Jennifer Knops

Family Law chose me, but it was quite a path to get to where I am today.

My mom had a baby book for me, and she wrote that at age 3 I wanted to be a trauma surgeon.

Lofty goals for a young child, but even as a toddler, I knew I wanted to help people. Although I don’t work in a hospital today, I still feel very much like a trauma surgeon, as I help my clients navigate the emotional traumas inherent in family law matters.

But before I got to this point, I attended the University of Vermont, receiving my B.A. in Philosophy. While working to put myself through college, I began my career in food service.

At the young age of 22, I was working in one of the best restaurants in my small town in Vermont and was quickly promoted from kitchen manager to co-head chef.

Cooking was, and is, something I adore, but I knew it wasn’t the career I wanted for the rest of my life. A turning point was reading the book Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain and deciding it was time for something new.

I remember going to Borders bookstore and taking career and personality surveys to help me determine what to do next, to find my passion. Those pointed me toward becoming an attorney or a professor. I decided to apply to law firms immediately.

My skills from the restaurant translated well into life as a legal assistant. I knew how to manage people and situations, I understood a fast-paced environment with the need for lots of multi-tasking and I came in with a creative mindset, ready to solve problems.

In college, I loved debate. I was also very good at research which came into play in my new role. Within 6 months, I was promoted to paralegal. As I began speaking more with the attorneys at the firm, reading cases and learning on the job, I knew I wanted to go to law school. I found my way to The University of Pittsburgh School of Law and earned my Juris Doctorate.

In law school, I didn’t take any Family Law classes. My plan was to work in Bio Ethics or Human Rights. But, after doing some ad hoc projects in family law and thinking about my own life experiences, I was drawn to pursue this practice.

Now, I am a Certified Family Law Specialist, certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. This is achieved by demonstrating a sophisticated command of family law via testing and practice, gaining the validation of judges and others in the legal community through evaluations, and staying abreast of the inevitable changes in the law through continuing legal education. It is maintained by demonstrating an ongoing commitment to the practice of family law and its changing contours and recognition from members of the legal community.

As a Certified Family Law Specialist, I am a proven advocate for my clients. I am adept at negotiating settlements, working with private judges, and pursuing litigation in court. I empower clients by helping them understand the paths available to them and seek to tailor the strategy to the unique goals, values, and circumstances of each matter. You and your family deserve sensitivity. I will listen to you, be of value and empathize with your situation. The more I do this work, the more I reflect on the importance of it, and I know it’s exactly where I am supposed to be and what I was meant to do.

I’m here to help you understand the process. I strive for amicable resolutions. You might be dissolving a personal relationship, but you are also dissolving a financial relationship and there are many layers with decisions and outcomes that I can explore with you from a patient and curious perspective.

Unlike other types of law, there is a lot of emotion in these cases and through my expertise, I hope you feel heard, and I will give you the space you need through every step.

At Wine Country Family Law, P.C., we say the hard things, but we also tell you WHY. We empower our clients so they can make reasonable decisions and at the heart, we know we are just humans helping other humans.

On a personal note, I live for having great conversations and I’m very curious about a lot of different things. I enjoy geology, ecology, philosophy and postmodern theory. Anything that will expand my horizons is something I want to learn.

I love studying ancient history and civilizations, probably while snuggled up on the couch with my cat. I’m an avid reader and I love cooking. You will often find me camping or exploring the outdoors, watching the sunset or tending to my plants. I’ll be expanding my garden soon and I’m very excited about that.

You are in a growth phase yourself. While I might not have been there when the seeds were planted, I’m here to help you bloom into the next best version of yourself and I bet it’s going to be beautiful. I look forward to meeting you.

What Working With Our Team Is Like

As a potential client, you will first talk to our intake team to determine if your legal issue is something we can assist you with. The phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so even if you are reading this at 3 a.m., feel free to call. From there, you will book an initial consultation and pay your consultation fee.

When you are a current client and call the office, our friendly Legal Case Administrator will connect you to your paralegal to discuss next steps, or will schedule an appointment with your attorney. Our goal is to discuss your unique situation, discover solutions moving forward and end your meeting feeling more at ease than when you started.

You can always email your attorney and/or paralegal with questions and concerns. We provide you with a link to your attorney’s calendar to schedule appointments directly. We will text and email appointment reminders to you. If we need you to sign a document, it will typically be provided to you to sign electronically.

You won’t ever have to wait on something important if your attorney is out sick or on vacation. When you work with us, you work with our team. Every week, our attorneys brainstorm cases and discuss solutions and strategies together, harnessing the power of our collective knowledge and experience.

Our fabulous paralegals are also here to help you with any forms or other non-legal questions. Our Legal Case Administrator will assist with any billing questions and scheduling. In addition, you will always have access to your case documents in your secure portal provided to you. You can provide us documents via your portal, as well.

Our Firm Constitution

We keep our clients well-informed, communicate clearly, and are responsive to their needs. We listen with compassion. Our clients feel heard and their needs and objectives identified and understood.

We work with honesty and integrity. We are real with our clients. We support the ongoing health and well-being of our clients and their families. We guide clients to persevere through life’s challenges in a meaningful direction.

We are humble and unpretentious legal professionals. We stay true to our values, never compromising our professionalism or ethics in the face of adversity.

We are bold, exploring unconventional and creative measures to advance our clients’ needs. We are leaders, not followers.

We are open-minded, adaptable, and always learning. We embrace technology to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and to provide convenience to our clients.

We work hard.

We are supportive of our teammates. We are real with each other. We value a sense of humor and foster a friendly, positive work environment.

We maintain a healthy balance between our professional and personal lives. We seek methods to encourage personal wellness to bring our best selves to our clients and our team.

The entire team at Wine Country Family Law, P.C. shares the same core values.

At the end of the day, we give you reasonable advice. We want what is best for your family and your children. We welcome challenging and complex cases. If we are not the right fit, we will do our best to refer you to someone who can help. We care. We will work to earn your trust. We strive to give you as much attention as possible and work toward peaceful resolutions. We want you to walk away from this experience with dignity.

If we sound like the legal team for you, please reach out.