Attorney Kristen Johnstone has been practicing family law in Virginia since 1996, and has devoted much of her career to a variety of family law matters, including divorce, child custody and visitation, child and spousal support, child advocacy, adoption, and criminal defense of both adults and juveniles.
Kristen has always been drawn to helping people, especially those in vulnerable positions. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a communications officer/dispatcher with the 911 Center in Charlottesville, Virginia for several years. When a police officer suggested Kristen couldn’t do his job, she decided to prove otherwise, and successfully applied to become a police officer with the Charlottesville Police Department. There, she served first as a patrol officer and then as a detective investigating crimes against children, domestic abuse, sex crimes, and major juvenile crime.
Eventually, Kristen listened to her family and friends’ longtime encouragement to pursue a career as an attorney, and she attended Washington and Lee University School of Law. After her 1996 graduation, she returned to her hometown of Roanoke and began a litigation practice at the firm that became OPN Law.
While she has extensive experience in both criminal and civil litigation over 27 years, Kristen gradually narrowed her practice to focusing mostly on family law matters. She decided to leave OPN Law in 2021 in order to expand the family law side of her practice, first becoming a partner at another prominent Virginia firm that focuses on family law matters, Parks Zeigler PLLC, as the head of their Roanoke office, and then, in 2023, opening Johnstone Law PLC. She established Johnstone Law to create a law firm dedicated to serving the interests of families and children in the Roanoke Valley and Southwest Virginia.
Family law matters are life-changing and stressful for the people in the midst of them; Kristen gets satisfaction from educating clients about the law that affects them, advocating for them in a way that empowers them, and helping them move forward into the next chapter of their lives.
When not working, Kristen enjoys spending time with her own family, which includes two rambunctious Jack Russell terriers; being outdoors; hiking; gardening; working out and solving crossword puzzles. She has also served in the community as a member of the Board of Directors of the Children’s Trust of the Roanoke Valley for many years, and as a member of the RCPS Safety Advisory Committee since 2018.
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