Kathleen Hopkins
Practice: I have a business undergraduate degree and worked in business for 10 years before attending law school. I have been a lawyer since 1991; I spent my first 7 years in practice as a litigator, sorting out bad deals and representing clients in the federal, state, and bankruptcy courts. These experiences influence my approach to our clients’ deals and problems: I am a member of each client’s business team; my job is to craft the deal or the workout in a way which minimizes disputes, while remaining cognizant of the business forces influencing my client’s decisions. At the same time, I appreciate the need for a careful, meticulous eye for the intricacies of the law.
Practice Style: I enjoy working on complex, real estate and personal property transactions, financings, leasing, and workouts. I draw on my business background to assist our clients with all phases of their projects: due diligence, acquisition, financing, leasing, sales, and troubled properties matters. My clients include both buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, developers and contractors, landlords and tenants, creditors and debtors.
Professional Interests: I enjoy working with professional legal organizations, such as the American Bar Association (ABA), to improve the ethical and professional development of lawyers and create opportunities for lawyers to give back to the community. I served on the ABA’s Board of Governors, where I chaired its Investments Subcommittee. I subsequently chaired the ABA Standing Committee on Publishing Oversight, and then chaired the Board of Editors of the ABA Journal. I have also served as Editor-in-Chief of the ABA’s Business Law Today Magazine, co-chair of its Commercial Law Newsletter, and on the editorial board of the ABA’s GPSolo magazine. Additionally, I am a past-chair of ABA Business Law Section’s Commercial Financial Services Real Estate Financing Subcommittee. Locally, I serve on the King County Bar Association’s Public Policy Committee.
I am a past national chair of the American Bar Foundation Fellows and a special advisor to the Foundation’s Board of Directors. I am a fellow and former regent for the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers, a fellow of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, and a member of the American Law Institute (currently serving on Restatement of Property (4th)- Consultative Group). I am also a frequent writer and speaker on commercial real estate and finance matters, and am the co- editor of Real Estate Closing Deskbook (3d ed).
Awards: In 2011 I received the ABA Presidential Pro Bono Publico Citation. In 2013 the ABA Business Law Section presented me with the 2013 Jean Allard Glass Cutter Award, which recognized me as the woman business lawyer of the year.
Legal Background:
Real Property Law Group, PLLC 2001-present (member)
Tousley Brain Stephens, PLLC (Seattle)1998-2001, Commercial Real Estate Department (member)
Graham & James/Riddell Williams (Seattle)1991 to 1998, Commerical Bankruptcy, Real Estate and Litigation Departments (associate)
J.D., with honors, University of Washington, 1991 (Moot Court Honor Board; Order of the Barristers)
B.S., Business Management & Industrial Relations, 1988, summa cum laude, Seton Hall University
Kathleen Hopkins is licensed to practice in the State of Washington
Contact information:
Kathleen Hopkins, Of Counsel
Real Property Law Group, PLLC
1326 5th Avenue, Suite 654
Seattle, Washington 98101
Direct: 206.625.0404
Fax: 206.625.0404
Email: khopkins@rp-lawgroup.com
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