About Verna
Verna Lilburn took an unconventional path into law. She began in the classroom, earning a B.S. in Education and English from St. John’s University in 1965. Years later she returned to study, completing a J.D. at Quinnipiac School of Law in 1991. Along the way she added graduate work in school subjects at Columbia University and a Sixth Year Certificate of Advanced Study in Public School Administration from Fairfield University. Those academic stops left her with a mix of classroom experience and legal training.
Her early legal work started immediately after law school. In 1991 she worked as an associate at the Law Offices of Roger Sullivan. The next year she held associate positions at Bruce & Associates and the Law Offices of J. J. Narkiewicz. She also served on the faculty of the University of New Haven’s Legal Studies Program as an adjunct in 1992, teaching students while building her practice. In 1994 she joined the Law Office of William C. Bruce as an associate and, three years later, she opened Lilburn Law.
Lilburn’s additional professional development reflects an interest in family law and dispute resolution. She completed a 40 Hour Mediation Certificate Course through the Labor Education Center and Quinnipiac Dispute Resolution. She also completed an Interdisciplinary Certificate Program for Divorce Lawyers at Quinnipiac. Those credentials sit alongside long-standing membership in family law groups and local bar committees.
Her involvement in legal organizations has been steady. She has been a member of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Family Law Section since 1991 and joined its Executive Committee in 2009. She has also participated in the New Haven Bar Association’s Family Law Committee since 1991. Since 2005 she has chaired the University of New Haven’s Legal Skills Advisory Board, a role that connects legal education with practical skills training.
Clients and colleagues see a lawyer who combines practical classroom instincts with courtroom experience. She brings mediation training to separations and custody matters and employs interdisciplinary approaches learned in continuing education. Her background in education informs how she explains options to clients and to students.
Today she practices under the name Lilburn Law, a firm she established in 1995. She continues to work in Connecticut, serving clients in family law, divorce, and mediation matters.
