Krista Ellen Stipe

While out of the country with my children, my husband of 24 years packed up and finalized his strategically planned “escape.” I was served on 12/31/2018 and was connected with Krista Stipe that day! Not only was she professional and a great listener, but kind and patient as the worst time in my life ...unfolded. I was dealing with deceit and intimidation and my daughters were struggling. Krista guided me through the entire divorce process while advocating and protecting me against my ex-husband and his various attorneys which were regularly hired and fired. Krista always kept me up to date on the status and informed me of fees due to opposing counsel’s need to be briefed and when dealing with their client’s demands and delays. The challenges were excruciating, but Krista reminded me that when this was over, I would know we handled this ethically and my daughters would be proud. She was absolutely correct! In addition, due to Krista’s experience, she knew I could not depend on my ex-husband for maintenance, insurance, etc. After the second mediation, Krista’s negotiation skills set me up to walk away and create a new life filled with happiness, confidence and my head held high. If you want to be represented by an amazing lawyer that possesses superior intelligence, strong analytical and advocacy skills, and CAN and DOES communicate effectively, you need Krista!

Krista was my lawyer in a family law matter. I found her to be friendly to my face, sickeningly passive aggressive via email and somewhat knowledgeable on family law matters. Please keep this in mind when considering hiring Krista as your lawyer: half-way through my trial, when Krista realized she... was up against a formidable attorney who would do almost anything for her client (including bending the truth), Krista decided to go on vacation. I begged her not to leave but she was adamant. I was left with a runner up attorney (half a star?) who had not been to trial in years and had to be schooled on protocol and procedure.

Krista came on board my team as we learned that trial was going to be needed in my case. A prospect I wanted to avoid, but was necessary. From day one, she showed how her experience in trial preparation was a strength for her. In a time of doubt for me, she conveyed confidence, had absorbed the me...rits and details of my case quickly, and laid out a strategy that was a great balance of advising and collaborating. I didn't know this world, but her approach made me feel inclusive of the decisions and her time taken to explain things made me comfortable with the decisions I was making. There is an art to this, I've learned, a balance of guiding and listening, and Krista is able to strike that balance with ease. My case took more than a few twists and turns, and while I am sure everyone may feel that, even as it was happening I felt confident in my understanding of where we were and the decision that lay before us. More so, I felt confident in the steps we were taking and our preparation for trial. We were doing things the right way and setting the table so that as trial approached, we were well positioned. Tons of time and effort goes into this, but with Krista I knew that time was being used efficiently. She understood my position, both legally and financially, and found a path forward that I could believe in. What made this so exceptional and beyond expectations was her belief in me. Then we went to trial. All of the feedback provided before is echoed and really should be reinforced or amplified. In trial, things move fast, tactics by opposing counsel change or come to light, and the time to react and be prepared is short....but I never felt that way with Krista. She's sharp, quick, and experienced and her ability to think a few steps ahead made this so much better. I didn't feel surprised, even though the script was non-traditional, to say the last. We knew what we were doing. While that doesn't guarantee any outcome, it sure make you feel better about things that are highly stressful and moving very quickly. But what needs to be emphasized, beyond all the guidance Krista provided to me throughout was her dedication, her passion, and and her belief in my case. Seeing Krista in action in court, quickly assessing the situation, making the right decisions, being so prepared to accommodate changes to the flow of the case, incorporate new information, ready to adapt; truly amazing. She put in the work, and poured more than that into it. I couldn't not have been more proud of her preparation and her passion as the case came to a close. It was awe-inspiring, and made me so grateful to have her on my team. When the ruling came through with even better results than hoped, I know that so much of that is due to the whole Integrative Law team (the crew is beyond awesome), but Krista was completely spectacular. I would recommend her to anyone, and am so grateful to have had her counsel, her belief, her dedication, and her passion on my side in court. She just knocked it out of the park and I can't say enough about it.

Krista is an exceptional lawyer with the highest integrity and in-depth knowledge of the law. Krista helped me navigate a very lengthy and complex custody battle, as well as modification case. She did a brilliant job of ensuring the best interest of the child was upheld by the court. Krista was al...ways patient and kind. She continuously looked for the best possible solution in every situation. I would highly recommend Krista. She is one of the very best. Brilliant - Patient - Kind - Trustworthy.

Let me start with the good. Krista is a very compassionate and caring person. Even though I felt WAY overcharged for the efforts and results... I saw multiple times when Krista gave me a break on time that I believe she spent. She is profession and thorough. In my situation, I was against a div...orce attorney that was very adversarial...willing to lie in court, mislead, and make all kinds of claims. Knowing this, I was looking for an attorney that could compete and win against the opposing council. Unfortunately, a LOT of money and time was spent. My first bill was 3-5 times more than expected and I only found out about the spend when I received the bill. In the end, much of the time and thoroughness was on areas that did not matter in court. The other side made claims and accusations that were not true, but proved effective at distracting the issues and increasing my spend. Much of our "strategy" was responsive and defensive. Delays on the opposing side that we were not able to stop also contributed towards the decision by limiting the expediency of our requests. In summary, I think she was a very intelligent and professional lawyer, but proved to be ineffective in the tricky realm of adversarial law.