I am a solution-focused attorney practicing in Seattle, Washington. I strive to help my clients find common sense, cost-effective solutions for avoiding and recovering from conflict and financial distress. I'm focused on what's important to my clients. 

A friend called me "A Northwest Kind of Lawyer," and I like that. Born and raised in Seattle, I spent my youth and adulthood exploring beaches, islands, rivers, and mountains, enjoying hiking, climbing, fishing, and kayaking. Thinking I would become a teacher or photographer, I surprised myself by choosing a career in law. I have more than 30 years of law firm experience, including more than a decade as a litigation, bankruptcy and family law paralegal prior to becoming an attorney in 2007. Over the past 15-plus years, I have focused my law practice on advising and representing individuals and business clients in a variety of matters including bankruptcy, receivership, business restructuring, foreclosure, business and real estate, estate planning and probate, family law/divorce, and related litigation and transactions.  

More recently, I have expanded my practice to include private mediation and arbitration for several types of disputes including civil, commercial, business, real estate, eviction, condominium, divorce/custody, probate/estate, partnership and law-firm dissolution, and attorney's fee disputes. In addition to my Seattle law and mediation practice, I am a family mediator with Family Mediation Hawai'i in Honolulu, and a mentor mediator for the Mediation Center for the Pacific, where I completed advanced mediation training in 2021 and divorce mediation training in 2023. I am also a panel member for the Hawai'i Bankruptcy Alternative Dispute Resolution Program and the CR 39.1 ADR Program in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington. 

I previously served as Chair of the WSBA Law Clerk Board and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, and continue to volunteer on the Camp Long Advisory Council, which supports outdoor education, stewardship, and leadership opportunities for underserved youth in the Seattle area. I am a member of the Washington Mediation Association and the Conflict Resolution Alliance of Hawai'i. I am available for private mediation in Seattle through my law firm, Westwood Pacific Law PLLC, and for family mediation in Hawai'i through Family Mediation Hawai'i. 

I regularly present at seminars regarding legal issues, ethics, and dispute resolution, and have been recognized as a Super Lawyer in 2020-2024.