Zwiebel & Lucas Law

Get to Know Us

Who We Are

Elie Zwiebel, Esq.

Prior to attending law school, Elie Zwiebel taught a variety of subjects and a diversity of students in the Detroit Area, Chicago, Portland, Shenzhen, and Nanjing. Through these experiences, Elie developed a passion for student and family advocacy. During law school, Elie engaged in  experiential learning opportunities as often as possible: with movement and power-building nonprofit organizations, where he learned the importance of holistic and interdisciplinary approaches to legal advocacy; with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, where he gained experience and familiarity with special education law; and with the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, where he contributed to investigating police departments, prisons, and mental health facilities for patterns and practices of discrimination. While in the University of Denver Civil Rights Clinic, Elie successfully petitioned President Obama to grant clemency to two individuals serving life sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. After spending one year as a Judicial Law Clerk for Judge Norma A. Sierra in the 20th Judicial District, Elie is thrilled to now zealously represent students and their families in Colorado schools and courts. Elie partnered with Colorado Juvenile Defender Center and then Transformative Justice Project as a staff attorney (2018-2020), Education First and LYRIC Program Director (2020-2026), and as Executive Director (2023-2025). He has represented students, parents, and guardians in educational and youth justice matters through his solo practice since September 2017. Elie now serves as Managing Partner at Zwiebel & Lucas Law, and as Co-Executive Director of Student Defense Alliance.

  • Colorado, 2016 - Present

    United States District Court of Colorado, 2017 - Present

    United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, 2019 - Present

  • University of Denver Sturm College of Law

    • Juris Doctor: May 2016

    University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

    • Bachelor of Arts: 2005

    • Major: English

    • Minor: Global Media Studies

  • Standing Up for Justice (Office of the Child Representative, 2023)

    Colorado Bar Fellow (Colorado Bar Foundation, 2023-Present)

  • Student Defense Alliance, Co-Executive Director, 2025-present

    Transformative Justice Project of Colorado

    • Legal Director, 2025-2026

    • Executive Director, 2023-2025

    • Education First Program Director, 2018-2026

    University of Denver Sturm College of Law Adjunct Faculty, 2021-Present

    Colorado Department of Education Dispute Resolution Advisory Board Member, 2023-Present

    SB23-29 Disproportionate School Discipline Task Force Co-Chair 2023-2024

    HB22-1131 Preadolescent Task Force Member, 2023

    Homeless Advocacy Policy Project, University of Denver Sturm College of Law

    • Professor, 2021, 2023

    • Barton Institute Teaching and Research Fellow, 2018

    Learn Your Rights in Colorado (LYRIC)

    • Board Treasurer, 2019-2024

    • Volunteer Teacher, 2017-Present

    Colorado Criminal Defense Institute

    • Board Member, 2020-Present

    Colorado Bar Association

    • Civil Right Section Vice Chair and Legislative Liaison, 2021-2023

    • Juvenile Law Section Council Member at Large, Vice Chair, Chair, and Board of Governors Liaison, 2021-2024

    AUL Denver

    • Board Member, 2020-2023

    Words Beyond Bars

    • Vice President of the Board of Directors, 2017-2019

    Southern Poverty Law Center

    • Contract Mississippi Legislative Analyst, 2018

    ‍ ‍

    • “Suspensions in Colorado Schools Jump 25% as Districts Struggle to Staff Since Pandemic” (Jessica Seaman, The Denver Post, Sept. 16, 2024)

    • “Starting Next Year, Youth Will Get Representation in Denver Courts” (Rebecca Tauber, Denverite, Dec. 18, 2023)

    • “East High Shooting Spotlights Tenuous Balance Between School Safety, ‘Moral Obligation’ to Educate Kids” The Denver Post (Jessica Seaman & Elizabeth Hernandez)

    • “New Bill Helps Families Sued by Schools to Pay for Legal Services” NewsBreak Denver (Suzie Glassman)

    • “Defending the Whole Child: Education Advocacy as an Integral Part of Holistic Juvenile Defense” Seattle Journal for Social Justice, (2022)

    • “Alternative High Schools Work to Keep Students Out of Justice System” CBS Denver (Karen Morfitt)

    • “Gettin’ Legal With It: Episode 22” Colorado Bar Association (May 2021)

    • “Shifting Gears: Moving Colorado Away from Criminalizing Vehicle Residency and Towards Safe Parking” (May 2021)

    • “For Incarcerated Youth, the Pandemic Isn’t Over Yet” The Colorado Trust (Daliah Singer)

    • “Colorado School Discipline Law: Gaps and Goals,” Denver Law Review (2020)

    • “Thousands of Families in Special-Education Limbo,” Washington Post (Caroline Preston)

    • “A Shot in the Dark,” Law Week (Jessica Folker)

    • “Using Poetry to Build Bridges,” San Quentin News (Marcus Henderson)

    • “Too High a Price 2: Move on to Where?” (May 2018)

    • “Yes in My Backyard: Building ADUs to Address Homelessness” (May 2018)

    • “Too High a Price: What Criminalizing Homelessness Costs Colorado” (May 2016)

  • ‍ ‍

    • Break the Pipeline: Your Client’s Educational Rights and How to Promote Better Outcomes When Dealing with System Involvement (Office of the Child Rep. Conference, September 2024)

    • Special Ed in The System (Office of the State Public Defender Conference, 2024)

    • “Administrative Unit Responsibilities for FAPE in County Jails: Special Education Director Training” (Colo. Dep’t of Ed., 2023)

    • “Administrative Unit Responsibilities for FAPE in County Jails: County Jail Officials Training” (Colo. Dep’t of Ed., 2023)

    • “School Expulsion Pro Bono Project – Three Part Training” (Colo. Lawyers Cmte., Jan. and Sept. 2023)

    • “School Discipline” Pueblo Bar Association (Nov. 2021)

    • “Educational Rights: Collateral Considerations for Your Client’s Defense,” 9th Annual Excellence in Juvenile Defense Conference (Colorado Juvenile Defender Center, Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, Office of the Child’s Representative)

    • “Break the Pipeline,” 2020 Coalition of Juvenile Justice National Conference

    • “Educational Advocacy,” 2020 Office of the Child’s Representative Annual Conference

    • “Breaking the Pipeline: Integrating Educational Advocacy into Defense Strategies” 8th Annual Excellence in Juvenile Defense Conference (Colorado Juvenile Defender Center, Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, Office of the Child’s Representative)

    • “Education Law and Best Interests” 2019 Office of the Child’s Representative Annual Conference

    • “Education Issues and School Engagement,” 7th Annual Excellence in Juvenile Defense Conference (Colorado Juvenile Defender Center, Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, Office of the Child’s Representative)

    • “Laws Impacting Students,” No Client Left Behind (Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel)

    • "Educational Advocacy," 6th Annual Excellence in Juvenile Defense Conference (Colorado Juvenile Defender Center, Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, Office of the Child's Representative)

    ‍ ‍

Lynnie Lucas, Esq.

Lynnie obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. After college, Lynnie worked in public relations and content marketing for a recruitment technology company. After two years of marketing, Lynnie realized she felt most passionate about working in youth advocacy, and decided to leave marketing and PR and go to law school. While in school at the University of Denver, Lynnie participated in a variety of externships related to youth and student justice. In the summer after her first year of law school, Lynnie externed with Disability Law Colorado, where she became familiar with disability and special education law, engaging directly with students and parents impacted by disability discrimination. During her second year, Lynnie worked as a student attorney in the Community Economic Development Clinic, in which she managed the case loads of two transactional clients in need of low-cost legal services. She also worked as a teaching assistant in the Lawyering Process program, teaching first-year law students research and citation skills and grading their writing and research projects. Finally, in the fall of her third year of law school, Lynnie accepted an externship with Elie Zwiebel Law, where she first encountered educational and youth justice law. In the months she worked with Elie, Lynnie discovered her true passion—working to stop the school to prison pipeline and secure educational opportunities for Colorado students. After graduating, she began working for Elie Zwiebel as an associate. She now serves as Junior Partner at Zwiebel & Lucas Law, and as Co-Executive Director of Student Defense Alliance.

  • Colorado, 2024 - Present

  • University of Denver, Sturm College of Law: Juris Doctor, May 2024

    University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT: Bachelor of Arts, Strategic Communication, May 2019

  • Constitutional Rights and Remedies Certificate - University of Denver, 2024

    Public Good Distinction - University of Denver, 2024

    Beehive Honor Society - University of Utah, 2019

    Honors Business Scholar - University of Utah, 2015-2016

    National Society of Leadership and Success - 2015

  • Volunteer and advocate, Children’s Diabetes Foundation - 2012-present

    Colorado Bar Association Leadership Training Class of 2026

    CBA Juvenile Law Section 2026 Co-Chair

    Lawyering Process Teaching Assistant - 2022-2023

    Student Attorney, Community Economic Development Clinic - 2022-2023

    Law student extern, Boeckx Law - 2023

    Law student extern, Disability Justice - 2022

    Kindergarten Teaching Assistant, Hawthorne Elementary School - 2017-2018

    Mutually Assisted Learning (MAL) student at Belleview Elementary School - 2013-2015

  • Rachel Garlick & Lynnie Lucas, Civics Education: The Unsung Guardian of Democracy, Charleston L. Rev., 2025.

    Rachel Garlick & Lynnie Lucas, A New Generation of iCivics Kids, (Oct. 14, 2025), https://vision.icivics.org/a-new-generation-of-icivics-kids/.

    Welcome to the University of Utah– Meet the Mighty Utah Student Section, PAC12 Network’s “The Pregame,” 2018.

    What’s New with U Feature, Utah Alumni, 2025.

  • Introductory remarks, Carousel Ball, Children’s Diabetes Foundation - October 2021

    Lawyering Process 1 and 2, Bluebook citation basic and advanced concepts - 2022-2023

    Lunch & Learn: School Discipline and Special Education Concepts – presented to staff at Transformative Justice Project of Colorado, 2025

    The Emerging Threat: The Proliferation of School-Based Threat Appraisals and How to Advocate for Your Client Facing One – OCR Fall Conference, September 2025

    Office of the Child’s Representative Webinar: Top 10 IEP Advocacy Tips and Tricks – February 2026

    Sharing Perspectives and Real-World Knowledge at Venture Academy of Leadership & Entrepreneurship – March 2026

    Excellence in Youth Defense - April 2026

    Legislative Updates and Special Education Concepts - presented to the Juvenile Law Section of CBA, August 2026

  • Lori Stafford-Thomas & Lynnie Lucas, Fearless Girl Teaches All of Us to Be More Fearless, Marketo Blog (2018), https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fearless-girl-teaches-all-us-more-lori-stafford-thomas#:~:text=Sometimes%20you%20look%20at%20something,ton%20of%20enthusiasm%20for%20learning.

    Lynnie Lucas, 4 Everyday Examples of Machine Learning, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, Brand Refresh Success Scale, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, So Happy to Announce Marketo is Named One of the Best Places to Work, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, Ways Demand Generation Marketing is like College Football, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, The Fearless 50 on Fearlessness, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, The Second 25 Members of Marketo’s Fearless 50 are Here!, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, Four Ways to Increase Social Media Traffic on Instagram, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, A Guide to “Dating” Customers Through Romance Marketing, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, Three Dangers of Sales and Marketing Misalignment, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, 5 Ways to Use Social Proof to Revolutionize Your Social Channels, Marketo Blog (2018) (archived).

    Lynnie Lucas, Put the fun back in functional, Vertafore Blog (Oct. 11, 2019), https://www.vertafore.com/resources/blog-posts/put-fun-back-functional.