Gagne, McChrystal, De Lorenzo & Burghardt

Attorney Martin P. Gagne

Marty Gagne practices Family Law exclusively, including complex financial and custody cases. He has over 35 years of experience in cases dealing with the valuation of closely-held businesses, stock options, executive compensation, employee benefits, trusts and gifted and inherited property. He has represented parents in local, interstate and international child custody disputes. As a family law attorney, he offers cooperative divorce and collaborative divorce as well as traditional divorce (with or without litigation). Mr. Gagne has also mediated dozens of Family Law cases since 1990. He practices throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Sheboygan, Racine and Manitowoc Counties.

Mr. Gagne has been selected a Wisconsin Super Lawyer in the area of Family Law every year since 2005; that publication selected him as one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Wisconsin and one of the Top 25 Lawyers in Milwaukee in 2018. He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been listed in that publication’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers since 2005. He has also been named in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2008; he was selected Best Lawyers in America 2018 Lawyer of the Year in the Area of Family Law in Milwaukee. He has been a presenter at seminars and classes to judges, court commissioners, attorneys, law students, mental health professionals, and community members on various Family Law issues.

Mr. Gagne is a Court Commissioner and former member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors. He is former Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Family Law Section of the Milwaukee Bar Association, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Divorce Cooperation Institute, Inc., and is currently a member of the Leander J. Foley Matrimonial Inns of Court, Milwaukee Bar Association and the State Bar of Wisconsin Family Law Section.

Mr. Gagne is a 1978 graduate of Clark University and a 1981 cum laude graduate of Boston University Law School.

Attorney 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.

Attorney Katherine J. De Lorenzo

Attorney Katherine J. De Lorenzo focuses her Milwaukee, WI practice on family law matters. She represents clients in paternity, divorce and legal separation actions and accepts judicial Guardian ad Litem appointments. As a family law attorney, she is qualified to address issues of property division, child custody and placement, child and family support, maintenance and domestic violence. Ms. De Lorenzo is also well versed in the various methods of alternative dispute resolution available to her clients.

Attorney De Lorenzo provides each of her clients with experience, dedication, advocacy and compassion. She works to resolve each case efficiently and respectfully, always keeping her client’s best interests at the forefront.

Family law attorney De Lorenzo graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1995, receiving dual bachelor of arts degrees in Psychology and Women’s Studies. Ms. De Lorenzo spent the next ten years gaining invaluable legal work experience, first as a family law paralegal and then as an intellectual property paralegal.

In 2007, she graduated from Marquette University Law School. While attending law school, Ms. De Lorenzo volunteered for the Task Force on Family Violence restraining order clinic and became trained as a small claims mediator. Her interest in dispute resolution was enhanced by participation in several mediation competitions, including the International Chamber of Commerce Commercial Mediation competition in Paris, France and the American Bar Association Representation in Mediation competition in Washington D.C.

Ms. De Lorenzo is a member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Wisconsin, the Justinian Society of Lawyers, the Divorce Cooperation Institute, the Collaborative Family Law Council of Wisconsin, the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association, and the Milwaukee and Waukesha County Bar Associations.

Ms. De Lorenzo was voted a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. She was recognized as a Super Lawyer in 2013 and 2014.

Attorney Lindsey Burghardt

Lindsey Burghardt practices exclusively as a Family Law Attorney; however, her previous experience includes: Estate-Planning, Probate and Bankruptcy. Attorney Burghardt’s experience in these areas assists her in giving clients a well-rounded approach to family law, which can often intertwine with other areas of the law. Lindsey frequently serves as Guardian ad Litem in cases involving minor children and works as a Mediator through the Milwaukee County Family Court Commissioner’s Office.

Attorney Burghardt takes an efficient and honest approach to representation of her clients. While acknowledging emotions present in each and every family case, Lindsey is sure to offer her clients realistic solutions that satisfy her clients’ needs and are aimed at reducing conflict. One of Attorney Burghardt’s main goals in representing clients is to give realistic expectations and to keep clients prepared and informed each step of the way.

Attorney Burghardt graduated magna cum laude from Michigan Technological University in 2004, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree majoring in Social Science with a minor in Psychology. She graduated from Marquette Law School in 2007. During law school, and since graduating, Attorney Burghardt’s primary practice area has been family law.

Attorney Burghardt is a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association and the Society of Family Lawyers (“SOFL.”). She is a trained Mediator and regularly Volunteers at the Milwaukee Justice Center, assisting parties with voluntary Parenting Conferences.