Attorney Charles E. Liken Jr.

30+ years of knowing how cases really work

Attorney Liken didn't learn the legal system from a textbook — he learned it from the evidence up. Fresh from his B.A. in Administration of Justice at the University of Pittsburgh, he began his career inside the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh — first as a paralegal in the General Trial and plea-disposition units, then promoted to investigator for the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (A.R.D.) diversion program, where he managed 300+ cases and coordinated restitution directly with victims — before bringing that experience west to Colorado.

Once in Colorado, he served the City & County of Denver as a civil and criminal fraud investigator for Denver Human Services: more than 700 independent investigations, surveillance, interviews, detailed reports for possible civil and criminal filing, and testimony in civil, criminal, and administrative-law proceedings. He earned his J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law — receiving the Denise Stott Award for leadership and community involvement — and was admitted to the Colorado bar — closing out his Denver Human Services years as Acting Senior Agency Personnel Analyst, running internal personnel investigations and advising a 1,200-employee agency.

He opened his own firm, Charles E. Liken, LLC, in Denver — a broad civil practice spanning domestic relations, complex real-estate litigation, personal injury, contract and lien matters, and corporate and franchise work. He later served as a Deputy District Attorney in Colorado's 12th Judicial District, then rose from Senior Associate to Senior Managing Attorney at a Longmont firm before founding The Longmont Law Firm — bringing senior-level judgment and small-firm attention to the families and individuals of Boulder County and Northern Colorado.

The path here

Why experience matters

Because facts are built, not found. Most lawyers receive a file; an investigator knows how the file got made — what a clean chain of evidence looks like, which witness statements will survive cross-examination, and where the holes hide. Seven hundred investigations' worth of that instinct goes into how every LLF case is prepared.

Because you should know what the other side will do before they do it. Prosecutors decide what to charge, what to bargain, and what to take to trial. Attorney Liken has been that prosecutor. When he tells you how a DA — or an opposing counsel — will read your case, it's pattern recognition, not guesswork.

Because judgment is the expensive part. Twenty-plus years of private practice is what it takes to know which fights change outcomes and which just change invoices. Experience is the difference between a lawyer who can litigate everything and one who knows what's worth litigating.

Because life doesn't stay in one lane. Divorce collides with criminal allegations; estates collide with family conflict; a DUI lands in the middle of a custody case. With a practice spanning family law, criminal & DUI defense, estate planning, and probate, one counselor can see your whole picture.

Credentials & training

Former Colorado Deputy District Attorney Colorado Attorney Court-Appointed Child & Family Investigator (CFI) Former Colorado Real Estate Broker Former Denver Human Services Investigator · 700+ Investigations Colorado Mediator Parenting Coordinator & Decision-Maker (PC/DM) J.D., University of Denver Sturm College of Law 30+ Years in the Law DU Law Leadership Award Began in the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office

How Attorney Liken works

Clients describe him as brutally honest, genuine, and dedicated — you will always know where your case stands, what it's likely to cost, and what he would do in your shoes. He listens before he advises, prepares as if every matter will see a courtroom, and negotiates from that position of strength.

Your team

Yazmin Vasquez, Senior Managing Paralegal, brings 7+ years of Colorado family-law experience as your day-to-day point of contact and the engine of the firm — she does it all: scheduling, filings, client communication — and she collaborates with Attorney Liken on every single pleading. Nothing about your case sits still on her watch. Reach her directly at yazmin@longmont.law.