Monday Profile: Katie Lynwood

 Katie Lynwood is an attorney with Bernick, Radner & Ouellette, PC in Lansing. She practices in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust administration, probate litigation, Medicaid planning and elder law, conservatorships and guardianships, and family law. 

Lynwood is a native of East Lansing and earned her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and her law degree from Michigan State University College of Law. 
She is a member of the Ingham County Bar Association and Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and currently serves as a board member for the Institute For Continuing Legal Education Young Lawyers Advisory Board.  She is a former treasurer of the Board for the Junior League of Lansing, and former president of the Greater Lansing Estate Planning Council.
Lynwood is a frequent speaker and author on topics related to Medicaid planning, elder law, probate and estate planning. 
By Jo Mathis
Legal News
 
Residence:  East Lansing.
 
Currently reading …“The Phantom of Fifth Avenue - The Mysterious Life and Scandalous Death of Heiress Huguette Clark” by Meryl Gordon.
 
What is your most treasured material possession? My wedding ring and autographed Brett Favre jersey. 
 
What advice do you have for someone considering law school? You need to first consider the investment in yourself which is not only money but also time. 
 
Favorite local hangouts: anywhere that serves sushi.
 
What is your happiest childhood memory? My grandpa teaching me to golf when I was 7 years old at Sycamore Golf Course in Lansing. 
 
What has been your favorite year so far? Undecided – I think the best is yet to come. 
 
What’s your most typical mood? Cheerful.
 
If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would that be? The Dos Equis man since he is the “most interesting man in the world.” 
 
What’s the most awe-inspiring place you’ve ever been? Whitehaven Beach at the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
 
If you could have one super power, what would it be? To fly. 
 
What would you say to your 16-year-old self? If you think you are stressed now, just wait until 10 or 15 years from now….. so you had better get over it. 
 
What’s your proudest moment as a lawyer? In my area of practice, I often work with elderly clients or people that have recently lost a loved one. It is rewarding to me to help people through these stressful and emotional times. Most notably to me, I represented an elderly woman whose husband was in a nursing home and had applied for Medicaid benefits. When I met with the client, she owed over $50,000 for nursing home costs because several people dropped the ball with her husband’s Medicaid application. I was able to get her husband qualified for benefits, and have the back owed amounts paid. The client did not have any money, and could not have paid the $50,000 plus in costs. On a personal professional level, I was proud to pass the Michigan and Florida bars the first time I took the test.
 
What would surprise people about your job? The number of hours I work. 
 
What do you to relax? Drink wine, eat sushi and play golf. 
 
If you were starting all over again and couldn’t go into law, what career path would you choose? A dermatologist.
 
What’s one thing you would like to learn to do? I would like to learn a new language (but my husband’s response to this is cook and clean). 
 
What is something most people don't know about you? Every once in a while I am an adrenaline junkie - I have been skydiving from 14,000 feet over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and I did a base jump off the Auckland, Zealand Sky Tower which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere.
 
Can’t-live-without technology: Iphone.
 
Favorite place to spend money: Nordstrom shoe department. 
 
What is your motto? “Work hard, be kind, and laugh a lot.” 
 
Where would you like to be when you're 90? Above ground.
 

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