Kent Family Lawyers

Attorney Cheryl Van Ackeren is passionate about protecting the rights of service members and ensuring that veterans get the benefits they deserve.
Long before graduating from Seattle University’s School of Law, Cheryl knew she wanted to be a lawyer. Cheryl enlisted in the Army at 18 to achieve her goal and hoped to take advantage of the “green to gold” program to become an officer, and eventually, a Judge Advocate General. Cheryl’s military career began in the signal corps with the 1st Calvary Division, Fort Hood, Tx. Her enlistment included a 15 month deployment to Iraq during the early days of...

Brent Bohan is a family law and divorce attorney with high energy and a powerful drive to obtain the best possible outcomes for his clients. While running a private practice, Brent discovered his talent for family law. He loves helping people solve problems, and family law provided a challenging and rewarding way to do so. Brent now focuses his practice on family law and divorce, including high asset divorce and LGBT family law. Known for being a tough litigator, Brent combines a talent in the courtroom with his ability to develop productive and friendly relationships with the...

Nick Lovelace-Andrews specializes exclusively in family law, demonstrating a genuine dedication to assisting individuals navigating various aspects of family legal matters. His practice covers a broad spectrum, including divorce, child custody, LGBTQ family law, and prenuptial agreements. Notably, Nick played a significant role in co-authoring the Marital Agreements chapter in the Washington Family Law Deskbook (3rd ed. 2022), collaborating with Stella Pitts. Before joining Envision Family Law, Nick served as an associate attorney at S.L. Pitts PC for 3 1/2 years and previously contributed as a volunteer attorney with the Housing Justice Project. He obtained his law degree from Seattle University...

Susan has worked as a family law attorney for over a decade handling all areas of divorce and custody cases. Additionally, she has spent many years as a Guardian ad Litem in Washington. This role required hard work and dedication. During that time, she was called as an expert in several trials. She was subject to cross-examination and highly regarded by judges. As a result, she can process complex situations quickly.

In addition to her experience, Susan takes a realistic approach with her clients. She will provide you with information to make good decisions...

Molly Kenny, who grew up in the Midwest and has been licensed to practice law since 1980, has always had a passion for practicing law.

Molly completed her undergraduate studies at Michigan State University. Upon graduating with honors, she attended law school at Ohio's University of Dayton, where she was an editor on the law review and published 2 articles. She received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree and graduated cum laude.

Yearning for adventure, she moved west immediately upon graduation. After clerking for a federal judge in Portland, Oregon, she relocated to Seattle and worked at the Public Defender's office where she...

Sarah is a person (who happens to also be an attorney) fueled by compassion, curiosity, and the desire to see justice prevail. She started her path towards the legal profession at age 7 when she negotiated her first deal: to stay up past her bedtime. She did not win. Several decades later, she applied this and many other life lessons to the practice of law. In her spare time, you can find Sarah at the local dog park trying and failing to get her dog to fetch a tennis ball, playing on the water, listening to music, traveling around this...

After being admitted to the Washington State Bar Association, Ms. Ramirez practiced law in the private sector with emphasis on family law, bankruptcy, estate planning and elder law matters. Ms. Ramirez compassionately advocates on behalf of her clients while she assists them in successfully resolving difficult disputes and navigating through litigation and complex legal issues.

Professional Memberships/Organizations
Ms. Ramirez is licensed to practice in the State of Washington and the United States District Court. She is also a member of the following professional associations:
Washington State Bar Association, Member
King County Bar Association, Member
Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association, Member

Education
Seattle University School of Law,...

Over the course of his career, Mark Arend has filled the shoes of a businessman, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, and an attorney. Using his diverse vocational background, he helps clients facing high-tension, complex, and adversarial family law matters. Some of his practice areas include child custody, domestic violence, child support, relocation, high net worth divorce, and military family law.

Mark’s approach to family law is based on common sense, strong ethical standards, and the highest level of professionalism. His goal is simple: to “do better” for his clients than any other legal representative would do. Mark is...

Brien Galbraith is an associate attorney with Integrative Family Law. Brien accomplishes his clients’ goals by way of positive communication. By speaking with his clients regularly and in detail, Brien is able to understand their goals and set out on a path to achieve them. Brien is experienced in a number of different areas of family law, including custody, support, divorce, relocation, LGBT family law, and more.

Andrew has been a member of the Washington State Bar Association for over 15 years and is an associate attorney at Envision Family Law. For the past decade, he has exclusively practiced in the area of family law to include divorce and custody cases. His wide-ranging background of litigation experience is extensively combined with years of knowledge as a skilled mediator.

Prior to entering law school, Andrew graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in political science. From there, he continued his journey into the legal profession at the University of Maryland School of Law, graduating at the top 10% of...

Behind Jennifer Payseno’s calm and deliberate demeanor are the intellect and ability of one of Seattle’s finest family law attorneys. Affiliated with McKinley Irvin since 1999, Jennifer is highly regarded throughout the legal community for her integrity, courtroom skills, and unwavering commitment to every family she serves.

Natalie Roberts has spent the entirety of her legal career mastering her skills in family law. She is well distinguished in the legal community and known for her persistent, intelligent and strategic litigation – both in the court room and in negotiations. When hand-crafting her legal arguments for the court room, Natalie keeps her client’s quality of life and financial stability at the forefront. She understands that every decision/request throughout a case can have major life impacts on her clients such as transporting your children to and from exchanges, ensuring you have enough spousal maintenance to pay your monthly...

David Starks is a partner at McKinley Irvin and practices out of the firm’s Kirkland office. David is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers as well as the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He has been designated to the list of “Top 100 Attorneys in Washington State,” Washington Super Lawyers®, rated 10/10 “Superb” on Avvo, and was chosen as "Lawyer of the Year" in the field of Family Law by Best Lawyers two times. David is driven by a passion for his client’s success and always fights to protect their best interests.

Rita is a founding partner and CEO of McKinley Irvin. With an eye toward the future, Rita works with the firm's leadership team to maintain McKinley Irvin’s commitment to excellence in law practice, client service, professionalism, and firm management. In addition to her work at McKinley Irvin, Rita is deeply involved in the Tacoma community and has served as a director on several local and professional boards. She currently serves on the Legal Pathways Community Advisory Board and as a Dressel Scholars Mentor at the University of Washington Tacoma. Additionally, Rita founded MI’s Black Law Student Mentorship Program where she...

Ray Pollari is a well-established family law attorney. He has over 27 years’ experience of litigation and mediation in numerous counties across Washington State. Ray has also served as a C.A.S.A Guardian ad Litem and a Family Law Guardian ad Litem in both Juvenile and Superior Courts. That experience has given him a unique perspective on custody disputes and how the courts view the “best interests” of children. Over the years, Ray has dealt primarily in divorce cases, parentage, and domestic violence. He also has experience with prenuptial contracts, restraining orders, military family law, and parenting modifications. Before Ray...

Kim Schnuelle is a Senior Attorney at McKinley Irvin, one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier divorce and family law firms. Kim has a 10.0 “Superb” rating on Avvo.com and has also been selected for the honor of Washington Super Lawyers®. Kim has a reputation for putting her clients’ needs first and protecting what matters most to them.

Devoted. Prepared. Accessible. Compassionate. Michelle Dellino is the managing attorney at Dellino Family Law Group. At Dellino Family Law Group our practice is results oriented and heavily focused on client communication. We excel at providing aggressive representation when needed or solutions borne of a cooperative approach when appropriate. We provide non-judgmental and efficient representation with an emphasis on achieving client goals through immediate problem solving. The firm was founded by Michelle and on her belief that there is, very simply, a solution to every problem. Her personal practice focuses on complex family law matters including high conflict cases, domestic...

Jason Benjamin has spent the past 23 years immersing himself in the intricacies of Family Law and particularly Child Custody cases. He has personally handled more than 1000 cases where child custody is at issue. He particularly welcomes families who have emergency custody, domestic violence or restraining order issues, as he can typically obtain appropriate orders within hours to protect you and the children. From the beginning of his legal career, Jason has aggressively advocated on behalf of victims of domestic violence (even when domestic violence was not treated seriously by the courts). He understands the complexities of...

Kelsey Morfitt is a former United States Air Force attorney and hails from Enumclaw, Washington.

Kelsey graduated magna cum laude from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington and majored in Spanish and Political Science. She graduated cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington while serving as a member of Gonzaga Law Review and interning for the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office, Washington State Attorney General’s Office Social and Health Services Division, Washington State Senate Committee Services, and the Chambers of Judge Robert Whaley in federal district court. Kelsey also completed service projects in Honduras with...

Lindsay D. Camandona is a Partner at McKinley Irvin, the Pacific Northwest's premier family law firm. As a family-oriented person herself, Lindsay is able to identify with her clients and treat their cases as if they were her own. In Lindsay’s own words, “It is my priority to achieve a successful resolution my clients can live and be happy with.”

Erin Blower feels fulfilled in practicing family law.

"Family law is a helping profession. I enjoy working closely with people to get them to a better place. It is personal and meaningful work."

Erin understands how unsettling a family law case can be. She is sensitive to the emotional impact of the divorce process on both her clients and their families.

"These cases are not just legal or financial - these are times of huge transition and emotional upheaval in people’s lives. It’s important to work with an empathetic attorney who understands the whole picture."

Erin guides clients in trying to find resolution of...

Attorney Moses has been defending juvenile and Family Law Clients in the courtroom since 1999. Whether your case is a divorce, legal separation, child custody and support, spousal support, domestic violence, or guardianship, he has the experience and resources necessary to achieve a successful outcome of your case. He has a strong background in defending the rights of individuals, and is competent to handle your case from beginning to end, with thoughtful attention to detail, whether it be at the negotiating table or in the courtroom.

Heather focuses her practice on employment law representing individuals in claims involving wrongful termination, age, gender and race discrimination, workplace harassment, and workplace retaliation. Heather is experienced in multiple aspects of litigation including settlement negotiations, mediation, and arbitration. Additionally, Heather has represented clients in both State and Federal Court and before governmental agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Washington State Employment Security Department. Heather’s experience with employment issues includes Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, Washington Minimum Wage Act, Washington Paid Sick Leave and the Washington Law Against Discrimination. Heather also assists clients in negotiating severance...

I have been practicing law since 1990 when I graduated from a top-ranked Canadian law school, Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. After 3 years as a trial lawyer in Canada I moved to California where I gained admission to the California State Bar. I practiced law in West Hollywood California for 13 years until my relocation to Redmond, Washington in 2007. Since 2008 I have practiced family law in the Seattle area, and I have extensive trial experience in King County. While I love being able to fight for my clients in the courtroom I also recognize that fair settlements...

Awarded "Best of 2018 Tacoma Divorce Lawyer." I have been a lawyer for over 28 years, because I thoroughly enjoy helping others. From January 2011 to April 2013, I served as a Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner. I presided over family law, probate/estate, guardianship, mental illness, juvenile court, landlord tenant, mortgage foreclosure, and other matters. I chose to leave the bench and to return to private practice. I missed directly helping others. I still occasionally serve as a Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Pro Tempore.

I assist my clients primarily with divorce, legal separation, child custody, and child support issues....

Since the day that she became an attorney, Danielle LaBelle has focused her career on family law. Today, her goal is simple: to help families dealing in critical legal circumstances get the patient, caring, and professional guidance that they need. “I want my clients to feel like their voice was heard and their interests were well-represented,” she said.

Mark graduated from Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) in 1974 with a B.A. in History. He then attended the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (San Francisco, California) where he was the Articles Editor of Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal, and graduated in 1977 with a Juris Doctor degree. Mark was an instructor at the University of Puget Sound, School of Law (now Seattle University School of Law) from 1977 to 1979 before entering private practice in Seattle. He is admitted to practice in California as well as Washington. He is also admitted to...

Tatyana Gidirimski has handled every aspect of family law, including complex divisions of property, maintenance, parenting plans (including modifications and child relocations), child support, division of business assets, committed intimate relationships, prosecution and defense of restraining orders, domestic violence protection orders, and preparation and negotiation of prenuptial and other relationship agreements. Tatyana is highly cognizant of the toll - both financial and psychological - a contested family law matter can take on the client and strives to achieve an out-of-court resolution of the conflict whenever possible. She is skilled in dealing with high-conflict personalities and counsels clients on handling...

Lindsay Noel is an attorney at McKinley Irvin’s Puyallup and Tacoma offices. As a divorce and family law attorney, Lindsay is experienced in a wide range of legal issues, such as custody, support, relocation, military family law, LGBT family law, and more.

Sara's focus includes Family Law and Civil Litigation. Sara Kim is a passionate advocate who, in every case, is driven to seek justice for her clients. In private practice since 1995, Sara is a highly experienced family law attorney; she also has a thriving practice in the areas of personal injury and civil litigation.

Keeping a client-centered focus has been fundamental to her success. As Sara explains, “The people who come to me are under a lot of emotional pressure. The point is to make myself accessible: I believe that being there to listen is the only way to truly know...

Welcome. My goal is to listen to clients and deliver effective and cost efficient high quality legal services, focusing on maximizing results either through negotiation or litigation, whichever is appropriate for the circumstance. Many cases can be resolved amicably through settlement. This office offers a free initial telephone with a lawyer to discuss your legal issue: (253) 272-1434. With over 20 years of experience in Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington, I represent clients in many other cities and states who are civilians, military servicemembers, and veterans. Because there is often so much...

Shana E. Thompson has achieved success by listening carefully, understanding her clients’ long-term objectives, and helping resolve dissolutions as amicably and expeditiously as possible.For the past 17 years, Shana E. Thompson has been proudly serving individuals in family law cases throughout the cities of Seattle, Everett, and Kent.

Her client base has been built on hard work and determination that has allowed her to become what she is today. She takes great pride in providing top-level service and promises your complete satisfaction when you choose her to handle your legal needs. Shana and her team...

Stacey Smythe joins Law Offices of Molly B. Kenny firm with over 24 years of legal experience, focusing in Family Law, Estate planning and Probate. Stacey Smythe graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a bachelor of arts in Business Administration and Sociology. She received her Juris Doctorate from University of Puget Sound School of Law in 1991, nka Seattle University School of Law. Ms. Smythe is committed to an open line of communication with her clients and recognizes the need to keep clients fully informed of all aspects of their case. Ms. Smythe...

Janet George is widely recognized as one of the top family law attorneys in the state of Washington. She limits her practice to complex, high asset and high income cases, including those involving property characterization, business valuations, and the distribution of multi-million dollar estates. She has represented high net worth individuals across different fields, including business owners, corporate executives, legal and medical professionals, and professional athletes. Janet has received the top honors of her field. She has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) since 1992, serving as President of the Washington AAML chapter from 1997 to...

I've been practicing family law in Pierce County since 2006, including divorces, custody, child support, modifications. I handle contested cases, agreed cases, and collaborative cases.

Rainer Frank is a Senior Attorney at McKinley Irvin who handles family law cases related to divorce, child custody, child support, relocation, and unmarried couples. Rainer represents clients with a variety of legal issues, including domestic partnerships, child support and parenting plan modifications, contempt proceedings, enforcement actions, and QDROs. He believes that the first priority in any family law matter is to get to know his client and understand their unique situation and needs. He works hard to avoid unnecessary adversity, but still treats each case as if he were preparing it for trial – an approach that he has...

Divorce and Child Custody: These are powerful words with powerful consequences. Established on the eastside of Lake Washington since 1973, my firm provides clients with vigilant and professional representation. As an experienced family law attorney, I will provide you with sound advice and guidance to resolve your family law issues. At the outset of my representation on your behalf, we will work together to analyze your issues, possible solutions, and the chance of success of each course of action available. We will then work as partners to devise the best strategy to achieve your goals. Success in family law...

Stacy Heard is an attorney who practices exclusively family law in Seattle, Washington. Stacy has served clients for nearly 20 years in the Seattle area. Prior to and during law school, Stacy worked as a family law and civil litigation paralegal for 7 years. Her broad experience in family law includes cases involving complex financial issues, parenting plan/child custody issues, relocation, restraining orders, and child support issues. Prior to starting her own practice in 2005, she worked at a large Seattle civil litigation firm where she also gained valuable negotiation and litigation experience. Stacy chose to practice family law because she...