About Christine Schuster
Christine Schuster is a former Super Lawyers staffer, and holds a degree in journalism and theater arts from Bethel University. She has won multiple awards for her reporting on a variety of topics in Twin Cities suburban communities.
Articles written by Christine Schuster
Safe Haven
Michelle Roy takes an asylum case with the highest of stakesBy the time the sisters left, they had no one but each other. Their father had been murdered by a drug cartel in Guatemala in 2015. Their mother, besieged by death threats, had fled, leaving the three sisters—one in her early 20s, one in her late teens and one under 10—on their own. Then the cartel set its sights on them. They were given an ultimatum: “Give us the money within a week, or we’re going to kill you.” When that deadline came, the sisters were crossing the border into …
To Pay or Not To Pay Interns
Internships provide a great opportunity for learning about a job and getting practical experience. Employers can also use interns to help with certain tasks and establish a pipeline to attract top talent. When using interns, employers must decide whether to pay the intern like an employee or offer an unpaid internship. When businesses have unpaid internships, they must comply with state and federal labor laws to make sure the intern is not considered an employee. If the law considers an intern …
What Is a Limited Divorce?
The prospect of a lengthy divorce process can send those seeking to end their marriage into a limbo of insecurity and fear. “People are very concerned about the uncertainty when they first separate,” says Shelly Ingram, a family law attorney in Fulton, Maryland. “Where is the money going to come from? How are they going to spend time with their kids?” Without grounds such as adultery or domestic violence, divorcing spouses may have to be separated for a minimum of 12 months to be seen …
A Deadly Delay in Diagnosis
Cancer is the second leading cause of death, but medical malpractice often plays a role in its progression. Studies show that over 250,000 Americans die each year from medical malpractice. Failure to order the proper testing or read test results accurately delays such diagnoses. “When you have a mass and you don’t get a biopsy, everything essentially becomes just a gut feeling and not something that is really reliable as a firm diagnosis,” says Virginia M. Buchanan, a medical malpractice …
Cold War Calling
What do an army intelligence officer, a police officer and a lawyer have in common? Communication skills, says Melody RaylMelody Rayl remembers lying awake and listening to bombers flying overhead. It was 1999 and she was living in Bosnia, not far from the Kosovo border, on a U.N. police task force assignment. Her objective: work side by side with Ukrainian police officers to help post-war Bosnia stabilize. “It only took a few days for the U.N. to decide that they really needed to get us out of there,” Rayl says. It was a long way from home for Rayl, who was, at the time, an Overland Park police officer on …
Providing for Providers
Sarah E. Coyne helps rural hospitals apply big health care laws to small-scale operationsWhen a doctor faces suspension due to conduct or incompetence at a large hospital, there’s a long list of other doctors of the same specialty who can take over. It’s a different story when that doctor is the only general surgeon at a critical access hospital—a rural facility with as few as 25 beds and five doctors. Recently that very thing occurred, and that’s where Sarah E. Coyne came in. A surgeon faced a disciplinary process, which usually requires review by a subcommittee of the …
Dedicated Duo
How Meghan Freed and Kristen Marcroft are demystifying LGBT family lawJust a decade ago, Kristen Marcroft was a waitress working at Max Downtown in Hartford and Meghan Freed was a young associate at a Hartford law firm. How did they end up practicing family law together? As a family? “I like to claim this one,” Freed says. “I had a wonderful conversation about her decision to go to law school. I really wanted her to go.” They were introduced by mutual friends. After a few years of friendship, followed by a few years of dating, the two were married in June …
If a Worker Is Injured on Your Property
Homeowners are liable for injuries and accidents that happen on their property. When a worker suffers an injury on your property, your liability can depend on their status and your insurance coverage. Under premises liability laws, homeowners owe visitors a duty of care. If you hire an employee to work in your home, you may need workers' compensation insurance. Failing to get the right insurance coverage and take reasonable safety measures can expose you to costly liability claims. Talk to an …
Finding the Balance in Tri-Parenting Agreements
As the American family structure undergoes variance and change, the legal system is in the position of catching up. Around half of the jurisdictions across the United States are shifting away from the traditional test that defines a parent as biological or adoptive. Enter tri-parenting agreements, wherein three people are granted the parental status of a child. “We are starting to see more and more of it, largely because people are mobile and you can have children in so many different …
When Seniors Talk, Money Walks
Stuart C. Bear, an elder law and estate planning attorney at Chestnut Cambronne in Minneapolis, recalls working with an elderly woman who needed financial protection from her grandchildren. “I would see her in the nursing home and at one of our visits she said, ‘Stuart, I’m so glad you’re here. You’ve got to help me. I feel as I’ve become the family ATM machine,’” Bear says. “‘Help me protect myself.’” Many senior citizens are victims of financial abuse and scams …
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