Kendal K. O’Keefe, Chestnut Cambronne PA

Kendal O’Keefe was always interested in becoming an attorney, even as a teenager. Shadowing a 3M attorney in high school cemented her career choice.

While attending Mitchell Hamline School of Law, O’Keefe clerked at a family law firm and “really loved it.” She joined that firm, Arnold & Rodman, PLLC, spending almost a decade and making partner there before moving to Chestnut Cambronne PA in 2022.

O’Keefe litigates orders for protection and harassment for clients who typically are going through divorces or who have already gone through divorces and need assistance with custody and parenting time issues. She helps determine where children will attend school and who will transport them to and from school practices.

“I work on those nuts and bolts issues that impact people daily,” O’Keefe said. “I enjoy helping with that, and most of the time, my clients appreciate it. It’s a difficult area to navigate, but I enjoy the human element of my work.”

Two trends she’s noticed over the past few years are older couples divorcing near or after retirement and couples who never married but created families. In the first group, the arguments involve assets such as retirement and pension funds. In the second, the family court plays a lesser role because its jurisdiction is more limited.

At Chestnut Cambronne, O’Keefe chairs the Wellness Committee, which had a chiropractor come into the office to evaluate the ergonomics of the firm’s workstations and brought in a therapy dog for an afternoon with staff. 

“There is a growing rate of burnout and chronic problems that you see in practice,” O’Keefe said. “It’s a tough gig, so wellness is important.”

O’Keefe teaches a course at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, serves on the board of the Family Law League, and has volunteered at Tubman, a family violence prevention organization, since law school. “It’s a great organization,” she said.