Krystal L. Layher

Secretary, Director & Senior Partner   

Krystal Layher is a senior partner, secretary, and founding member at Markovich Grover.

Krystal currently focuses her litigation work on defending claims pursuant to the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and the Defense Base Act. Krystal has substantial litigation experience, having tried hundreds of Defense Base Act cases before the Office of Administrative Law Judges.  She also has experience defending employers and their carriers in Texas Workers’ Compensation Act cases, as well as in non-subscriber litigation.

Krystal leads the firm’s War Hazards Recovery practice, guiding insurance carriers through the process of obtaining reimbursement from the U.S. government under the War Hazards Compensation Act.

Krystal obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Metropolitan State University in 2005.  After completing her undergraduate studies, Krystal worked as a paralegal for a firm providing general counsel services to local municipal governments.  She then went on to earn her Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law in 2012, graduating magna cum laude. During law school, Krystal was an Assistant Articles Editor for the South Texas Law Review.

Krystal serves on the Board of Directors for the DOL Joint Bar Association. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Houston Bar Association, and the Texas Bar College. She has also been published several times, including articles in the Benefits Review Board Service alongside Markovich Grover President Monica Markovich. Krystal was a speaker at the 77th Annual Workers’ Compensation Education Conference and at the 2025 Defense Base Act East Coast Symposium. 

Krystal is licensed to practice law in Texas and Minnesota.  She is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, and Western, Districts of Texas.