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Elizabeth Brenner

Of Counsel
Burns Anderson Jury & Brenner, L.L.P.

Phone: (512) 338-5322
Fax: (512) 338-5363
E-mail: ebrenner@bajb.com
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Being a lawyer was always on the horizon for Liz as a natural outgrowth of her zeal for fairness and justice. Liz is committed to helping clients achieve their goals, whether it’s protecting themselves or their loved ones or tailoring a solution to a unique set of legal needs.

Liz focuses on problem solving that addresses the client’s needs without compromising on the right solution. She has litigated large and highly contentious trust and estate contests, achieving much desired results for her clients. Above all else, her clients reap the benefit of her personal investment, skill, and dedication.

Liz has maintained a commitment to public service throughout her career, whether clerking for public interest organizations in law school, providing pro bono legal services as a licensed attorney, or serving on boards and commissions. Prior to law school, she dedicated a year to public service as an Americorp VISTA. In law school, she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Journal of Civil Liberties and Civil Rights.

In 2016, she was awarded the Austin LGBT Bar Association’s Annual Award of Excellence. Liz is also an adjunct professor at St. Edward’s University where she teaches a class on social justice movements and the law.


Professional Associations and Awards

  • Austin’s Top Attorneys 2020, Austin Monthly Magazine
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Texas Bar Journal, Board of Editors
  • Estate Planning and Probate Section – Austin Bar Association
  • Barbara Jordan Inn of Court
  • Austin LGBT Bar Association’s Annual Award of Excellence, 2016
  • Austin LGBT Bar Association, President – 2014-2015
  • Austin Bar/Austin Young Lawyers Leadership Academy – 2014
  • College of the State Bar of Texas
  • Austin Young Lawyers Trial Academy – 2013

Volunteer


Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • Author, “Navigating the Minefield of Estate Administration with a Surviving Spouse,” Texas Bar Journal, January 2024.
  • Author, “Estate Planning and Probate for Same-Sex Couples,” Texas Bar Journal, February 2023.
  • Speaker, “Free Britney? Examining Guardianships Through the Britney Spears’ Case,” Courtroom Skills Series, August 27, 2021.
  • Speaker, “Essential Estate Planning Considerations,” Hispanic Bar Association of Austin, January 29, 2021.
  • Author, How Do Lawyers Help Solve the Pandemic Crisis of 2020 ? (Hint: Use Your Skills), Texas Bar Journal, September 2020.
  • Speaker, “Litigating Common Law Marriage Claims,” Volunteer Legal Services, August 6, 2020.
  • Author, Love (of the Constitution) and Liberty in the Time of COVID 19, Texas Bar Journal, July 2020.
  • Speaker, “Wills, Probate, and Common Law Marriage,” TADC Winter Seminar, February 8, 2020.
  • Author, “Basic Tips for Civil Litigators from the Probate World,” TADC Winter Seminar, February 8, 2020.
  • Author, “Tips and Tools for Practitioners Handling Common Law Marriage Cases,” LGBT Law Section of the Texas State Bar, December 5, 2019.
  • Speaker, “Family Protections in Probate: Exemptions and Allowances in Probate Administration,” Estate Planning and Probate Section of the Austin Bar Association, September 20, 2019.
  • Speaker, “Common Law Marriage in Litigation,” Courtroom Skills Series, June 28, 2019.
  • Author, “Defining a Marital Relationship,”  Texas Lawyer, February 13, 2019.
  • Author, Family Protections in Probate, Texas Bar Journal, March 2018.
  • Speaker, “Gerrymandering: Where to Draw the Line,” Barbara Jordan Inn of Court, March 2018.
  • Speaker, “What Family Law Attorneys Should Know About Probate,” Legal Issues in Changing Times, December 13, 2017.
  • Co-Author, “Family Law: Parentage and Adoption Update, Probate Issues for LGBT Clients,” State Bar of Texas.
  • Speaker, Bench Bar Conference, Austin Bar Association, “Battle Lines in a Post-Obergefell World,” May 2017.
  • Speaker, “Alien Tort Statute: Litigating Falun Gong in the United States,” Barbara Jordan Inn of Court, October 4, 2016.
  • Speaker, “SCOTUS in Transition: The Scalia Vacancy & How it Impacts the Court,” Barbara Jordan Inn of Court, April 5, 2016.
  • Speaker, “Probate Basics,” Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas Wills Clinic Training, November 2016.
  • Speaker, “An Introduction to Wills,” Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas Wills Clinic Training, October 7, 2015.
  • Speaker, Texas Association of Legal Professionals Fall Educational Conference, September 19, 2015.
  • Guest Lecturer, Texas State University, Fiduciary Law, February 17, 2015.
  • Panelist, Life After Marriage, William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law, Texas Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, February 13, 2015.
  • Author, “Marriage for All: The Legal Impact of Obergefell v. Hodges,” Texas Bar Journal, September 2015.

EDUCATION

  • University of Texas School of Law (J.D.), 2003
  • University of Texas (B.A. in Government), 1996

LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS

  • State Bar of Texas, 2003
  • Attorney ad Litem (Guardianship)
  • United States Supreme Court

Practice Areas