Brenda Marichalar

About Brenda Marichalar

Brenda Marichalar represents individuals and families, including Spanish-speaking clients, in divorce, child custody, and conservatorship matters. An attorney in Goranson Bain Ausley’s San Antonio office, she is bilingual in English and Spanish. She works closely with parents in custody and conservatorship matters, where decisions can have a lasting impact on children, and takes time to understand each client’s concerns and what matters most.

Before law school, Brenda spent two years in the Rio Grande Valley with Teach For America, teaching English to high school students. Her approach today combines thoughtful preparation, attentive listening, and straightforward legal advice. For Spanish-speaking clients, discussing sensitive family matters in their preferred language can make a difficult process easier to navigate.

Brenda begins each case by identifying her client’s goals and developing a clear strategy for reaching them. Mindful of the financial and emotional costs of family law disputes, she seeks efficient resolutions whenever possible. If a matter needs to be decided by a judge, she brings thoughtful preparation and courtroom experience to protect her client’s interests. For Brenda, successful representation means helping clients understand the choices before them and move forward with confidence.

What Sets Her Apart

• Bilingual Counsel for Spanish-Speaking Families. Brenda advises clients in both English and Spanish. In law school, she interviewed divorce clients in Spanish at the Center for Legal and Social Justice and conducted Spanish-language intakes with children at the RAICES Children’s Program.
• A Teacher’s Approach to Explaining the Law. Brenda taught high school English for two years before law school. She draws on that experience to explain complex legal issues in understandable terms, so clients feel informed and prepared before important decisions.
• Courtroom Experience in Bexar and Surrounding Counties. Brenda has represented clients in contested final trials. She has appeared in family courts in Bexar, Guadalupe, Medina, Atascosa, and Kerr counties.
• Recognized Strengths in Advocacy and Legal Writing. Brenda was named Best Oral Advocate at the 2023 Hispanic National Bar Association Moot Court Competition, where she also earned Second-Best Respondent Brief. As a judicial intern at the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals, she drafted opinions for the court’s review.
• Named a 2025 Top Family Lawyer. Scene in SA magazine recognized Brenda in 2025. The recognition came the year after she was admitted to practice in Texas.

Practice Focus

Brenda’s family law practice includes:

• Child Custody and Conservatorship. Brenda represents parents in conservatorship and possession disputes, including suits affecting the parent-child relationship. She explains parents’ options in plain terms, in English or Spanish.
• Divorce. Brenda has handled divorces from the initial petition to the final decree. She prepares the pleadings, handles discovery, and drafts the final decree.
• Divorce Mediation. Brenda represents clients at mediation when a negotiated agreement is possible. Her aim is a practical settlement that avoids the cost of a contested hearing.
• Contested Divorce. Brenda represents clients whose cases must go before a judge. She organizes exhibits, conducts legal research, and prepares witnesses ahead of court.
• Modification and Enforcement. Brenda works on matters where an existing order needs to be updated or enforced. She has drafted pleadings in both modification and enforcement proceedings.

Recognition and Credentials

Brenda was included on Scene in SA magazine’s Top Family Lawyer list for 2025.

She earned her Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2023, where she received the Pro Bono and Public Service Award, was a two-time recipient of the Dean’s Law Scholarship, and was a finalist in the Linda and David Schlueter First Year Moot Court Competition. Before law school, Brenda graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science in 2018. She was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 2024.

Beyond the Practice

Outside the office, Brenda enjoys reading, working out, spending time with her dog, and exploring San Antonio with family and friends.