About Katrina Styx
Katrina Styx was an editorial assistant and writer at Super Lawyers. She attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where she earned a degree in English-Literature and a minor in journalism.
Articles written by Katrina Styx
The Rainbow Connection
Linda Balisle doesn't know how she'd curb childhood trauma without the help of a Madison nonprofitLinda Balisle remembers well the custody case that almost made her stop taking custody cases. She was representing the mother of two young girls, who, in their initial interviews, “established that this father had been sexually inappropriate with [them] on more than one occasion,” Balisle recalls. But the mother had her own unresolved childhood abuse and mental health issues—something Balisle’s opposition used to call into question her client’s ability to parent. When the guardian ad …
The Data's in the Details
Scott Flaherty challenged Hennepin County on its data practices—and wonPolice surveillance has been around a long time, but when law enforcement deploys surveillance technology without the public’s—or the legislature’s—knowledge, that’s a problem, says Scott Flaherty. In fact, it led to a three-year lawsuit against Hennepin County. In preparation for Super Bowl LII, “public taxpayer dollars were being spent on what was then state-of-the-art biometric surveillance equipment,” Flaherty says, “and it was basically unknown to the public the level of …
Foreign Affairs
Esther Agbaje’s path to the law included managing rule-of-law projects in the Middle EastLebanon, Tunisia and Jordan. Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain and Qatar. By the time Esther Agbaje was five years out of grad school, she’d already worked in or visited these countries. Not bad, even for a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs fellow who was primed for a career in either the foreign service or as a civil service officer for the U.S. State Department. She started with the State Department’s U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative in 2009. No matter which country’s soil she stood on, …
Five Minutes to 5 on a Friday
Kathryn Smith Root helps families by building bridges across bordersIt was 1988, Kathryn Root’s third year at Ronald Allen Johnston & Associates, a family law firm. “I was in the office at five minutes to 5:00 on a Friday, and the phone rang,” she recalls. “And it was someone associated with a national missing children’s association.” A father on the East Coast had received a tip that his missing preteen son could be found in Portland, and he needed an Oregon lawyer to help him enforce his state’s custody provision. “I said, ‘Well, I do …
30,000 Things She Didn't Expect
Working in the public sector taught Gay Woodhouse to find the right peopleIn 1984, leading up to what should have been a routine wisdom teeth extraction, a 17-year-old boy was instructed by his dentist to take a prescription drug. The problem? The dose was 25 times higher than it should have been. “The pharmacist, who was a young woman, called the dentist and said, ‘There’s got to be a mistake here. I don’t want to sell this. That’s not a dose that’s recommended,’” recalls Gay Woodhouse. “And [the dentist] said, ‘Who’s the dentist and who’s …
Facing the Fear
When the pandemic hit, Lori Becker geared up to help as an emergency responderAttorney Lori Becker has also been a part-time firefighter since 2018. Before the COVID-19 pandemic swept across America, Lori Becker’s practice was humming along smoothly. A 20-year divorce attorney, Becker had found her niche in collaborative divorce and mediation. “I had been practicing divorce law, but once I learned about the collaborative approach process and I took the training—I was the second class in Michigan to be trained in 2005—I never looked back,” she says. “I thought …
Should You Consider Adult Adoption?
When you hear the word “adoption,” you might imagine an adoptive family seeking to bring a young child into their home and family. And while adoption of a minor accounts for the bulk of adoptions in the U.S., it is possible to adopt an adult being. Indiana state law allows individuals who are at least 18 years of age to be adopted, given they make a proper petition to the court and give their own consent. Why Choose Adult Adoption? Why would an adult want to be a legally adopted child and …
Can I Lay Off My Furloughed Employees?
Sometimes, a business finds itself faced with such unique business circumstances that it needs to temporarily reduce its workforce for a period of time. But what happens when furloughed workers become permanent layoffs? Employers can permanently lay off workers who are on furlough or temporary layoff, but there are some legal considerations they need to be aware of in order to avoid an employment law violation. Joseph E. Gumina, an employment and labor attorney in Milwaukee, shares some advice …
How Has COVID-19 Affected Laws Regarding Telemedicine?
As healthcare providers across the country grapple with surges in demand and hospital beds fill, more and more patients are seeing their doctors and receiving care through video conferencing, telephone visits or even online questionnaires. And while the pandemic has lowered some of the barriers for providers to establish or expand their telemedicine capabilities, there are important legal issues to be aware of. “A lot has changed on the legal front,” says Jeremy D. Sherer, a digital health …
Mr. Original
John B. Draper faces down a water law tsunamiA river, two states and a disagreement that goes back to the early 1900s. That’s what put John B. Draper in front of the Supreme Court of the United States—not once, but three times. The case, Kansas v. Colorado, is all about the Arkansas River, which begins in Colorado and flows into Kansas. The two states have been at odds over water rights for over a century. Draper got involved in 1990, after Kansas claimed Colorado had violated their water compact. “We were making the argument that …
Find top lawyers with confidence
The Super Lawyers patented selection process is peer influenced and research driven, selecting the top 5% of attorneys to the Super Lawyers lists each year. We know lawyers and make it easy to connect with them.
Find a lawyer near you