Kent Van Alstyne
When Kent van Alstyne joined the Phillips Burgess legal team in fall 2016, he told friends and associates he had landed a job that would give him “a chance to do exactly what drew me to the study of law in the first place—protecting the rights of people to obtain and use their land the way they imagined.”
“I grew up in Southwest Washington and I went to law school specifically to become a land use and environmental law attorney,” adds this Chehalis native, who complemented his classroom studies at Lewis & Clark Law School with clerkships for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. “Joining the area’s premier land use and environmental legal team means I can influence and improve the ‘built environment’ of this robust and growing region. The fit couldn’t be better.”
While Kent is one of Phillips Burgess’ newest attorneys, he clearly exhibits the levels of intellect, dedication, and exacting attention to detail for which his more senior colleagues are known. So it is not surprising that he already has been tasked with providing legal counsel to some of the firm’s most highly prized clients.
“Practicing law is about more than simply practicing law. It’s about seeing the issues of a case from your client’s perspective, and understanding the practicalities behind the law. Without that understanding, it is impossible to evaluate the risks, appreciate the potential consequences, and provide the best possible legal advice.” – KENT VAN ALSTYNE
When he is not hard at work in the firm’s Tacoma office, the University of Washington honors graduate—who served as a Pierce County Housing Justice Project staff attorney prior to affiliating with Phillips Burgess and in 2016 received the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Leadership Award—can be found on the tennis court at Pacific Lutheran University, where he is assistant tennis coach.
- 2016 Tacoma Pierce County Bar Association Pro Bono Leadership Award presented by Justice Charles K. Wiggins.
Tacoma, Washington 98402