About Steph Weber
Steph Weber is an award-winning journalist specializing in healthcare, business, and law. She has written for Physicians Practice, Medscape, and Rheumatology Network and created content for several other industry publications, companies, and colleges. As a frequent Super Lawyers contributor, she enjoys drilling down complex legal topics into bite-sized, actionable advice for readers and interviewing the nation’s leading attorney voices, highlighting their most memorable achievements and lessons learned. She lives in Northern Indiana.
Articles written by Steph Weber
Managing Mayhem
How Jessica Ragno Sprague eased Passaic County’s family court crisisPassaic County’s family court was beginning to rebound in 2019, when family law attorney Jessica Ragno Sprague became president of the county Bar association. For four years, Passaic had faced severe judicial shortages, worse than most counties in the state. Motions in family matters often sat unresolved for months, sometimes more than a year. In 2015, the county’s only sitting matrimonial judge was the late Judge John Selser, for whom Sprague had clerked in 2006. What followed his …
‘Fear Is the Overarching Theme Right Now’
Emily Reber-Mariniello reflects on current immigration law policiesFor the elderly Iranian couple, traveling from Tehran to Abu Dhabi for a visa interview was neither easy nor inexpensive. But it was one of the final steps toward reuniting with their only son in the United States. Unfortunately the interview took place in early 2026. Shortly afterwards, on Jan. 14, President Trump issued a proclamation indefinitely freezing visa processing for dozens of countries, including Iran. Their case was put on hold. “If their interview had been a week earlier, they …
Back Home in Batesville
An unexpected DOJ pit stop led B.J. Kelley back to his Indiana rootsWhen FBI agents knock on doors in a quiet town like Batesville, pop. 7,000, word travels fast. Fortunately, longtime resident B.J. Kelley wasn’t in trouble. He was being vetted for a spot in the Department of Justice’s prestigious Attorney General’s Honors Program. Kelley hadn’t been aiming for the DOJ. During his second year at Georgetown Law, he was volunteering for Sen. Richard Lugar and eager to make a little money. When the guidance office shared that the government agency was …
Lighting a Fire
Why Andrew Dansicker takes cases others won’tAndrew Dansicker still remembers the case early in his career that pulled him from the trenches of document and discovery reviews and into the trial spotlight. But it didn’t involve a high-paying client or a corporate legal battle. It was a fight over a farmer’s barbecue grill. The farm had been in the family for generations. When police found marijuana stashed in a barbecue grill on the property, they seized not only the drugs but the entire farm under Maryland’s forfeiture laws at the …
Relationship Building
P. Douglas Barr gives Kentucky businesses a voice in the halls of governmentIn Kentucky’s General Assembly, the clock runs fast, with sessions lasting only 30 or 60 days, depending on the year. Legislative agendas can change overnight, leading to policies that directly affect the state’s key industries—from bourbon and public utilities to horse racing and healthcare. But while the session is intense, much of the groundwork happens before lawmakers convene. Attorney P. Douglas Barr of Stoll Keenon Ogden has likely spent months tracking bills, mapping out …
Custody Considerations
A look at the legal, emotional and practical factors shaping parenting agreements in New YorkCustody litigation is often fraught with emotion, and prolonged battles can be expensive and traumatic. Whether you’re halfway toward a parenting agreement or preparing for a court battle, understanding how judges approach these decisions can inform your next steps. Family law attorney Natalia Gourari says that New York courts follow one overarching principle in these cases: “Act in the best interest of the child.” That concept applies to both legal custody, which determines who …
Work Hurts
How to know if you have a workers’ comp claim, and what to do nextGetting injured at work can throw your whole life off balance. But New Yorkers have more protections than they might realize. “Workers who get injured on the job in New York may be eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim, depending on the circumstances,” says Gerarda Rella of Rella & Associates. This is true, she adds, regardless of whether those injuries result from accidents, overuse or repetitive strain, and regardless of whether they occur suddenly or develop over time. The …
Changing Course
Josh Verde launched his career as a pilot, then touched down on a different pathJosh Verde was the kid always glued to the window seat on flights with his family from their Boca Raton home to visit relatives in Michigan. Everything about air travel fascinated him. “I always wanted to be a pilot,” he recalls. That conviction intensified at age 10, when his family took their first international trip—to Europe. “Flying over the ocean sealed it for me,” he says. “I’m like, ‘I have to do this.’” Verde earned his pilot’s license in high school, attended …
Navigating Veterans Benefits
How to access the services you’ve earnedVeterans and their families often miss out on valuable benefits because they don’t know what’s available. VA pensions and disability compensation may be widely recognized programs, but their lesser-known benefits can provide crucial financial support later in life. Pension benefits are available to older or permanently disabled veterans who served during wartime and meet specific income requirements. Disability compensation, on the other hand, supports vets with service-related injuries and …
When Hazing Causes Harm
Joleen Youngers’ quest to end toxic culture in college sportsThe longer Joleen Youngers practices, the more she rejects the early career advice she was given: “Be a dispassionate advocate, fight for your clients without emotional involvement.” To her, that mindset never felt quite right. This was especially true when student-athletes from the New Mexico State University men’s basketball program alleged that teammates had assaulted them during the 2022-2023 season. “What started as hazing, as the school likes to characterize it, went far beyond an …
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