Howay, Candace P.

Lynnette received her J.D., with distinction, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 2002. During law school, Lynnette served as Managing Editor of the UMKC Law Review and co-authored the Fall 2000 Freilich Report for The Urban Lawyer. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in Chemistry.

Several years prior to law school, Lynnette was a Cryptologic Linguistic Specialist in the United States Air Force. She was the Honor Graduate of the Russian Language Studies program at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California before being stationed in Crete, Greece. Lynnette won numerous awards during her military service, including Airman of the Year for Iraklion Air Station, and Airman of the Quarter for the 6931^st European Electronic Security Division.

She now practices primarily in wage and hour litigation representing employees in unpaid overtime and minimum wage cases. She also provides pro bono assistance to individuals who may be considered victims of a severe form of human trafficking under Section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) in obtaining T Nonimmigrant Visa status.  In a recent matter involving a local racketeering enterprise that engage in forced labor, Lynnette assisted a client from the Philippines who, along with scores of others, had been recruited to the United States under the promise of continued gainful employment and assistance with obtaining proper documentation to legally work in the United States.  Following the workers' arrival, the employer did not fulfill its employment promises, and because it had fraudulently obtained visas for the individuals, the victims fell into an "illegal" status in the United States.  The Department of Justice ultimately found that all of these workers were exploited and subjected to servitude through intimidation and fear in a form of modern-day slavery.  Lynnette helped this victim obtain special T Visa Nonimmigrant Status from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") to allow her client to remain in the United States rather than return to the Philippines and face serious possible threat from those who had initially recruited her.  Upon receipt of T Nonimmigrant Visa status, Lynnette continues her representation by assisting individuals in filing for a USCIS Adjustment of Status to that of a permanent resident.

Lynnette also served as a law clerk for the Honorable Chief Judge Fernando J. Gaitan of the Western District of Missouri.

Prior to joining the firm, Lynnette was an associate at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, L.L.P. in Kansas City, Missouri, practicing in such diverse areas as general litigation, products liability, NASD broker-dealer regulation, and securities regulation.