Krista Mancuso
As long as I can remember I have felt drawn to being a lawyer. Growing up, I believed strongly in black and white. I was fascinated by the power of our legal system to bind, incarcerate, release, and liberate.
I will never forget the day I went from wanting to be an attorney to making the decision to apply to law school. Working as a Victim Advocate for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California, I was exhausted after witnessing my first trial where the law failed to do what I thought it should do. Lady Justice did not appear. I knew it was time to be part of a system that fought harder for justice and protected people when needed, not just when it was convenient for the system. I knew that I wanted to do better than what I had witnessed. I started law school in the fall of 2007, excited and ready to be the kind of lawyer that could do better.
I have since come to appreciate that life isn’t always black and white and that a lot of life exists in the grey. In fact, there is beauty in the grey. Throughout my professional career I have found great joy in working closely with people while they are on their life journey towards a better place. There is power in relationships. There is power in making decisions. And, in family law, there is power in using the law to make life better.
I am a family law lawyer because I believe families are the most important piece of who we are. I know mine is. I believe that to have successful and healthy marriages they must be a choice. To have healthy and happy families, custody and parenting plans must work. While any legal matter has risks and there is a very tangible cost associated with it, there is also hope that at the end there will be something better. If you find yourself facing a family law matter, I am ready to be your partner through it.
Background
I am a proud Oregonian, born and raised in the beautiful Umpqua Valley in Southern Oregon. I graduated from Linfield College in 2004 have since worked in non-profits and governmental organizations, working with individuals facing homelessness, students with intellectual disabilities, and victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
This work led me to law school where I graduated with a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2010. After working in the Bay Area as an attorney focusing on Intellectual Property litigation and taking a break for my own expanding family, I opened my own family law practice in the Portland area in 2016. I have been practicing exclusively in family law ever since.
Bar Memberships
State Bar of California, 2010 - Present, inactive status State Bar of Oregon, 2014 - Present
Current Professional Memberships
Oregon Women’s Lawyers’ Society Multnomah County Bar Association Washington County Bar Association
Personal Life
I live in the Alameda neighborhood in NE Portland with my spouse and two very energetic kids 9 and under and one really smart tween who no longer wants to be called a kid and is monitoring my website for accuracy. If I am not working, you will find me busy doing laundry, cleaning soccer cleats, learning to grow dahlias, biking around town, and working on remodeling our 1915 colonial home that we bit off more than we can chew with.
I am also the VP of Fundraising for the Alameda Elementary PTA Board for 2023-2025, so if you are in need of poinsettias around December or hanging baskets in the spring, I’m your lady for that.