McIntyre gives clients fresh starts

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Emily McIntyre’s undergraduate degree in psychology has been helpful for her practice as a family law attorney.

McIntyre, an associate with Schmidlkofer, Toth & Loeb LLC in Wauwatosa, handles such family cases as divorce, custody, paternity and post-judgment disputes.

“I really like having the opportunity to make these experiences less traumatic and stressful,” she said. “I want to make them comfortable with these changes and helping them through.”

For example, she said, she tries to get clients to view decisions from the perspective of how they will play out in a month or year.

“I often say to clients, ‘I have a degree in psychology, but I’m not a psychologist,’” McIntyre said. “I do think the degree has come in handy, and I use some basic psychology terms to help them realize what kind of control they have over the situation as well as framing the situation.”

McIntyre did not start out practicing family law. At first, she was a jack-of-all-trades, taking whatever needed to be done. When a partner asked her to take on family law, she made the switch.

“With family law, you’re never lacking for work and it’s a nice mix,” McIntyre said. “You get time in court. You spend time in the office. You meet with clients or have conferences with other attorneys.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: What activity could you spend hours doing outside of the office?
Emily McIntyre: Sailing. I have happily spent many hours sailing on Lake Michigan. I race them competitively during the summer on the lake. We also like to go on vacations and charter sailboats.

WLJ: What was the first concert you attended?
McIntyre: Amy Grant at State Fair.

WLJ: What app can’t you live without?
McIntyre: I’m not into apps really much, but I do text.

WLJ: Who is someone you admire?
McIntyre: My mother. She raised three kids and had a career and then went back to school to get her master’s degree and had another career. She recently went through training so she can teach yoga. She’s been a great role model on how she’s combined career and family.

WLJ: Do you have a word or saying that you tend to overuse?
McIntyre: It’s definitely, ‘Oh my gosh.’

WLJ: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
McIntyre: I wish I could whistle. I also wish I didn’t doubt myself so much.

WLJ: What career would you have chosen if you hadn’t become an attorney?
McIntyre: I would have likely done some work in the education or nonprofit sector.

WLJ: What is your favorite vacation spot?
McIntyre: Sailing in the British Virgin Islands, using the winds to guide us to the next beach.

WLJ: What is your favorite thing to do in Wisconsin?
McIntyre: Going to the lake house and spending time boating, barbecuing and all of that.

WLJ: What was your favorite toy as a child?
McIntyre: My Big Wheel or bike.