Women-Led Law Firms 2023: Siegel & Irwin

Lee’s Summit
Kristin Siegel and Ashley Irwin

Kristin Siegel traces her interest in family law to her mother, a social worker with hospice patients who also raised five children, one of whom had special needs.

“She was always using her own resources or trying to finagle a way to help somebody” even on the evenings and weekends, said Siegel, who formed the family law practice Siegel & Irwin, which is based in Lee’s Summit.

Similar to her mom’s work, as a family law attorney, “you’re definitely not in it for the money,” Siegel said. “There is always a crisis. There is always somebody you’re helping out.”

Siegel started her career working for Sherrill Rosen, a commissioner of the family court system in Jackson County. Rosen then connected her with Rebecca Leonard, a family attorney who hired and mentored Siegel.

In 2017, she became a partner of the firm, and in 2022, she and Ashley Irwin took over leadership of the firm and changed the name.

Siegel often represents women in custody disputes. She said she tries to work for clients whose cases she truly believes in.

“I have had encounters where I don’t necessarily agree or see eye-to-eye with my clients and then I feel like it’s best to go our separate ways.

In one recent divorce case, she represented a woman who had “really been torn down mentally,” Siegel said.

The case was unusually long — about 10 days over nine months — but she ultimately won everything: the property division; custody of her children; and attorney’s fees, Siegel said.

One of the most challenging parts of running a law firm is managing the business operations, she said.

“Lawyers want to practice law, and they don’t go to business school, so it’s not natural to know how to run a law firm,” said Siegel, whose firm is staffed entirely by women.

And like with her clients, Siegel wants to keep up her employees’ morale and make sure they get satisfaction from their jobs.

“Family law is super emotional,” she said.

As such, Siegel tries to keep it from weighing down her employees, she said.

“I don’t feel like I’m great at it,” she said. “It’s something I’m learning, and it’s just a process.”