Maria Zalessky
Founding Partner
Maria Zalessky is a bilingual, proud Ukrainian who has been in the legal industry for over ten years. Maria graduated summa cum laude with her degree in English from the University of Northern Colorado and, after working in law firms as a paralegal, completed her JD at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver.
Maria prosecuted cases with the City Attorney of Englewood while in law school and served as a judicial law clerk in the 18th judicial district before she found out she passed the Bar. As a lawyer, Maria honed into estates, family law, and personal injury as specialties. Her empathy and specialized knowledge set her apart. She has handled dissolutions of marriage, child custody issues, civil litigation, personal injury, probate, and eviction matters. An Avvo Client's Choice winner, Maria prides herself on the real connections she makes with her clients that go beyond their legal matters. She takes the role of counselor at law as seriously as the one of attorney.
In her spare time, Maria loves making orchids bloom, doing puzzles, reading, and spending time with her husband and three excellent children.
Shannara Quissell
Associate Attorney
Shannara is a 2018 graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. While at DU, she served as Vice-President of the DU OUTLaws, the DU student liaison for the Colorado LGBT Bar Association, and President of Elder Law Society. Her work during law school included participation in the Tribal Wills Project, an externship with Denver Probate Court, and directed research on laws regarding violence against women and the LGBTQ+ community. She received the Public Good Distinction and a Student Leadership Award.
She also serves as Executive Director for the Colorado Name Change Project and as Programming and Technology Committee Chair for the Colorado LGBT Bar Association.
In her free time, Shannara enjoys knitting/crocheting, playing video games, and spending time with her husband and cat.
Stacey B. Carpenter
Associate Attorney
Stacey Carpenter is an Associate at The Zalessky Law Group, LLC, where she practices Family law. With over fifteen years in the legal field, Stacey’s true passion is helping families through some of the most difficult challenges they face. Stacey prides herself on her ability to connect, advise and counsel. Her specialized mediation training and empathetic and honest approach to problem solving has helped Stacey successfully resolve issues involving parenting time, maintenance, child support, enforcement actions, and adoptions, to name a few.
Raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she attended the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where she received a Bachelor of Arts as a double major in Political Science and English. Stacey worked as a paralegal for two years in Albuquerque before moving to Denver to attend the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Stacey continued to work as a paralegal throughout law school while being the student government senator for her class, and upon graduation became a family law attorney in 2009. She hung her own shingle and assisted mostly low income clients with their family law issues, and concurrently did all trial work for a collections firm, until she took a sabbatical to concentrate on raising young children in 2016. Then, she became supermom, scheduler of many, conflict negotiator, breathing expert, unexpected educator during a pandemic, and grower of urban produce.
When not spending time with her family and three obnoxiously cute Aussie mutts, Stacey enjoys kayaking, snowboarding, hiking, inventing and problem solving, reading and watching movies.
Jeanine Beyer
Managing Paralegal
Jeanine Beyer has over sixteen years of experience in the legal industry and has been a leader in almost every role she has taken. Jeanine specializes in personal injury, probate, and family law. She often spends weekends working on client matters and has a special talent for assisting in litigation matters.
In her spare time, Jeanine loves working out and encouraging her brilliant daughter to shine bright.
Pennie Helgevold
Paralegal
Pennie Helgevold comes to Zalessky Law group with five years of experience as a Paralegal at a boutique law firm, building a strong foundation in legal principles and practices.
Pennie demonstrates her strong work ethic and desire to win to make a positive impact on both her ZLG cases, and in hitting her target. When she's not working, Pennie enjoys pursuing her passion for darts, a hobby that allows her to unwind and challenge herself. Pennie earned her Bachelor's degree in Legal Studies from Purdue University, and continues to excel and push herself to new heights.
Kree Iraldo
Paralegal
Kree is a Colorado- based juvenile and family law paralegal originally from Los Angeles. He graduated from California State University of Northridge. With ten years of paralegal experience at the Law Office of Vincent W. Davis & Associates, his team was one of the few people to successfully counter-sue DFCS for damages on behalf of minors and their families.
In his free time, Kree enjoys listening and producing music as well as watching movies.
Lindsey Anderson
Business Manager
Lindsey Anderson joins Zalessky Law Group with over 25 years of experience in Operations and Marketing, specializing in startups and new technologies. She has led teams in various marketing disciplines, including branding, digital, retail, and experiential marketing. Lindsey began her career in advertising, working on major campaigns for brands like Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sony Music, and Camel. During the dot-com boom, she transitioned to digital marketing and project management. She later owned and managed three bars and venues, earning an award for Best Historic Interior Restoration from the Fort Collins Historical Society.
Lindsey served as Business Manager for Cleer.tax, a global Corporate Tax Accounting firm, where she significantly grew the team and achieved consistent profitability. As part of the C-level Leadership team, she managed development and customer success teams, and oversaw financial reporting, software development and management of platforms. Lindsey brings her extensive expertise to ZLG, a self-funded startup already profitable in its first year of operation.