"My joy was boundless. I had learnt the true practice of law. I had learnt to find out the better side of human nature and to enter men's hearts. I realized that the true function of a lawyer was to unite parties riven asunder. The lesson was so indelibly burnt into me that a large part of my time during the twenty years of my practice as a lawyer was occupied in bringing about private compromises of hundreds of cases. I lost nothing thereby -- not even money, certainly not my soul." Mohandas K. Gandhi
Kirsten Hytopoulos was admitted to the Washington State Bar in 1997. Her interest in an alternative to the traditional winner-take-all approach to the practice of law began in law school where, as Student Bar Association president, she worked with the administration to reduce the high pressure, adversarial nature of the academic environment.
After working as a criminal prosecutor and a college instructor, Kirsten took time off from the law to focus on raising her three young children and to work on local political issues, ultimately serving on the Bainbridge Island City Council, including one year as Mayor. Following her own amicable divorce, Kirsten returned to the practice of law, choosing to focus on Collaborative Divorce and mediation with the goal of supporting others through difficult life changing transitions.
Kirsten is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP), King County Collaborative Law, member and former board member of Collaborative Professionals of Washington, and a Certified Mediator with the Washington Mediation Association. She is also a volunteer mediator at the Dispute Resolution Center of Kitsap County and is serving again on the Bainbridge Island City Council.
In her free time, Kirsten spends as much time as possible working in the garden and trying to keep up with her young adult twin boys and their feisty younger teenage sister.
