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Kristen Green
January 2010
By Michele
Mirto
Kristen Green
has been selected as
the
Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney
of the Month
for January. Kristen is
a member of
Gibson, Nakamura &
Green, P.L.L.C.
She has been involved
with the
Volunteers Lawyers Program
in Pima County
since 2001. Kristen
assists the
VLP by providing advice,
brief service
and direct representation
to clients in
need of help with debt
collection and
bankruptcy issues.
Recently
Kristen completed an unfair
sales
practices case for a VLP client.
The client was
sold a “lemon”. Kristen sued the auto dealer and obtained a
default
judgment. In order to satisfy the judgment Kristen secured an
order
against the
personal property of the dealer. In order to achieve this
result for the
client Kristen
persuaded the client’s son to post the bond. She also convinced
a towing
company to stand by to tow automobiles and a private
investigator to
obtain
personal information. Like Kristen, the others involved in this
matter
donated their
time and expertise. Kristen dedicated more than 42 hours to
this
case. The
VLP’s monthly award is a distinct honor: of the nearly 1300
attorneys
who volunteer
their time with VLP, only 12 receive the VLP’s Outstanding Pro
Bono Attorney
award each year.
Q & A with
Kristen Green:
Where are
you from?
I was born in
Ohio, but I moved so many times growing up that I never put down
roots anywhere
until I spent eight years in Boston immediately before moving to
Tucson in
2001. Now that I’ve been here for more than eight years, I
consider
Tucson my home
and have grown very attached to it.
Where did
you go to college?
After
attending three different grade schools and three different high
schools, I
chose a tiny
college in New Concord, Ohio, so I could have the high-school
experience I
felt I had missed – I can never thank my parents enough for
letting
me do that!
Muskingum College had about 1,000 students when I was enrolled,
and the
population of New Concord was about 1,000.
Because the
school was so small, I could be editor of the school newspaper,
a
dj with a
morning radio show, a tv news anchor (cable access, but it was
fun!), a
French teacher
– and I landed great roles in a few plays! It was a wonderful
experience I
probably could not have had at a larger school.
Where did
you go to law school?
I went to
Boston University School of Law because B.U. offered a
dual-degree
program. I
didn’t really know any lawyers and had no idea what practicing
was
like, so I was
afraid to put all my eggs in one basket – I got my J.D. and my
M.S. in mass
communication at the same time. I had been a news and copy
editor for
five years, so this was a career change, and I was very unsure
about it.
What is the
history of your practice of law?
After law school,
I couldn’t find my dream job in Boston (practicing
communication and
intellectual property law); the offers came only from New
York and
Washington. But I didn’t want to move again, so I went to work in
business
development at an internet company. I had a blast, but our in-house
counsel was
horrified that I wasn’t practicing, so he made me draft all of my
own joint venture,
licensing, and marketing agreements – which my colleagues
didn’t have to do!
Now, I’m glad he
pushed me. I think having to negotiate and draft my own
agreements taught
me how important it is to really understand my clients’
businesses, goals,
and challenges before I start offering advice and/or drafting
contracts or
pleadings. When the internet company failed in 2001, I was much
better prepared to
start practicing business and bankruptcy law with Scott
Gibson and Chris
Nakamura later that year, and to really jump in when Chris
died suddenly six
months later. Our practice is all about helping businesses,
in good and bad
times, so listening and negotiation skills are incredibly
important.
What are your
current practice areas?
Right now, most of
my practice is helping businesses, entrepreneurs, and
lenders
reorganize, collect debts, and workout loans. I’m also doing a lot
of
commercial and
residential landlord-tenant work.
What drives you
to volunteer with VLP?
Chris and Scott
set a great example for me by never saying no when the VLP
called with a new
case (unless they thought they weren’t qualified to take it). I
also love helping
people – it’s so gratifying to serve someone who otherwise
wouldn’t be able
to assert his or her rights. Finally, like so many other lawyers,
I, too, want to
change public opinion about us, and I’ve found that the best way
to do this is one
person at a time.
Best thing
about being an attorney in Tucson?
The friendly bench
and bar.
Things that you
wish were closer to your office?
Cape Cod.
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Past Pima
County Monthly Award Winners
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