Jamie Polito Johnston

Principal

Practice Emphasis

Jamie’s practice focuses on complex marital dissolutions and legal separations, as well as child custody and parenting issues.

Her practice in family law spans nearly 20 years and in that time Jamie has developed a reputation as a compassionate and relentless advocate for her clients.  Whether utilizing traditional dispute resolution methods through litigation, or alternatives such as mediation, or the Collaborative Law process, Jamie helps her clients to find the best, healthiest and most successful outcomes to their unique problems.

Resolution-oriented, and providing responsive and personal service to her clients at demanding and stressful times, Jamie represents high net worth individuals with respect to complex financial issues and asset division, parenting plans, relocation actions, child custody and child support matters, third-party and non-parental custody actions, committed intimate relationships, cohabitation/prenuptial and community property status agreements, and post-dissolution issues, including child support and parenting plan modifications.

Education

  • Juris Doctor, cum laude, Seattle University School of Law
  • Associate Editor, Seattle University Law Review
  • Member, Seattle University Moot Court Board
  • Bachelor of Arts with Honors, University of Michigan
  • Visiting student, University of California Berkeley
  • Collaborative Law Training
  • Professional Mediation Skills Training Program, University of Washington School of Law

Representative Cases

  • A highly skilled litigator and negotiator, Jamie has successfully represented numerous clients in a wide range of family law disputes including marital dissolution cases involving high net-worth estates, business and professional practice valuations, pensions, retirement assets, separate property and tracing analyses, as well as high-conflict child custody and child support matters. She has extensive experience litigating matters both in court and through the mediation/arbitration process.
  • In addition to representing clients in traditional litigation cases, Jamie also focuses her practice in Collaborative Law, a voluntary, guided and team-oriented process by which parties agree to resolve disputes in a cooperative setting outside of the courtroom.

Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • Presentation:  Hot Topics in Family Law: Case Planning and Trial in the Media Age, Authentication and Admission of Email and Social Media (2016)
  • Editor, LexisNexis Practice Guide, Washington Family Law (2016)
  • Mediation in Divorce: Until Dispute Resolution Do Us Part (2010)
  • Depriving Washington State’s Youth of an Education: The Debilitating Effects of Tunstall v. Bergeson, 26 Seattle U. L. Rev. 1017 (2003)

Professional & Civic

Chair, Family Law Practice Group of Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson, PLLC, 2015 – 2020

Board of Directors of Family Law CASA (“Court Appointed Special Advocates”)

Named to “Best Lawyers” by Best Lawyers in America, 2020 ed., 2021 ed., 2022 ed., 2023 ed.

Named a “Super Lawyer” by Washington Super Lawyers magazine, 2021, 2022

Named a “Rising Star” by Washington Super Lawyers magazine, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016

Recognized as a “Top 40 Under 40 Family Law Lawyers” by American Society of Legal Advocates, 2015

Recognized as one of the “Top Women Attorneys in Washington” (Super Lawyers/Rising Star), Seattle Met magazine, 2012

Volunteer, King County Bar Association Neighborhood Legal Clinics

Past volunteer of Legal Voices (formerly “Northwest Women’s Law Center”)

Judicial Intern for the Honorable Avern Cohn, United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan

Family Law Mentor, King County Bar Association

Washington State Bar Association , Family Law Section

Member, King County Bar Association, Family Law and Collaborative Law sections

Member, King County Collaborative Law

Member, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals

Jamie Polito Johnston

Practice Areas

Testimonials

I had the pleasure of having Jamie represent me recently in my divorce case. Not only is Jamie a bright, well informed and creative lawyer, she also has empathy and the amazing ability to make her clients feel respected and cared for. She approached my case with a goal to create a manageable settlement for both parties, to be fair yet get me what I needed to move forward with my life. I will recommend Jamie to any of my friends and acquaintances that might need her services.
Laura - via AVVO