Kristen A.
Holstrom
Partner, Assistant Managing Partner
Certified Family Law Specialist
Kristen A. Holstrom, a Certified Family Law Specialist (CFLS*), is a sharp, dynamic, and compassionate family law attorney and Partner at Holstrom, Block & Parke. Kristen is also a well-known on-air personality, for Go Country 105FM. Kristen has the Number 1 legal talk radio show on the FM dial, where she educates and advises listeners on important family law issues. With over a decade of experience, Kristen is well-known and respected in the legal community for her sharp legal mind, tenacious representation, compassionate approach, and creative legal strategies.
Kristen's passion for family law began at a young age when she worked for her father, Dayn Holstrom, a renowned family law attorney in California. Kristen earned her bachelor’s degree in business, with an emphasis in Marketing and Economics, from Jacksonville University, where she played NCAA Division 1 Soccer on a full scholarship. After college, she returned to California and earned her Juris Doctorate from Trinity Law School, where she excelled in her studies and passed the California State Bar Exam and the California Family Law Specialists Exam.
Kristen's expertise includes divorce, child custody, domestic violence, spousal support, child support, complex financial issues, and other related family law issues. Her hard work and dedication have earned her the esteemed designation of Certified Family Law Specialist, awarded by the California State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization. Kristen is also a member of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists (ACFLS) and various local bar associations.
At Holstrom, Block & Parke, APLC, Kristen is both Partner and Assistant Managing Partner. Additionally, Kristen manages her own caseload, leads the new client intake department, and is heavily involved in community outreach projects for the firm. Her innovative marketing techniques have been hugely successful, such that other firms attempt to duplicate them. Her clients deeply value her aggressive nature, unwavering loyalty, and compassionate approach. Kristen is the type of attorney that tells her clients ‘what they need to hear, rather than what they want to hear’. She is also very approachable, thinks “outside the box,” and truly listens to her clients. Kristen takes this journey with her clients.
Kristen is heavily involved in the local communities and has held board positions with the Corona Regional Medical Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Riverside County Bar Association, Orange County Bar Association, and other local non-profits. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Super Lawyers Rising Star award for four consecutive years, from 2017 to 2021. This recognition is reserved for the top 2.5 percent of lawyers in the state and is based on peer reviews, statewide surveys, and independent research. Kristen has also received the Top 50 Women Rising Star award and the Top 100 Up-and-Coming Southern California Rising Star list, which are reserved for the top one percent of attorneys in practice under ten years.
In her free time, Kristen enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, reading, and watching football. As a dedicated Green Bay Packers fan, Kristen and her husband make it a priority to catch every game, no matter where they are in the world. You can almost always find Kristen on the soccer field with her children. She has made it her professional mission to normalize the dissolution process and help educate her clients on how to make this process “easier,” on all fronts. You can catch her every Saturday at 8:30 AM on Go Country as well as AM Talk Radio.
*Certified Family Law Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
Kristen
Holstrom
Partner, Assistant Managing Partner
Certified Family Law Specialist
Education
Honors and Awards
Professional Positions, Associations, and Memberships
Bar Admissions
Video FAQs
How do you educate your clients on being better co-parents?
One of the biggest reasons a client or two parties end up on litigation is because they fail at coparenting. There's a lot of issues, or boxes, in a divorce case as I call them. You have your financial obligations, your assets and debts, and potentially child support and spousal support, then you have your custody and visitation. And that is something that I am very passionate about. And with custody and visitation it is important to educate and to train yourself. There are many apps out there that can be utilized for coparenting. And I have a lot of discussions with my clients from the time that I have that first phone conversation and then throughout their case and I train them on how to respond to a text message, or a better way to make sure the children's clothes get back to their house. You should never be starting a sentence, "Per the court order...". That is inviting conflict and argument, and for you to grow and to really get through your case and to end your case, which is the ultimate goal for everyone that's hiring an attorney, you need to be able to rise up, move forward, coparent, and continuing your education is so important. Us, as attorneys, we are obligated by the State Bar of California to continue our education to be able to advocate for you. And I encourage everyone listening to this to train and educate themselves. And no, your Facebook mom or dad's group is not a certified form of education or training. And I say that jokingly because so many people tell me that their neighbor told them. So I encourage your to call us and get some training and education on how you can be a better parent.
Why did you choose to specialize in family law?
Family law is a very emotional process. I often get people that call or text or email me that are in the most dire situation in their life. They're dealing with everything from domestic violence to custody litigation to spousal support or financial issues. So it is my job as an attorney to lift these people up from a position in their life that is not favorable and it's really bad for their emotional well-being, and to take them to the next transition of their life. It is my job as an attorney to litigate and it is your job as a client to find attorney that can do that for you. So family law is, unequivocally, an area of law that you need to find an attorney that is passionate about it because if you don't, you're going to go through several attorneys.
What made you pursue a career in law?
My father is the Managing Partner of Holstrom, Block & Parke and I've worked with him, and for him, since the age of 16. I also have two brothers that recently graduated from law school, so I guess you can say that I was born into law? But I really love the law. It is ever-changing, it is challenging, and it's just something that I love putting passion into and I think it's important to have a really good attorney throughout your process and a good attorney is not as easy to find as one would think. I may have, by chance, gotten into law but I am a very good lawyer and it is something that I'm very passionate about. And those are two really important things you need in an attorney. Someone that is passionate and someone that is aggressive and will advocate for you.
What are some qualities that make you stand out as an attorney?
My entire life I have been an athlete. I was a Division 1 soccer player at Jacksonville University. And I say that because athletes are strong, they are tenacious, they are disciplined. I might be 5' 3 3/4" but I walk like I am 6', and that's what makes me stand out.