When Kirstin Abel announced at the wise age of eight that she was going to be a lawyer, her family knew there was no question about what she would become. The quest first took her from her hometown of Eugene, Oregon, to McMinnville, heart of Oregon wine country, where she not only pursued her political science degree, but also developed a love of wine. Following graduation, a sense of adventure and the desire to experience something other than the Pacific Northwest led her to Chicago for law school. Though she thoroughly enjoyed the Midwest, she was happy to return as a lawyer to the place she’d always called home.

 

Kirstin’s time in law school was punctuated by many moot court and trial team competitions. Knowing she eventually wanted to try cases, Kirstin obtained a judicial clerkship in Multnomah County with then Circuit Court Judge Ellen Rosenblum and had the unique opportunity to study many great trial lawyers in action. Following her clerkship, she began a practice with a Portland civil litigation firm representing physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers in malpractice cases. She tried several cases to jury verdict, all in her clients’ favor. A desire to broaden her work led her to Bodyfelt Mount in 2013, where she has a general civil litigation practice concentrating on product liability, drug and medical device, professional liability and medical malpractice cases. Kirstin became Bodyfelt Mount's managing partner in 2018.

 

Kirstin is a member of the Owen M. Panner American Inn of Court, Defense Research Institute, International Association of Defense Counsel, and Oregon Association of Defense Counsel. She serves on the Oregon State Bar's Procedure & Practice Committee and Products Liability Section Executive Committee.

 

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE

- Oregon

- U.S. District Court, District of Oregon

- Washington

 

EDUCATION

J.D., The John Marshall Law School, 2003

B.A. (political science), Linfield College, 1999