BURIEN, WASH. – This month, the City of Burien will welcome Lisa Marshall as its next City Attorney. She replaces Soojin Kim who will soon leave the City to build her own law practice. Marshall comes to the City with years of municipal legal experience, currently serving as City Attorney for Bainbridge Island, and previously serving at the City of Newcastle as well as here at Burien: Marshall served as Burien’s City Attorney more than a decade ago and participated in the drafting of purchase and sale agreements for the development of Town Square.

“I spent time between 1998 and 2003 working for Burien as a contract city attorney, and from 2003 to 2006 as an employee. I value the relationships I've formed over the years with City staff and am excited to be working with them again and also to meet new staff members,” said Marshall. “I am happy to return to Burien because after working on the planning stages of the Town Square, that vision is now being implemented and it is exciting to see.”

Marshall’s legal experience includes work in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining the City of Bainbridge Island staff, she was the Infrastructure Contract Attorney at T-Mobile. Her interest in public sector legal work blossomed early in her career while working for and subsequently becoming partner at Kenyon Dornay Marshall, PLLC – a firm which represents dozens of municipal clients to provide legal services on a contract basis. During her time working with and for various cities, she gained experience in contract management, criminal prosecution, franchise agreement negotiations, litigation, land use decisions, real estate transactions, employment law, public disclosure regulations, and more.

“We are impressed by the skillset that Lisa brings to the position,” said Burien City Manager Kamuron Gurol. “With minimal time between our current attorney’s departure and Lisa’s start date, I am confident that City business will continue seamlessly through the transition. We appreciate Soojin’s hard work and contributions to Burien and wish her the very best.”

Marshall will begin working with the City on June 20 on a part-time basis until July 1, at which time she will serve on a full-time basis.

Marshall was born and raised in Seattle and graduated from Kentridge High School, Pacific Lutheran University, and the University of Puget Sound School of Law. She is the proud mother of two daughters, aged 15 and 11. In her free time, she enjoys watching her oldest daughter play soccer, doing art projects with her youngest, and reading about U.S. and Roman military history. She has traveled to most of the Civil War battlefields in Virginia, has visited Rome, and plans to spend time in France visiting Roman ruins later this year.

The City Attorney leads, plans, and directs all legal services for the City; oversees the code compliance division; and provides counsel to the City Manager, staff, City Council, and citizen boards and commissions.

The City of Burien is a vibrant and creative community, where the residents embrace diversity, celebrate arts and culture, promote vitality, and treasure the environment. For more information, visit www.burienwa.gov.