Karyn M. Washington Esquire

I’ve been around the law (or, rather, the law has been around me) nearly all my life. Even as a teenager, I had no doubt that my career would be in the legal field. While I was growing up in Bay Village, Ohio, my mother practiced as a paralegal before she pursued her law degree. I often went to her office and watched her, and the attorneys who she worked with, practice their profession with dignity and integrity. I wanted to be just like them.
 
I held down employment from the time I started college until I passed the bar, largely in the legal field. I was, at various times, an administrative assistant, legal assistant, personal assistant, legal secretary, paralegal, project coordinator, and collateral manager (sometimes more than one at a time!). As a result, I gained experience in a wide variety of practice areas, including personal injury, bankruptcy, landlord-tenant matters, bar admissions, and, of course, domestic relations. After I passed the bar, I ran a solo practice for over two years, until joining Barr, Jones & Associates in May 2023.
 
I am also a proud member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Mental Health and Wellness Committee. There is no higher calling to me than helping de-stigmatize substance abuse and mental illness in the legal profession. In furtherance of that goal, and in conjunction with the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program, I give presentations to attorneys and law students on the importance of identifying and treating mental illness and addiction before it becomes a professional problem.
 
I am the oldest of three kids, my brother and sister being six years younger (and yes, they’re twins). I am also an aunt to a precious niece and nephew. My mother is also a practicing attorney, and my father is a retired Vietnam War veteran. In my spare time, I write short stories and am working on the sequel to a self-published novel. I love going to the theatre, binge-watching medical dramas, and traveling to New York City as often as I can. And, of course, spending time with my four cats—Marty, Hogan, Grady, and Rupert.