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Kristen chose to practice criminal defense after her experience working with the Georgia Innocence Project, working to free people who were wrongfully convicted and help them rebuild their lives. “I loved helping people, especially in this project. It's an extra check on the justice system, which is desperately needed because people's lives, their families, their money, and certainly their freedom, depend on it. There was nothing else that I wanted to do with my life and criminal defense quickly became my passion,” she said. 

Kristen gained experience in both defense and prosecution at the state and federal levels in Virginia and Tennessee before returning to her hometown of Atlanta. She worked at the Nashville Office of the Public Defender as an investigator and law clerk, interned at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia, and the Richmond Commonwealth Attorney's Office. She quickly ruled out prosecution work and became an associate at a criminal defense law firm in Richmond, VA before joining Garland, Samuel & Loeb. 

Today, she practices in both state and federal courts. Kristen has appeared in courts in Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, Tennessee, Indiana, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, D.C., and Alabama. She has worked on appeals in the Fourth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Georgia

District of Columbia

Virginia

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit

Supreme Court of the United States of America

University of Richmond, The T.C. Williams School of Law, Richmond, Virginia

J.D. 2009

Honors: cum laude

Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

B.A. 2005

Honors: cum laude

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers 

Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Atlanta Bar Association

State Bar of Georgia

Women’s White Collar Defense Association

Virginia State Bar, Criminal Defense Section

American Bar Association

    Super Lawyers - Rising Star - 2018-2019

    National and Regional Champion, 2008 American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Trial Advocacy Competition

    National Semi-finalist, 2008 American Association for Justice Trial Advocacy Competition

    Regional Champion, 2008 American Association for Justice National Mock Trial Competition

    Finalist, 2007 Carrico Moot Court Competition; awarded membership to Moot Court Board

    Finalist, 2007 Trial Advocacy Competition; awarded membership to Trial Advocacy Board

    Semi-finalist, 2006 Negotiation Competition; awarded membership to Negotiation Board

    CALI Excellence for the Future Award for Advanced Trial Advocacy

    Order of the Barristers