As a second-year law student, Angela Olsen worked in the state attorney general's office on cases involving children who had been taken away from their parents. Seeing firsthand how children needed legal representation made her even more convinced of her career choice in law.

Olsen brings formidable skills to a wide-ranging array of cases, including adoptions, custody disputes, child support, and paternities. Among her most memorable cases: She successfully defended a mother against false accusations that the mother was a severe alcoholic and unfit to care for her child. After months of litigation, the mother was awarded primary care of her son, child support, an increase in spousal maintenance and a substantial award of attorney fees.

“I enjoy helping people through a difficult time in their lives,” Olsen says. “My clients appreciate having someone in their corner to fight for them.”

Olsen is also trained in collaborative law, a method in which two sides work together to resolve their dispute outside of court. She favors using collaborative law when possible because it “allows people to treat each other with respect and maintain their dignity. In court cases, people sometimes do and say things they can't take back. In this method, you don't have to engage in mud-slinging. You identify the problems and figure out how can we as a group can solve this. People can be much more in control and more satisfied with the outcome.”

Olsen grew up in Washington in a family that attended church regularly and stressed the importance of volunteer work. She was active with a variety of youth organizations and knew from an early age that her career would be devoted to public service. Olsen earned a B.A. in political science from Washington State University, which she attended on a Division I basketball scholarship.

A graduate of Seattle University School of Law, where she earned her J.D., Olsen has provided volunteer legal counsel through Kitsap County Legal Services and has also worked with the Northwest Justice Project. She is a single mother of two and says her own divorce proceedings gave her fresh insight into what her clients will encounter regarding property issues and parenting plans. Outside of work, Olsen is a very active mom.