Join us in welcoming Kathleen Rice, a great addition to our Family Law Team! She has traveled a long way from the corporate suites and formal courtrooms of South Africa to live in Kitsap County. Once here, she began volunteering with the West Sound Wildlife Shelter as a wildlife rehabilitator and education bird handler. Her favorite is Princess Remi, shown above. As she began studying for the Washington State Bar exam, she volunteered at Kitsap Legal Services. She was so dedicated to providing family law and tenant advocacy that KLS named her Volunteer of the Year.

Kathleen Rice loves living and working in Kitsap County.

She couldn’t be happier with her move. “I live in a beautiful part of the country and have been made welcome professionally and personally. My life is very peaceful and happy here,“ Kathleen says. Admitted to the Washington State Bar in 2020, she now joins GSJones Law Group with experience in Washington State Family Law and 20 years of experience as an attorney in South Africa.

Legal customs differ; skills of communication, negotiation, analysis, and strategy remain.

South African customs of legal practice differ greatly from those of the U.S. In South Africa, it is still very formal. Lawyers wear togas and address the judge as My Lord or My Lady and magistrates as Your Worship. The legal system is based on Roman Dutch law, some of which is derived from the Roman Twelve Tables of ancient Rome circa 449 BCE. Kathleen says when she originally studied law, she had to study Latin and Nederlandse Taal – a form of Dutch.

In South Africa, she focused on representing large corporations in the fields of telecommunications, media, technology, and broadcasting. She continues to represent a few long-time clients in their South African legal concerns. Still, she now concentrates on her practice in Kitsap County and on guiding clients through parenting plans, divorce, and other Family Law matters. She brings the skills she honed with corporate clients to represent you – communication, negotiation, analysis, and strategy.