WHO WE ARE

Who We Are

History

King County Law Library offering forms, research assistance, and classes

The King County Law Library Foundation supports the King County Law Library. The King County Law Library is the only law library in Washington State to operate two full branches, one located in the King County Courthouse in Seattle and the other in the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Like all county law libraries in Washington State, King County Law Library receives the bulk of its revenue from paid civil filings in Superior and District Court. The King County Law Library also receives funds bi-annually from King County to support the additional branch.  Unfortunately, these funding sources no longer provide sufficient revenue. The King County Law Library Foundation was founded in 2018 to help close this gap.

Staff

Photo of Kristie Thompson. Executive Director of King County Law Library

Kristie Thompson is the Executive Director of the King County Law Library Foundation. She earned her BA in International Affairs and Spanish from the University of Puget Sound and her MA in Russian Eurasian Studies and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Over the past two decades, Kristie has worked with non-profit organizations in the US and abroad to promote education and literacy. She is excited to work with the Foundation to facilitate access to legal information and resources for King County residents. In her spare time, Kristie enjoys reading, spending time outdoors, and travel. 

Board of Directors

Mary Jo Newhouse is the President of the King County Law Library Foundation. She received her law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) and spent her career practicing law in Seattle, primarily focusing on health care.  Prior to law school, she earned her BSN from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and worked as a nurse at Children’s Hospital in Seattle. She and her husband live in Montlake, where they raised their three children. Mary Jo enjoys spending time with her adult children and grandchildren, as well as reading, baking (especially fruit tarts and pies), photography, and sewing.

Placeholder photo for Maureen Quigley. KCLL Foundation Board Vice President.
Photo of Oliver Enquist. KCLL Foundation Treasurer.

Oliver Enquist is the Treasurer of the King County Law Library Foundation. Oliver works as an Associate at Chinook Capital Advisors, a Kirkland-based Investment Banking firm that assists business owners through business succession and transition planning. Oliver graduated with his Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Seattle University in May 2016 and passed the Washington State Bar Exam in July 2016.  Oliver served as a Research and Technical Editor on the Seattle University Law Review during his second and third years of law school. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Washington. When not at work, Oliver enjoys fishing, scuba diving, hunting, and wood working.

Dan Fiorito is the Secretary of the King County Law Library Foundation. He is a graduate of the Seattle University School of Law.  Dan started his own law practice, focusing on plaintiff’s personal injury, civil rights, general litigation, and criminal defense. Dan volunteered for several years with the King County Housing Justice Project and was recognized as the King County Bar Association’s (KCBA) Volunteer of the Month.  He also serves on the KCBA Judicial Screening Committee and co-chaired the committee in 2018.  Dan enjoys outdoor activities. Some his more memorable experiences include summiting Denali in Alaska scuba diving the Great Blue Hole in Belize.

Ex-Officio

Photo of Barbara Engstrom. KCLL Foundation ex-officio board member and president of the King County Law Library.

Barbara Engstrom is the Executive Director of the King County Law Library and an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law. Prior to leading the King County Law Library, she was a reference librarian and faculty member at the Seattle University School of Law specializing in foreign, comparative and international legal research. Barbara teaches Online Advanced Legal Research, the first exclusively online class offered at Seattle University. She is a frequent presenter at CLEs and conferences. Barbara and the team at the King County Law Library have created many innovative tools to assist self-represented litigants, including the Self-Represented Litigant Workshop series which won the American Law Library Association’s Excellence in Community Engagement award in 2019.  Barbara was admitted to the Washington State Bar in 2004.

King County Law Library Foundation is a Section 501 (c)(3) public charity (EIN: 83-0969459). King County Law Library Foundation is registered with Washington State’s Charities Program as required by law.