Kate McChrystal

Kate graduated cum laude from Marquette University Law School in 2010. During law school she interned for Judge Michael J. Dwyer in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court Family Division as well as clerked for a family law firm. Those experiences solidified her interest in family law, her sole area of practice.

Prior to attending law school, Kate worked as a teacher educating children at preschool, grade school, and middle school levels. Her background working with children and her familiarity with the complicated issues surrounding children's special education and developmental needs is an asset to any case involving children, but especially those with the potential for complex custody issues.

Kate has also worked on and litigated many cases involving complex income and asset structures including business ownership, executive compensation structures, professional contracts, royalties, and inherited and gifted assets. Many of her cases involve high net worth estates and she is adept at maximizing financial benefits for her clients.

Whether your case trajectory is collaborative divorce, mediation, negotiation, or litigation, Kate believes each client deserves a competent, creative advocate. Her practice is focused in the area of family law, specifically divorce, maintenance, custody and placement, paternity, and post-judgment issues.

Understanding that a divorce, post-judgment dispute, or even the creation of a new partnership can be one of the most emotional experiences in a person's life is the cornerstone of Kate's practice. The goal is to proceed through these changes with class and efficiency. Kate's focus is an empathetic approach incorporating strong statutory and financial knowledge and creative problem solving. Kate also serves as a court-appointed guardian ad litem and mediator and accepts private cases as a mediator and parent coordinator.

Kate believes that mediation is a wonderful opportunity for families that are forming, changing shape, or navigating through difficulties to make conscious decisions about how they will function best going forward; this process offers families the opportunity to create thorough, proactive solutions to changes in family structures and family dynamics. Mediation can be an efficient and respectful way to deconstruct a relationship. It can also be a forward-thinking and positive way to solidify partnerships and avoid pitfalls. Kate is available to conduct mediation on a wide-ranging number of family-related issues and particularly those involving complicated custodial issues, income or asset structures. She also has extensive experience representing clients engaging in family law mediation.

Sometimes parents hit a point when they are simply unable to reach an agreement. In those cases, a parent coordinator can be hired to give families the solutions they need. Also known as limited-scope arbitration, contracting to use a parent coordinator allows families to get a decision without entering the court system, an alternative that many post-divorce families find to be efficient in terms of time and expense. Using her experience as a guardian ad litem, family law attorney, teacher, parent, and step-parent Kate will quickly and thoroughly gather the information needed to issue a decision that will benefit your child and remove your family from the cycle of conflict caused by disagreement.

Kate also can be hired for arbitration matters including asset allocation, asset management, and determination of financial support. She has been appointed by courts and selected by attorneys to make important determinations when a quick decision is needed.

Kate is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Bar Association, and the Association of Women Lawyers. She served as the President of the Junior Board of the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (now Vivent Health) and on the ARCW Development Committee and is a former member of the Highland Community School Board of Directors and the Marquette Law School Board of Recent Graduates. Kate volunteers regularly at the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic and Milwaukee Justice Center and is the 2017 winner of the Marquette Law School Howard B. Eisenberg Service Award. She currently serves as Vice President of the Leander J. Foley Society of Family Lawyers, for which she was a founding board member.

When she's not working for your family, Kate is spending time with her own beautifully blended family. She enjoys camping, outdoor exercise, and searching the world for hidden gems.