Chris and Michaela are married law partners. That reads like a fun fact about the firm. In practice it is a working advantage, and not for the reason people usually assume.
What does it mean to have two attorneys on a case?
Two experienced attorneys bring different perspectives, insights and strategies to the same set of facts. They talk a case through, test each other's thinking, and arrive at an approach neither would have reached alone. Two heads are often better than one.
They do not always see a matter the same way, and that is the point rather than a problem. Two lawyers with decades of experience each will come at an issue from different directions, weigh the same facts differently, and have to explain their reasoning to one another. That conversation sharpens the analysis.
It is collaboration, not correction. Nobody is checking anybody's homework. It is two people with decades of Alaska practice between them looking at one problem through different lenses.
Being law partners who are also married means those conversations do not necessarily end when the office closes. A case worth thinking hard about gets thought about.
What makes a serious injury case different?
Volume and weight more than legal complexity. Serious matters involve years of medical records, life care planning, economists, accident reconstruction, and multiple insurance carriers, all while the client is still recovering. A file like that benefits from more than one experienced mind on it.
A life care plan is a good example of where that matters. It projects the future medical care, equipment, therapy and assistance a seriously injured person will need, and what it costs across a lifetime. Without one, a resolution tends to reflect bills already received rather than the decades still ahead.
No number belongs in that conversation before the facts have been evaluated, and we will not offer one. What we will do is tell you candidly what we see, including when the honest answer is not the hopeful one.
What does Love Your Lawyer Day have to do with any of this?
It falls on the first Friday in November, which is a strange holiday for a profession most people would rather never need. It is a reasonable excuse to say that the lawyers worth admiring are the ones who take the difficult matter and tell a client the truth about it.
Injury Prevention Day follows on November 18, and the honest summary of everything above is that we would rather you never call. Slow down before the first freeze catches you. Sand your own steps. Check on the neighbor whose driveway has not been cleared. Give the person crossing the lot more room than you think they need.
If something does happen, Kelley & Canterbury is a small, family-operated Alaska firm with an experienced team. Reach us through the website, by phone at 907.276.8185, or at the office, and someone will follow up to gather the details.
Questions Alaskans Ask
How much experience do Chris and Michaela have?
Each has decades of experience. The firm was founded by Leonard T. Kelley in 1975 and marked over fifty years of practice in 2026.
Why does having two attorneys on a case help?
Two experienced attorneys bring different perspectives, insights and strategies to the same facts. They talk it through and test each other's thinking, which tends to produce a better answer than either would reach alone.
What counts as a catastrophic injury?
Generally an injury that permanently changes a person's capacity to work, care for themselves, or live as before. Spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputations and severe burns are common examples.
Should I settle before I finish treatment?
Rarely, and it is worth talking through first. A release ends a claim permanently, so a resolution signed before the full extent of an injury is known can leave later care uncovered.