This year, in January of 2022, Christine Foster’s law firm, Foster Law PC. rang in it’s 30th year of service. Some may know, that the 30th anniversary is the year of the pearl. The pearl signifies wisdom, strength, and integrity, which are perfect descriptors of how Foster Law advocates for and cultivates relationships with their clients.
In my time interviewing Christine, I was both encouraged and surprised by pieces of her story. Before beginning her journey into public service, Christine was an incredibly accomplished pianist and was pursuing a degree in piano performance. With 15 years of experience, college scholarships and many competitive wins under her belt, Christine’s path into the world of music was laid out in front of her. However, while taking a required political science course, Christine “became aware and interested in human rights, human conflict, discrimination, inequality, social contract and the social imperative to help others who are not physically, mentally, socially, or economically capable.” It was after this encounter with her passions that Christine made the choice to switch majors with the intent of going to law school. Since she lost her musical scholarships, she began working many jobs to pay her way through the rest of her undergraduate degree.
After completing law school and passing the Washington State Bar, she went on to secure a job as an attorney at the Attorney General’s Office and was set to represent the Department of Labor and Industries. Christine recalls “This meant I had to defend the Department’s orders denying benefits to injured workers. Very quickly, I realized I was on the wrong side of workers’ compensation cases because, when I won trials, I felt I needed to apologize to the injured workers.” This led to the next big pivot in Christine’s career, going on to open her own law firm. Once again, this meant hustling to make ends meet as she built up a clientele, while also being a single mom to two boys. It took ten years of hard work, on her own, before she was able to rest solely on workers compensation claims and could hire on a larger team. Now, she manages a full team of many attorneys, paralegals, and administrative staff.
As for the next 30 years, Christine doesn’t think she will ever fully retire. Explaining with genuine conviction “I want to keep doing the things I most love about representing injured workers – strategizing the way to results – and I want to keep mentoring my employees to adopt my philosophy. My son will be completing law school next year and we have hired him to work for the firm this summer as an intern. Perhaps he will want to join the firm when he is a practicing attorney. In any event, I want my firm to last beyond my lifetime and continue to provide expert, fierce, and compassionate legal representation for injured workers”.
I have had the honor of working under Christine for almost 8 months and getting to interview her has been a highlight of my time here. I believe there is something to be gleaned and applied to every reader from her words and thoughts. Let Christine’s career be a call to action and a reflection into your own journey. Service, compassion, stories, and representation change lives. It is clear by Christine’s story, that by leaning into these core life values, you too can make a lasting, successful impact in the community and in your own life. Don’t be afraid to pivot and invest in yourself and, above all, put the good and care of others first.
If you know anyone impacted by a workplace injury or occupational disease, Foster Law PC. is here to extend 30 years of experience and care into their lives.