Kristen obtained her BA from Michigan State University followed by her Juris
Doctorate from the American University in Washington, DC. She first qualified as a lawyer in the United States in 1991.

In the US, Kristen worked for a federal judge in Washington, DC; as a prosecutor trying serious criminal cases through investigation, grand jury procedure and jury trial to verdict; and as a professor specialising in criminal advocacy, criminal justice public policy and human rights issues. She has tried over 100 cases to jury verdict.

Kristen re-located to Europe in 2000 working on several large-scale legal reform and rule of law projects primarily in Eastern Europe. She is particularly interested in the alignment of post-Soviet legal systems with human rights and adversarial systems of legal procedure and in the human rights implications of criminal justice structures and procedures.

In 2002, Kristen qualified as a solicitor and was appointed Head of Department for the Human Rights and Prison Law Department for a large north west law firm. She joined Scomo in November 2005.

Kristen's practice consists primarily of advising life sentenced, extended licence and indeterminate prisoners. She is a frequent advocate before the Parole Board of England and Wales and has also appeared before the Scottish Parole Board. She is particularly interested in cases with human rights and international dimensions. Kristen consults for several other UK criminal practices and internationally and is an appointed representative to the Law Society's International Law Committee.

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