Katherine A O'Rourke

Katie was the perfect foil to my difficult ex. She could be strong and direct but also knew when to step back to keep him at the table. She was super responsive to my texts, emails and calls and she knows DC law, the DC court system and process, and perhaps most valuable to me, she knew how to hand...le my ex! I highly recommend Katie.

I am a lawyer but not a family lawyer, so I hired Katie to advise me in representing myself pro se in a complicated court proceeding involving the re-calculation of child support. Katie did an excellent job of answering questions of law and reviewing and editing drafts of pleadings and motions. Her... advice on matters of law was invariably spot on and her edits greatly improved the work product. She had an excellent tactical sense of how to craft the argument to this judge -- and it helped that she knew the judge and his temperament well. With her guidance, I was able to defend myself pro se against an over-reaching "Washington Super Lawyer" - winning the case outright with the judge rejecting the opposing sides' arguments on all points. That said, if you can afford it, I recommend simply retaining Katie to represent you in court, rather than trying to represent yourself pro se with Katie's advice, as I did. It turns out to be very awkward and difficult to represent one's self when the other side is represented by counsel -- the asymmetric format complicates the introduction of evidence, and I found myself constantly called upon to make snap tactical decisions in court in an area of law that I didn't know well at all. I feel like I dodged a bullet in this case. If I had it do over again, I would just give the case to Katie to try.

I went through a very high conflict divorce and Ms. O’Rourke was my council. Having no prior experience with the legal system or navigating through a hostile separation, it was critical to secure an attorney who understood how my spouse could try to manipulate the legal system. I interviewed a numbe...r of potential attorneys. However, I choose Ms. O’Rourke because she was not only smart, but also ethical. I mention the latter because despite being challenged with an unethical opposing counsel, Ms. O’Rourke always remained calm with a remarkable level of integrity. She encouraged me to focus on the concrete things that mattered most, like my emotional and physical safety, instead of spending unnecessary money to fight over personal property that could be replaced. Our team continually took the high road in court and unsurprisingly the judge was an excellent surveyor of human nature and saw my ex and opposing counsel for who the really are. I would highly recommend Ms. O’Rourke’s counsel to anyone who is in need of a sharp and resilient divorce attorney.

I retained Katie to help me navigate a difficult domestic issue. She provided clear, concise, and analytically rigorous legal advice in helping me make key decisions on such issues as reclaiming personal property, restraining orders and other miscellaneous domestic issues. Fortunately, all issues w...ere resolved peacefully and no litigation was required. Her reassurance and serenity in getting through a difficult time were essential in helping me get back to a normal life as quickly as possible. I found it especially helpful that Katie was flexible in analyzing and discussing issues with me via telephone, email and in person - a big help given my intense work schedule. Most importantly, every time I dealt with Katie, I felt as though I was dealing with a human being that put my welfare first and foremost. I hope I never have to retain her services again, but if I do, I will not hesitate to call her.