Mikaela V. Rivera - Denver, CO

Overview

Mikaela has extensive experience litigating a variety of commercial disputes arising from complex commercial transactions. Her primary areas of expertise, however, are eminent domain, land use, and real estate related litigation. In eminent domain, Mikaela has represented landowners in urban, rural and mountain resort communities in a variety of contexts including urban renewal, open space, highway and other public facility acquisitions. She has expertise not only in defending condemnation actions, but in pre-litigation counseling and negotiations. She has had considerable success not only preventing condemnation at the outset, but in obtaining the maximum just compensation for her clients where condemnation is unavoidable. Recently, she represented the owner of the Valley Floor in Telluride in which the jury awarded her client $50,000,000, the full amount sought for the property. Mikaela also has been a frequent speaker on eminent domain issues.

Other areas in which Mikaela has considerable experience include homeowner association litigation, quiet title and adverse possession actions, easement disputes, landlord/tenant disputes, property tax appeals, representing landowners and developers in disputes regarding development rights, and employment litigation.

Mikaela is a graduate of Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Denver Class of 2007. She is also on the Associate Board for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Denver, and has served as a mentor in the community program. Mikaela also serves on the Board of Directors for the New America School, an English as a Second Language charter school with four campuses in Colorado. Mikaela is active with the Colorado Women's Bar Association, and has served on its board as well as that of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. Mikaela also was named one of Law Week Colorado's 2008 Up and Coming Lawyers and a 2010 Super Lawyers Colorado Rising Star.

Mikaela received her law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law, where she served on the Moot Court Board and interned for Colorado Supreme Court Justice Alex Martinez. She received her undergraduate degree in political science and economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating magna cum laude.