Deborah has over 20 years of experience in civil litigation.  She has previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney, a federal government agency counsel, and a corporate litigator.  In that capacity, she has litigated hundreds of matters and tried multiple cases to verdict before state and federal courts, as well as administrative tribunals throughout the United States.   

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California for over nine years, Deborah represented the United States and its employees (from law enforcement officers and agents to medical providers and managers) in civil cases implicating employment, tort, immigration and constitutional law.  

She also took on administrative appeals and affirmative civil cases involving disability access and accommodation.  Deborah also led complex investigations and litigated False Claims Act (FCA) cases, including qui tam complaints, the majority of which involved claims of health care, defense contractor, and postal fraud.  As lead counsel on these FCA cases, she negotiated settlements recovering millions of dollars on behalf of the United States.  In recognition of her work, Deborah was awarded the Outstanding Service Award from the U.S. Attorney's Office.  

Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Deborah was in private practice at Reed Smith, LLP, where she litigated numerous individual cases and class actions calling into play wide-ranging, and often novel, issues involving truth in lending, consumer finance, fair credit reporting and fair debt collection. 

After moving to Denver, Deborah joined the U.S. Department of the Interior as an attorney-advisor.  In that capacity, she litigated before multiple employment tribunals including the Merit Systems Protection Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Office of Special Counsel.  She has provided legal advice and training to the Interior’s bureaus and served as counsel to the Bureau of Land Management’s Office of Law Enforcement and Security, which oversees the bureau’s law enforcement officers, and the Office of Professional Responsibility, which investigates serious administrative and criminal misconduct.

As an immigrant, person of color, woman, and first generation college graduate, Deborah understands first hand the struggles and challenges of succeeding in the workplace and society in general with few resources and little support. She founded Primera Law Group specifically to work with marginalized communities and individuals who have been abused and treated unfairly at the workplace and beyond.  Deborah is deeply committed to giving back and encouraging others to do so, as shown by her community involvement below.