Mark Steven Johnson

I hired Mark in the summer of 2019 to work my case after firing another law firm in Port Orchard. With the other firm, the lawyers were just in it for the fees. They admitted they had no expectation that I would be successful in court and were simply pushing to go to mediation. They and their para...legals, being polite, were subpar. I fired them for either negligence or incompetence, hard to tell what the situation was. When I was interviewing for a new lawyer, I talked to several other Kitsap County and Seattle lawyers, but as soon as I started talking to Mark, I knew he got it. Without going into details, my case was fairly complicated both in storyline and legally. I had really gotten myself into a pickle, but Mark got it immediately, understood what had happened and knew what needed to be done. In the first few months, I was actually worried that I was getting played with used car salesman skills because he seemed to agree with and understand everything I was trying to convey, but once I saw the first artifacts he drafted outlining the case, I realized he really understood and was truly advocating for me. Then COVID hit, and I am not going to lie, there were many times in 2020 and 2021 that I was getting very frustrated with the pace. COVID obviously delayed things in an unprecedented manner, but there were also other cases that Mark was waiting on that were being litigated at the same time that he wanted to see the decision on before proceeding with mine. This period was painful mainly because of the portion of my income that I was not paying as alimony left me essentially penny-less at the end of every month. These changes in circumstance were part of the reason for the court case to being with, but Mark recommended I make sure I pay 100% if I could. Once we got into court proceedings, Mark continued to be a superior advocate for me, while at the same time being the aggressive lawyer that I needed him to be against my ex-spouse and her attorney. Mark was able to take my situation and explain it in terms that the judge clearly understood the deceptions executed by my ex-spouse and her lawyer. In the end, the judge ruled very favorably in early 2022, overturning “lifetime” maintenance and granting that it would only continue for 3 additional years at very reduced terms. One of the things the judge noted in my favor was that I had made every required payment and more, taking the children into account, despite sometimes having negative cash flow for months in a row. Mark’s early intuition on this matter proved critical. My case involved active duty military considerations, military retirement considerations, older minor children, college age children, dependent parents and revolved around termination of deceptively worded lifetime spousal support at $4000/m that was cleverly inserted in the divorce decree contrary to verbal agreement and understanding. There is quite a bit of additional nuance, but regardless, Mark was able to overturn essentially the entire decree. So here’s the bottom line. If you are looking for a lawyer that will listen, understand, and advocate for your story (not just mechanically process your situation), then I have not found anyone better than Mark. And this is after having talked to at least a dozen lawyers, some free consultations but mostly in paid consultations. He is not afraid to be unconventional when required and not afraid of a hard fight. I don’t want to speak about all family law matters, because I think that is a very broad field and I don’t want to over-project my experience, but in matters of divorce-related litigation, I recommend Mark over any other lawyer.

I reached out to Mark to inquire about my options for a legal issue in my family’s life. He was very understanding and caring in his thoughts and recommendations for us. He took the time to talk to me the moment I called and helped me to understand what my next steps should be. He also followed up wi...th a kind email to remind me of my options, offer his sympathy towards my situation, and offer his service if ever needed in the future. I highly recommend Mark for your legal needs.

We have hired and kept Mark as our attorney since 2015. He is the most honest, hard working, persistent and reliable lawyer we’ve ever known. He has always done everything to help us in every way to receive what we need through our long journey. Not only for one child but for two in separate cases. F...or very difficult situations, Mark has gone far and beyond to make things comfortable for us. We are truly grateful for him and his team. We highly recommend him!