Carolyn Annette Elsey

Carolyn Annette Elsey

4.4
Rating: 8.5

Licensed for 31 years

Family Lawyer at Tacoma, WA
Practice Areas: Family, Personal Injury, Guardianship

917 Pacific Avenue, Suite 413, Tacoma, WA

About Carolyn

Biography

Practice Areas

Fees and Rates

Cost

Free Consultation

$0 first 30 minutes

Hourly Rates

$ 300-300 per hour

Retainer

Sometimes


Payment Methods

  • Cash
  • Check
  • Credit Card

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Licenses

Licensed in Washington for 31 years

State: Washington

Acquired: 1994

Active

Lawyer disciplined by state licensing authority in 2002

Location

Law Offices of Carolyn Annette Elsey

917 Pacific Avenue, Suite 413, Tacoma, WA, 98402

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Carolyn Annette Elsey's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

4.4 /5.0

35 Client Reviews

Filter Avvo Reviews (35) Refine reviews to match your needs. Use the filters to quickly surface reviews that align with your case or priorities.

Showing 1 - 5 of 8 reviews | General Knowledge

Posted by Wayne | July 20, 2020 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

Service Manager

She listened, advised and gave great advice. She understands the law and how a court room works. Carolyn is an advocate for the law. She was not intimated from the opposing lawyer and use the law to protect our rights. I would refer her to anyone who needed a lawyer, that is willing to represent ...them in a professional manner.

Posted by Diana | November 09, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Lawsuits & Disputes

She knows her stuff

Carolyn took on my case after 2 other attorneys couldn't do their job properly. One tried to screw me because he was scared of opposing counsel and the other one had OUTRAGEOUS fees. He drew the case out for many months longer than it had to be. When Carolyn took over, she looked at my case and was p...uzzled as to why it wasn't settled yet. When I hired her, she assured me that she could settle my case and she DID. Within a couple of months, cleaning up the other 2 attorney's messes, we finally settled. She's amazing and knows what she is talking about. If there's something not right, she'll tell you it's not and why.

Posted by Joshua | July 11, 2017 | Hired Attorney | Divorce & Separation

Saved my son and my family

I was going through a terrible divorse my ex was abusing the justice system to cause every problem possible. Though carolyn was able to takle every situation every court hearing methodically and was able to exspose lie after lie. We were able to keep good time lines as well working with the courts ...to keep my sons mom undercontrol. My ex would constanly violate the parenting plan and speak very horrible of me to him which was starting to cause my son distress. One day my ex took my son and fled the state and was off the grid. Carolyn was there for me she was able to get all the court paperwork taken care of and she made this her priority. She was going above and beyond by speaking with police, prosuccuters and helped find a private investigator. It took 7 months to get my son home and safe some . This angel over came every hurtle with getting a warrent for that crossed the state line which the prossocuter wasnt even trying to get involved by saying this is civil not criminal,and its a parent so its not kidnapping, even though custodial interferance is a felony, but Carolyn was able to force them to uphold the law so that the us marshalls were able to get involved. My son is home happy safe doesnt remeber what happened much and my family remebers the hardest times we have faced and this amazing women who made our family whole. No one could have done what she did. Thank u for everything u have done

Posted by anonymous | March 31, 2016 | Family

Very kind and helpful

I recently consulted with Carolyn about a family law matter and she was very helpful. She was knowledgeable, kind and personable. I feel very confident going forward with my case now that I have accurate information. If I needed a lawyer at this time, I would love to hire her.

Posted by Sandra | February 15, 2014 | Guardianship

We Would Never Use Carolyn Elsey's Services Again

When we hire an attorney we want someone who is knowledgeable, gets the job done within a reasonable time frame and keeps promises made to us. That was not the case with Carolyn Elsey and we would never use her services again or recommend her to anyone else. She handled a guardianship matter for... us that was dismissed before completion because our relative passed away. Although she was aware that time was of the essence because we were trying to manage our relative's estate, it took two weeks for Carolyn to file a guardianship motion and six weeks after our relative's death to file the dismissal. She made several email and verbal commitments to handle the dismissal sooner, which she did not keep, and as of this moment, despite several requests, we have not received a monthly statement so our retainer remains unaccounted for. We intended to use another member of her firm for another family estate issue and had the opportunity to refer the firm to friends but because of our negative experience with Carolyn Elsey we chose not to do so.

See All Client Reviews

Carolyn Annette Elsey's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Carolyn
Margaret Barton Lund headshot
Margaret Lund

Unknown lawyer | Jun 27

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Kevin Michael Boyle headshot
Kevin Boyle

Family lawyer | Dec 27

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Jacqueline McMahon headshot
Jacqueline McMahon

Family lawyer | Apr 10

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. I have had the pleasure of working with Carolyn as a mediator and also as an attorney opposite me on a case. I am very impressed by Carolyn's work ethic, integrity and her knowledge of complex family law issues. I find her highly qualified as a lawyer."

Jonathan A Baner headshot
Jonathan Baner

Family lawyer | Feb 23

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. Ms. Elsey's professionalism and sincerity demonstrates what all lawyers should strive for. Her presence makes our State Bar better."

Jennifer Durcan Andrews headshot
Jennifer Andrews

Family lawyer | Feb 17

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"I recently worked with Carolyn and was impressed by her knowledge of the law as well as her ability to work out practical matters for her clients."

Hal Jay Geiersbach headshot
Hal Geiersbach

Family lawyer | Jan 31

Relationship: Co-worker

"I endorse this lawyer because she is a little bulldog. She digs into a case and will fight fight fight for her client."

Jon Christopher Iverson headshot
Jon Iverson

Family lawyer | Oct 26

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Carolyn is one of the hardest-working and dedicated lawyers in Pierce County. She also cares a lot about her clients and earns their trust every day."

Wendy Ellen Zicht headshot
Wendy Zicht

Family lawyer | Aug 28

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I have known Carolyn both personally and professionally for many years. She is a zealous advocate for and compassionate with her clients. Carolyn is hardworking and keeps current on the frequent changes in family law."

Csilla Muhl headshot
Csilla Muhl

Family lawyer | Nov 19

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Over the past 5 years, I have personally known Ms. Elsey to be a professional and ethical advocate for her clients. She is compassionate, fair and balanced. At the same time, she is assertive and a zealous advocate for her client's best interest. I have also observed Ms. Elsey speak at a professional family law seminar. She was extremely knowledgeable about her practice area and the law in general. I would definitely refer clients to her."

John William Fuhrman headshot
John Fuhrman

Family lawyer | Jun 20

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer's work."

Anna K. Woods headshot
Anna Woods

Family lawyer | Jun 09

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer's work."

Michael Gregory Malaier headshot
Michael Malaier

Family lawyer | Jun 06

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I have witnessed Ms. Elsey represent clients aggressivly and with exceptional competence. I have sent, and will continue to send, clients her way with confidence."

Shannon M.W. Kraft headshot
Shannon Kraft

Family lawyer | Jun 06

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I have observed Carolyn's work in this community for more than ten years, have referred many clients to her office, and have had numerous opportunities to see her contributions to the legal field and to the community. I strongly endorse her, personally and professionally. Attorney Shannon Kraft"

View All Endorsements
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Experience

Rating:  8.5 (Excellent)

Professional misconduct

This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2002.

Reprimand issued in WA, 2002

updated on 01/28/2010

This means the attorney did something wrong, but the Bar did not suspend the lawyer. Typically in this case the lawyer's poor behavior is exposed to the public in hopes that he or she will not repeat the behavior.

Carolyn’s comment:

“The event Avvo refers to actually occurred in 1996, not 2002. As a brand-new lawyer, I accidentally misfiled a document and thus gave a court inaccurate information. The person who filed the grievance waited 3 years to do so and the disciplinary process took another 4 years. I believe Avvo's system is misleading as different states' disciplinary systems take differing lengths of time.”

Work Experience

2016 - Present

Attorney, Law Offices Of Carolyn A. Elsey

2012 - 2016

Attorney, The Kraft Law Group, P.S.

1994 - 2011

Attorney, Law Offices of Carolyn A. Elsey

Associations

1994 - Present

Tacoma Pierce County Bar Association

Member

Sample of Legal Cases

Knox vs. DSHS

Verdict in Plaintiff's favor

See More Legal Cases

Education

1993

Seattle University School of Law

JD - Juris Doctor

1990

Western Washington University

MA - Masters

1988

Montana State University, Bozeman

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2007

Family Law Section

Dealing with Juvenile and Mental Health Courts

2004

Family Law Section

Defending Child Support Contempt Actions

2004

Bar Convention

Child Support Contempt

Languages

English

Activity

Avvo Rating

Our Rating is calculated using information the lawyer has included on their profile in addition to the information we collect from state bar associations and other organizations that license legal professionals. Attorneys who claim their profiles and provide Avvo with more information tend to have a higher rating than those who do not.

What determines Avvo Rating?
  • Experience & background Years licensed, work experience, education
  • Legal community recognition Peer endorsements, associations, awards
  • Legal thought leadership Publications, speaking engagements
  • Discipline
    This lawyer was disciplined by a state licensing authority in 2002
    Disciplinary information may not be comprehensive, or updated. We recommend that you always check a lawyer's disciplinary status with their respective state bar association before hiring them.
Avvo Rating Levels
10.0 - 9.0 Superb8.9 - 8.0 Excellent7.9 - 7.0 Very Good6.9 - 6.0 Good5.9 - 5.0 Average4.9 - 4.0 Concern3.9 - 3.0 Caution2.9 - 2.0 Strong Caution1.9 - 1.0 Extreme Caution