado?

I enjoy any remote mountain backpacking trail that takes me to see our beautiful lakes. My current favorite spot is the Missouri Lakes–Fancy Pass Loop. It’s one of the most beautiful backpacking trips I’ve ever taken.

What’s your favorite place you’ve traveled to?

Japan.

What’s on your desk right now?

I finally have a new desk at home after the pandemic turned the world around, and I made sure to include space for both my hobbies and my work. I like my space to be tailored for me to work—whether it be for clients or myself. At both my firm and my home office, I keep reminders of my favorite things—a corgi mouse pad, fake succulent push pins, colorful pens, photos, and lots of sticky-note pads.

What advice would you give a new lawyer?

Find a niche of the law that makes you feel challenged but satisfied; find a firm that supports and appreciates you as a whole person; and build a support network that includes attorneys in your field, mentors inside and outside your field, and friends you can vent to.

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