Ms Monica Kaup Cary, Lawyer

Monica Kaup Cary joined the firm in 2004. She has a strong commitment to families and is no novice to change. She has lived in the Midwest and on the East Coast, and now calls Seattle home. Prior to attending law school, Monica volunteered with VISTA (the domestic peace corps), and was assigned to work in Seattle with FamilyWorks where she helped create an Employment Resource Center for customers of the Fremont Food Bank. Other responsibilities there included offering free workshops for adults on topics from cooking to intercultural parenting and recruiting volunteers to lead free workshops for children.

After graduating from law school and joining the Oregon Bar, Monica was a judicial clerk to the Honorable Elizabeth Welch, Presiding Family Court Judge in Portland, Oregon. Returning to Seattle in 2002, she volunteered with the King County Prosecutor's office and then worked as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Pierce County, Washington. Through these experiences, Monica learned compassion for people in crisis and gained insight into the plight of families in the courtroom. After a few years in the trenches, she decided to return her focus to working directly with families.

Monica recognizes the loss of a marriage impacts nearly every aspect of life: emotional, financial, physical, social and spiritual. She also believes any time of great change is an opportunity to grow and learn. Her goal is to help clients feel stronger and more secure when they leave her office than when they walked in.

Monica's family law experience includes arguing family law motions in King and Snohomish Counties, advising clients in mediation and settlement situations, and all aspects of trial work.

Monica is a former Board member of the South Asian Bar Association of Washington. Monica co-authored an article for the Washington State Bar journal. She has presented as part of Continuing Legal Education seminars for the King County Bar Association's Family Law Section and the Washington State Trial Lawyer's Association. Monica's volunteer efforts include work with Seattle University's Access to Justice Institute, the Latino/a Bar Association of Washington, King County Bar Association's Self Help Plus & Kinship Care Solutions programs, the Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Justice, and the Center for Children and Youth Justice. She is a member of Chaya (a local South Asian domestic violence prevention organization), the King County Bar Association, and the Washington State Bar Association, Family Law Section.

In her free time, Monica enjoys playing her guitar, cooking, traveling and spending time with her family including her cattle dog and the family cat.