Welcome to Patterson Bookwalter Family Law Firm!

Carrie and Elizabeth began practicing family law together in 2016 and quickly realized they shared similar backgrounds, values, and just a genuine desire to help people.  Simply put, they are people people. 

Together, they hope that Patterson Bookwalter will become known for both its high quality representation and its compassionate approach to dealing with clients. Carrie and Elizabeth recognize that the traditional litigation approaches to resolving conflict do not often serve clients well in family law cases. 

Patterson Bookwalter is committed to educating our clients on all their legal options to resolving conflict and to staying up-to-date and seeking continued training in all types of conflict resolution.  We view our job as working one-on-one with each client to help find a process (or combinations of processes) that works best, while keeping our clients’ well-being, and the well being of their family, at the focus.   

Get to Know Carrie Patterson

When I went to law school, it was less out of a desire to become a lawyer and more out of a desire to put off deciding what I wanted to be.  After graduating in 2007, I chose to begin my career at a small law firm in Fairfax with a solo practitioner who was looking to add associates.  From that point forward, I found myself handling primarily family law cases. 

What I found was that family law is unique in that you both need to be knowledgeable about the legal intricacies involved in family law matters, but you also need to be a good listener, an empathetic teammate, and a problem-solver. 

I found myself enjoying the variety of people in my community that my work was putting me in contact with, and helping them sort through the often bewildering and painful experience of navigating a family law case to its conclusion.  I enjoy working side-by-side with my clients and being a down-to-earth and friendly voice to them when they need it most.  I understand that clients place immense faith and trust in their lawyers and I never lose sight of that and often work tirelessly to advance my client’s cause in an effort to achieve the best resolution possible.  

Get to Know Elizabeth M. Bookwalter

Prior to law school, I spent several years in nonprofit development working with physicians who lobbied for improved access to reproductive healthcare. Those physicians talked about the joy and satisfaction they felt helping patients through difficult times in their lives. Not feeling that level of satisfaction through fundraising, I went to law school with the drive to find a career and law firm that allowed me to help my clients in the same way.

During the initial consultation, I often see heartbroken, defeated, or worn-down clients. Some recognize that their life needs a change, others see divorce as the worst possible outcome for their life. I take the time to learn about my clients, what matters most to them, and what a successful resolution looks like- and then we work together to achieve that outcome.

Oftentimes, clients will tell me that their life is so much better after the divorce, even though they could not have imagined that as a real possibility when we first met. I love helping guide my clients through the divorce process and often find a voice and persona that they didn’t know they had.