Our Team
The Austin Community Law Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Our mission is to make legal representation radically more affordable, invest in a stronger community, and fight for justice.
Brian McGiverin (he/him)
Executive Director
Brian McGiverin is a long-time civil rights attorney with both nonprofit and private sector firms. He has extensive experience with complex litigation, and also with helping families handle their more routine legal needs in civil, criminal, and probate matters.
His past experience includes years being a partner with the Dietz, Lawrence & McGiverin Law Center; a staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project; and as a policy aide for former Austin City Council Member Delia Garza.
Amanda Marzullo (she/her)
Senior Staff Attorney
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Amanda Marzullo is a veteran litigator whose work focuses on family law and holistic criminal defense representation at the Austin Community Law Center.
Previously, she served as the Executive Director of the Texas Defender Service and was a dedicated advocate for criminal legal reform at the Texas Capitol. She was instrumental in advancing numerous legislative initiatives and forging bipartisan coalitions to support executive clemency for individuals on death row. She holds a master’s degree in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania and law degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Cambridge University, where she was an Amsterdam Public Interest Scholar and a Gates Scholar, respectively.
Sarah Diafi
Staff Attorney
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Sarah came to the Austin Community Law Center from private practice. She has handled divorces, complex property division, child custody modifications, enforcement of court orders and more. Her years of experience with courts in central Texas provide her with expertise in Texas family law matters.
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Sarah attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature in 1985. Sarah received her law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio in 1988. Sarah has been practicing family law in Texas courts since 1989.
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​Sarah lives in Austin with her husband. She enjoys reading and Zumba in her free time.
Pat Duricy
Staff Attorney
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Pat Duricy has enjoyed a robust career, in settings including small firms, in-house settings counsel, and almost 20 years in nonprofit legal services representing and educating individual clients and groups on matters of economic, social, and racial justice.
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His experience includes family law, housing law, probate, and individual rights; and as lead counsel in litigation in state and federal courts.
Claudia Diaz (she/her)
Paralegal
Claudia Diaz is a certified paralegal, having obtained her associates degree as a paralegal in Austin. She also holds a law degree from Mexico.
Claudia is fluent in Spanish and has worked as a translator and Spanish instructor at the Berlitz language center. She later worked at an Austin based immigration firm, then spent many years at an Austin-based legal aid organization in the estate planning division. Her current position at the Austin Community Law Center focuses on family law services.
Christi Stevens (she/her). Paralegal.
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Karina Valenzuela (she/her)
Paralegal
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Karina came to ACLC after six years with Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. She is a certified paralegal and member of the State Bar of Texas' Paralegal Division, and has volunteered as a Dallas CASA advocate since 2017.
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Karina is fluent in English and Spanish and served as an interpreter in Dallas County Family Court for a short time. Having been raised in an immigrant family, her first passion in the legal field was immigration law, until discovered her current passion for working with clients on family law matters
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Nina Hernandez. Communications.
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Nina Hernandez is an Austin-based writer, copy editor, and communications consultant.