Kristyl was born and raised in Metairie. She attended St. Mary Magdalen for grammar school. As a child, she participated in various sports at both St. Mary Magdalen and at Mike Miley Playground. She attended Archbishop Chapelle High School, where she was a member of Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, and the Hi-Steppers Dance Team. After graduating from Chapelle with honors in 2001, Kristyl went on to Loyola University New Orleans, where she majored in Political Science and minored in Psychology. In 2005, she obtained her degree of Bachelor of Arts. She attended Loyola University New Orleans College of Law where she was a member of the Moot Court Program.
While attending Loyola University for both her undergraduate and graduate studies, Kristyl worked for Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O’Bannon, where she discovered her passion for the legal system. That passion was fueled when she externed for United States District Judges Jay C. Zainey in 2007 and G. Thomas Porteous in 2008. She also participated in the Summer Legal Studies Program in Vienna, Austria in 2007.
Kristyl graduated from Loyola Law School in May, 2009, and was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar in October, 2009. She joined the firm of Malbrough & Zeringue in 2010, where she practiced primarily family law, but also practiced criminal law and general civil litigation. She joined the law firm of Salley & Salley, LLC in June, 2011. At Salley & Salley, Kristyl practiced exclusively family law before various trial courts and appellate courts.
In October 2013, Kristyl was a presenter for the Law Review CLE, “Handling Your First Divorce”. She has been named a Louisiana Rising Star by Super Lawyers for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. On January 1, 2016, Kristyl became a Board Certified Family Law Specialist, Certified by the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization, a certification currently held by only 77 attorneys across the entire State of Louisiana. She is licensed to practice law throughout the state of Louisiana. In 2016, Kristyl was also named the Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in Louisiana Under 40 by the National Academy of Family Law Attorneys. In 2020, Kristyl has been named among the Top 10 Family Law Attorneys by Best of the Best Attorneys.
On a personal note, Kristyl met her husband in 2005. They dated throughout Kristyl’s law school education, getting engaged after she took the Louisiana Bar Examination. They got married in 2011. They currently live in Kenner with their two children and their dog.
