Lorena has been in private practice in Corvallis since 2004.  Her practice forcuses on family law and victim’s rights.  She is a trained mediator and has served on the Linn County Arbitration Panel since 2004.

She is the 2006 recipient of the Mary Zelinka Advocate for Social Justice Award and a 2010 recipient of the OSU Woman of Achievement Award for her dedication to stopping domestic and sexual violence.  She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence, having served as the agency's President, Treasurer, and as Chair of many committees since 2000.  Her firm has provided over $1,000,000.00 worth of pro bono legal services to survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and child abuse and to help children who are being negatively impacted by the drug or alcohol abuse of a parent.

Lorena graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a degree in Philosophy.  She obtained her law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 1997.  During law school, she interned at the Los Angeles District Attorney's office in the Hard Core Gang Unit and worked at Protection and Advocacy, Inc. as a law clerk representing children and young adults with disabilities in administrative hearings, as well as providing litigation support on individual and class action law suits.

In 1997, Lorena was hired by Oregon Legal Services, which is now known as Legal Aid Services of Oregon (LASO), as an AmeriCorps attorney.  Stationed in Ontario, Oregon, she spent a year representing low-income survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  In 1998, she was hired as a Staff Attorney for the Albany Regional Office of LASO.  For the next six years, she represented low-income clients in a variety of areas, including family law, special education, and administrative hearings.  She represented clients at hundreds of hearings and trials and handled many appeals on impact cases.  She also worked on legislative committees and statewide task forces, representing the interests of impoverished Oregonians and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Lorena teaches Sociology 345 at Oregon State Univerity: Crimes and Violence in Intimate Relationships.  She is also a frequent speaker and trainer on many issues.