Holly Hohlbein Wotherspoon

Holly Hohlbein Wotherspoon

4.0
Rating: 10.0

Licensed for 35 years

Family Lawyer at Santa Rosa, CA
Practice Areas: Family

829 Sonoma Ave, Santa Rosa, CA

About Holly

Biography

Practice Areas

1

Practice Area

Family 100%

My practice includes Adoption, Collaborative Reproduction, Mediation, and Collaborative Family Law

36 years | 800 cases

100%

Fees and Rates

Cost

Retainer

Sometimes


Payment Methods

  • Cash
  • Check
  • Credit Card

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Licenses

Licensed in California for 12 years

State: California

Acquired: 2013

Resigned

No misconduct found

Licensed in Washington for 35 years

State: Washington

Acquired: 1990

Voluntarily Resigned

No misconduct found

Location

Adams, Romer & Stoeckenius, LLP

829 Sonoma Ave, Santa Rosa, CA, 95404

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Holly Hohlbein Wotherspoon's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.0 /5.0

4 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (4) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.
Star rating
5 stars 3
4 stars 0
3 stars 0
2 stars 0
1 star 1
Practice Areas

Showing 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

Posted by Eric | February 27, 2011 | Divorce & Separation

Collaborative Enabler for Divorce with Respect and Dignity

I would highly recommend Holly and the collaborative divorce process if you are faced with ending a long term marriage. Holly assembled an experienced multidisciplinary team, and patiently coached me through the process guiding me through the "ups and downs" along the way. The outcome was success...ful in preserving respect and dignity on both sides, likely reduced the overall cost, and helped me learn and grow so that I can move forward with the next phase of my life. I would not hesitate to recommend Holly based on her legal, interpersonal, and process skills for people seeking a collaborative divorce.

Posted by Diane | February 24, 2011 | Divorce & Separation

Rock Star

From our first meeting, Holly was knowledgeable,professional, and inspired great confidence in her abilities. I knew she always had my best interests in mind as her top priority. She not only served as my legal representative in my collaborative divorce case, but also as my coach and counselor as n...eeded. Her expertise and experience in the field of collaborative law were fully evident every time we met. Her services are worth every penny.

Posted by anonymous | January 20, 2011 | Divorce & Separation

Long on process, short on client advocacy

Holly was my counsel during my collaborative divorce which took most of 2009 to complete. Mine was a difficult but not impossible case to resolve via the collaborative process, and I was more committed to and ready for a collaborative divorce than my spouse was. I now realize that one spouse can be... ready for and committed to the collaborative process while the other is not. Holly did not recognize this that my spouse was not ready, and neither did I. Holly also did not recognize the manipulative and deceptive strategy and tactics that my spouse employed to use the collaborative process (and my good nature) to her advantage. Holly should have seen through this based on her level of intelligence and experience. Holly is intelligent and very knowledgeable regarding collaborative law, but she was more committed to the collaborative process itself and achieving a joint resolution that she was with me - her client! She was not an advocate for my custodial rights as a parent and didn't stand firm on several issues during the financial settlement and parenting plan negotiations. As a result, in 2010 I was forced to seek out and employ new/traditional legal counsel and go through the dispute resolution process (up to and including mediation) to revise some parts of the parenting plan that were not in my best interests. This has proven time consuming and expensive. Holly should have guarded and advocated the rights of her client (me) and she didn't. I would NOT recommend you retain Holly as your counsel if you believe your soon-to-be ex-spouse is not fully capable of playing fairly within the limits of the collaborative divorce process, or if you want/need an attorney that is an advocate/champion for her client.

Posted by Diane | June 06, 2010 | Divorce & Separation

Collaborative Divorce

This was one of the most difficult times in my life and Holly helped me through it. She not only watched out for me legally, but emotionally as well. I chose to use the collaborative divorce process hoping to maintain some sort of relationship with my ex-husband for the sake of our kids. There wer...e definitely times when I just wanted to say "forget it", but I was able to talk with Holly and she would remind me of how far we had gotten, what we still had left to do and how I could chose to conduct myself so I could get to my end goal. I feel that Holly helped me ask for what I needed in my divorce and to stand up for myself. In the end I got a divorce that feels fair and equitable, and although the process was long and painful at times, I couldn't imagine going through it without Holly's help and guidance. Holly was referred to me by a friend of a friend, and if someone came to me asking for a name I wouldn't hesitate giving them Holly's.

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Holly Hohlbein Wotherspoon's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Holly
Leslie R. Bottimore headshot
Leslie Bottimore

Divorce and separation lawyer | Nov 04

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

John Joseph Burke headshot
John Burke

Divorce and separation lawyer | Jun 13

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I got to know Holly over the course of several years while she and I were officers and directors of Collaborative Professionals of Washington (CPW). Holly is highly committed to advancing collaborative practice for divorce. She has demonstrated to me her high levels of knowledge, energy, and commitment to excellence in collaborative practice. In addition, she is just simply one of those "very nice people" that you just cannot help but to like. In my opinion, collaborative practice should be the process of choice for many, if not most divorces, and Holly would be an excellent choice as one of the collaborative attorneys to guide a couple through the process."

Virginia Ann Leen headshot
Virginia Leen

Family lawyer | Mar 02

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"I have worked with Holly on numerous collaborative and cooperative cases. She is an excellent technical attorney and highly knowledgeable in her field, as well as extremely compassionate and dedicated to her clients. This, along with her ability to find the win-win solutions, makes her the ideal collaborative attorney and I would highly recommend her to anyone needing a family law attorney."

Joseph A. Shaub headshot
Joseph Shaub

Family lawyer | Jul 31

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"I can say, without the slightest hesitation, that Holly Hohlbein is the finest collaborative lawyer I have practiced with. Her combination of legal acumen, compassion and efficiency are unmatched, in my experience. She's 5-star in my book."

Richard K. Hart headshot
Richard Hart

Divorce and separation lawyer | Mar 22

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"Holly has a wealth of experience in practice and I have seldom worked with anyone in town with such a good combination of people skills, legal knowledge and practical common sense. If you're looking for a collaborative lawyer, Holly is the best choice around."

J. Mark Weiss headshot
J. Weiss

Divorce and separation lawyer | Jun 06

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"Holly is an intelligent, hard-working, devoted, and considerate Collaborative Law attorney who is focused on helping her clients reach informed and durable agreements. I highly endorse Holly's work."

View All Endorsements
John Joseph Burke headshot
John Burke

Family lawyer

Virginia Ann Leen headshot
Virginia Leen

Family lawyer

J. Mark Weiss headshot
J. Weiss

Family lawyer

Richard K. Hart headshot
Richard Hart

Family lawyer

Experience

Rating:  10.0 (Superb)

Work Experience

1990 - 1996

Associate Attorney, Casey Gordon Davis

Associations

2010 - Present

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals Institute

Founding Committee Member

2008 - Present

Stories of Autism

Founding Board Member

2010 - 2011

Collaborative Professionals of Washington

President-Elect/Founding Member

2009 - 2010

Eastside Collaborative Family Law

Co-chair/Founding Member

2008 - 2009

King County Bar Association- Collaborative Law Section

Founding Co-chair

2006 - 2009

King County Collaborative Law

Vice President

Education

2008

Harvard University Law School

2003

University of Washington School of Law

Professional Mediation Skills Certificate

1992

University of Washington School of Law

Family Law Skills Certificate

1989

Seattle University School of Law

JD - Juris Doctor, Cum Laude

1987

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific

1982

University of Colorado - Boulder

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2009

WSBA CLE

Collaborative Law

2009

Annual CPW Conference

Collaborative Law- Advanced Topics

2008

Annual CPW Conference

Collaborative Law Advanced Topics

2007

Skills Training

Collaborative Law- Intro/Advanced

Publications

2010

Urban Liason Collaborative Law: Focus on the Future

2009

King County Bar Bulletin The New (Decade) Lawyer

2008

King County Bar Bulletin The Power of Strategic Cooperation

2008

WSBA ADR Section Newsletter Inviting the Dialogue

Languages

English

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