While settling or mediating a case in the client’s best interest is always an option, Sheryl’s tenacity as a litigator has earned her the reputation of being an attorney who will not hesitate to fight for her clients or the children she represents as a Guardian ad Litem.

Ms. Saavedra is also a trained and certified Collaborative Law Practitioner, assisting clients in a non-litigation process. This process centers on mutual resolutions between the parties and their counsel, and utilizes mutual experts and other professionals to assist the parties in achieving successful resolution, without litigation.

Sheryl brings the same vigilance she exercises in divorce and custody cases, to her work as a Guardian ad Litem for children. In her first year as the Chaves County Guardian ad Litem for Children’s Court, Sheryl was nominated for the New Mexico Welfare and Juvenile Justice Excellence Award at the Children’s Law Institute. She is a staunch advocate for children in a variety of family law related cases including divorces, custody, adoptions and kinship guardianships, but she has a particular affinity for representing children in the abuse and neglect system. She is able to work with both children and their parents to develop a plan that places the child’s needs as paramount, while still seeking a viable solution to reintegrate the family, where appropriate.

Sheryl L. Saavedra is President of the UNM School of Law Alumni Association. Having served on the Alumni Board since 2015, Sheryl is committed to bringing service and  dedication to her law school community. Sheryl continues to be involved with Rotary, having served as Club President, Assistant Governor, Lt. Governor, District Membership Chair and District Public Image Chair. Sheryl is a member of the H. Vearle Payne Inn of Courts, the New Mexico State Bar Committee on Women in the Legal Profession, the New Mexico and National Hispanic Bar Associations, the Albuquerque Bar Association, the NM Women’s Bar Association, the Family Law Sections of the NM State Bar and the ABA, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the New Mexico Practice Collaborative Group and is a volunteer attorney for the Law-La-Palooza Free Legal Fair, the Ask-a-Lawyer Call-In Program, the 1st and 2nd Judicial District Family Law Teleclinic, the Veterans Legal Clinic, the NM Legal Aid Volunteer Attorney Program and the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center.   She is a member of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce and a graduate of their AVANZAR Small Business Leadership Program.  Sheryl teaches continuing education courses, including being a faculty member with UNM School of Law Taking and Defending Depositions course and teaching a course to the All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center on Subpoena Response and Testimony.