Krystal L. Layher

Secretary, Director & Senior Partner  

Krystal joins Markovich Grover with 12 years of legal experience, mostly specialized in claims arising under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), Defense Base Act (DBA), and Texas Workers’ Compensation Act (TWCA).  She is also a well-respected leader of the War-Risk Hazards field.

Krystal received a B.A  from Metropolitan State University and graduated magna cum laude from South Texas College of Law.  During law school, she was an assistant articles editor for the South Texas Law Review.  She spent the first five years of her career supporting an independent, real estate attorney.  In 2011, she joined Brown Sims as a Law Clerk and worked her way up to shareholder.  It was during that time that she grew to appreciate the nuances of defending employers and their insurance carriers before the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Administrative Law Judges, Texas Department of Insurance, Benefits Review Board, and the Federal courts.

Krystal is a member of the American Bar Association, Texas Young Lawyers’ Association, and Houston Bar Association.  She serves on the DOL-Joint Bar Association Board of Directors and has co-authored several publications, including with Markovich Grover President Monica Fekete Markovich.  Recent collaborations include:

• “Credibility Determinations When Invoking the Section 20(a) Presumption Following Rose,” By Monica F. Markovich, Krystal L. Layher, and Carlo R. Varela, 57 BENEFITS REVIEW BD LONGSHORE RPTR STATUTES & REGS 4/23-1

• “Application of 33 U.S.C. §913 in Claims Arising under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and its Extensions,” By Monica F. Markovich and Krystal L. Layher, 54 BENEFITS REVIEW BD LONGSHORE RPTR STATUTES & REGS 2/21-1

In her ongoing commitment to improve education for all legal professionals, Krystal volunteers as a mock trial judge for the Minnesota State Bar.  She is a member of the prestigious Texas Bar College as well; a society of legal scholars committed to the highest ethical standards and professional development in excess of minimum state requirements.