As the year comes to a close, we take this opportunity to reflect on a season marked by meaningful work, professional growth, and continued commitment to the families we serve. Family law often accompanies moments of significant transition, requiring both legal insight and thoughtful guidance. We are deeply grateful for the trust placed in our firm by clients, colleagues, and referral partners, and for the dedication of our team members who consistently serve with integrity, compassion, and excellence. The following reflections from our attorneys highlight the experiences, milestones, and gratitude that defined this past year and that continue to guide us as we look ahead.
Bobbie Batley
I always appreciate this time of year for the endings and beginnings. It is our most challenging time of the year in family law, yet also the most rewarding as we help people move through their family transitions with confidence for a new start. I am always amazed at our Team as I watch them juggle their own family needs and demands while also graciously giving their best efforts to our clients. I end this year being very grateful for the group of people I work with every day and the other professionals in our family law community. You all make the hard days easier! Our Firm truly appreciates the confidence you show in us when you send us your friends, family and colleagues. We have intentionally set up our Firm to serve a wide variety of family law needs.
As I move into “seasoned lawyer” status with my 30th year of practice on the horizon (how did that happen??), I hope to serve more NM families in mediation, negotiation and collaboration. I am a believer that the best people to settle a case are those who have extensive litigation experience, can see all sides of a case and who understand the court system.
On a personal note, I am looking forward to some down time with my very supportive family over the holidays. My husband Billy and I are the proud parents of two daughters – one is a teenager, and one is a young lawyer - so our family time is spent with lots of talking and debating. They keep me sane and grounded and we have a family goal of more adventure, music and golf in 2026!
Lauren Riley
This year was full in every sense of the word. Serving as Chair of the Young Lawyers Division and sitting on the Family Law Section Board made it a deeply rewarding year, made especially meaningful by the work we were able to do for our clients. I was also deeply honored to receive the Alumni Promise Award from the UNM School of Law, a truly humbling highlight. Outside of work, my kids kept me on my toes – my six-year-old son, Beau, fully committed to his love of soccer, and my two-year-old daughter, Hadley, perfected her negotiation skills (often on me).
As this year comes to a close, I am incredibly grateful to everyone who supported the firm, trusted us with referrals, and collaborated with us – and especially to our amazing team, whose dedication and heart make all of this possible.
Wishing everyone a happy holiday season, and I look forward to connecting in 2026.
Nathan Frazier
Thanksgiving and Christmas are times to reflect on things that we are thankful for. When I was a child, I loved Christmas primarily for what presents I could receive under the Christmas tree. Now, as I get older, I reflect that this has reversed: I look forward to the giving, rather than in the receiving. Perhaps this is just part of “growing up,” but I think it is something that captures the spirit of this firm.
For example, I am very thankful to be working alongside such gifted and giving attorneys, such as Bobbie, Lauren, Brandon and Dorothy, as well as our amazing paralegals: Laurie, Nikki and Emily. I can only speak for myself, but I recognize that same spirit of giving in all the people here who choose—day in and day out—to spend countless hours solving the difficult problems that our clients share with us to resolve. I am very grateful for the continued faith they put in our firm.
Finally, I wanted to specifically call out Lauren for being recognized at the Distinguished Achievement Awards Dinner at University of New Mexico Law School, alongside the other distinguished alumni: Paul Biderman, The Honorable M. Monica Zamora, and Peter Cubra. Each of these individuals gave a speech about what motivated them in their careers, and it was telling that a particular theme emerged: each were motivated by an intuitive, heart-led approach to achieving justice in their respective fields (ex: environmental; the mentally incapacitated, juvenile offenders, and in family court). It is hard to capture the spirit of this kind of selfless and heart-lead service which ennobles all of us, but there are a few poetic lines from Andrew Bird’s song, “Bloodless,” which captures this spirit:
… I'm keeping mine with the altruists
Putting my weight behind the dancer
I know it's hard to be an optimist
When you trust least the ones who claim to have the answers…
Turn around and quote a well known psalm
Don't you worry 'bout the wicked
Don't you envy those who do wrong
And your innocence will be like the dawn
While the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
May you each have a blessed winter break and be given renewed faith for what is possible in 2026.
Brandon Ilgen
I am excited to reflect on another year of delivering results for our clients and setting them up for success as their families undergo transition and transformation. I love being a team player and would say, aside from helping clients, the thing I value most is the incredible team at Batley Riley Family Law. Everyone draws upon the relative strengths of the team to achieve greater results. My tenure on the Board of Director's for the UNM School of Law Alumni/æ Association Recent Graduate Chapter (RCG) came to end after I was term limited, having been appointed to the board at its inception in 2021. In the tradition of service at Batley Riley Family Law, I am always looking for additional ways to serve and build our legal community.
The year wasn't all work and service, though. Over the summer, Brandon had the opportunity to travel to Vienna, Austria with his wife, Anastasia, and their children, where their daughter played piano in a concert at the historic Palais Ehrbar (while her brother, also a talented musician, cheered her on). They then went on to Prague, Czechia, where the kids were delighted to learn that the group making noise outside the apartment, not five feet from where they were sleeping, was Sombr filming a music video for We Never Dated. Professionally, Anastasia, a geochemist and Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories also had an amazing year - she was named a fellow of the Royal Chemical Society (UK) and a fellow of the American Chemical Society for her scientific contributions and service to the field of chemistry, and she had two papers appear in Nature Communications. The whole family can't wait to see what the new year brings!
Dorothy Onikute
This year has brought some incredible milestones in my life. After lots of late-night studying and far too few breaks, I graduated from UNM School of Law, passed the Bar Exam, and was sworn into the New Mexico State Bar. Most importantly, I officially joined a fantastic team at Batley Riley as a new attorney. Feeling incredibly blessed this year, with a heart full of thanks and love for all who cheered me on along the way. I'm cozying into Christmas with so much excitement for what’s ahead! Wishing you and yours all the warmth, magic, and sparkle this season brings!!