Luminata, PLLC
About Us
Kathleen Shea
As a trial and appellate attorney, Kate has zealously advocated for her clients' interests for over 10 years. She believes the key to effective representation is getting to know her client and using that knowledge to present a compelling and accurate narrative to the court.
Kate worked at the Washington Appellate Project for six years, where she represented clients appealing serious criminal convictions, termination of their parental rights, and civil commitments. Kate left the Washington Appellate Project to form Luminata with Marla.
She made the decision to attend law school after interning with a public defender's office in college. As a law student, Kate represented parents facing termination of their rights to their children and individuals seeking reentry services following a long period of incarceration. Upon graduating magna cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2006, Kate began her career as a public defender in Massachusetts with the Committee for Public Counsel Services, representing clients charged with misdemeanors and felonies at trial.
Kate has volunteered with several organizations, including Legal Voice, where she provided self-help materials to individuals seeking to represent themselves in court. She also led a successful community effort to build a neighborhood park in Seattle.
Marla Zink
Marla has practiced appellate law at every level of state and federal court. She ardently advances her clients' interests inside and outside the courtroom, through written and oral advocacy.
Prior to forming Luminata, Marla served clients in federal and state court at The Law Office of Marla Zink, PLLC. Before private practice, Marla worked at the Washington Appellate Project for eight years, where she represented indigent clients in appeals and post-conviction proceedings throughout Washington's state courts, in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in the United States Supreme Court. Marla has been practicing appellate law since she graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2005. She first served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert R. Beezer on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. After clerking, Marla worked as an associate in the Appellate, Constitutional and Governmental Law group at Preston, Gates and Ellis, which became K&L Gates LLP.
Marla is a member of the Washington Appellate Lawyers Association (WALA), the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL), and the Washington Defender Association (WDA). She is a member and past executive committee member of the King County Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section, and she has mentored young people through Big Brother Big Sister and the Future of the Law Institute. Marla is the lead author of two chapters on incarceration of women in the 2021 Gender & Justice Commission Report and serves on the Judicial Evaluation Committee for the King County Bar Association.
