Kirsten is Partner & Vice President, Law Firm Lateral Recruiting, Interim Legal Talent, & MLA’s Hire an Esquire at the world’s largest and most award-winning legal search firm, Major, Lindsey & Africa. Throughout her career, Kirsten has focused on providing expertise, guidance, and support to people navigating professional and personal transition. From her 18 years at MLA, she has deep experience in assisting law firms with the opening of new offices, helping law firms explore all available options for solving workforce and bandwidth challenges, and guiding elite partners, associates, and counsel through the myriad options available to them as they build their business and their professional legacies. Kirsten has also been tasked with innovating within the industry by growing MLA’s legal staffing footprint and by leading the acquisition of the industry’s first technology-driven, legal staffing organization. As a member of MLA’s Senior Leadership Team, Kirsten collaborates on development of MLA’s overall strategic plan and is directly responsible for the go-to-market strategies for the business lines she leads. Before joining Major, Lindsey & Africa, Kirsten practiced law (J.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison) as a litigator and frequently served as court-appointed guardian ad litem for children in Family and Juvenile Criminal Courts across multiple Wisconsin counties. While in private practice, Kirsten co-authored, “The System Book for Family Law,” published by the State Bar of Wisconsin; helped organize the first international meeting of collaborative divorce professionals; co-chaired the ABA Family Law Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, served on the Wisconsin State Bar Family Law Section Board, and authored several published articles exploring career development for attorneys. Prior to attending law school, Kirsten worked in the fields of higher and secondary education administration. While earning her M.S. at the University of Rhode Island, she performed research in leadership development including the creation and instruction of several undergraduate courses and seminars. Originally from Rhode Island, after twenty years in Milwaukee and six years in the St. Louis Metro, Kirsten and her husband, Francisco, General Counsel for a large, private-equity-owned manufacturing company, currently reside full-time on Saint Simons Island, Georgia.