Kris grew up in the Seattle area. After graduating from the University of Washington in 1988, she attended law school at Marquette Law School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and obtained a Juris Doctorate in 1991. Kris began practicing law in Lansing, Michigan, but returned back to Wisconsin in 1994 and began growing her family practice. In 1997, she helped form the law firm of Brazil, Thelen & Benske, S.C. When the firm decided to take alternate paths, the law firm of Thelen & Associates, LLC was launched. Kris practices in all of the courts of Southeastern Wisconsin handling all family law matters, including child support, custody, placement and visitation. She also handles cases involving alimony (maintenance), property division, pre-nuptials/ante-nuptial agreements and cohabitation. She has also handled numerous matters before the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys named firm founder, Edward J. Thomas, one of the "Top 10 Family Law attorneys in California," and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel recognized him as "a Member of the Nation’s Top One Percent" of family law lawyers. Both the American College of Family Trial Lawyers and the National Advocates include Mr. Thomas on their respective lists of the top 100 family law trial lawyers in the United States. Based on a survey of judges and lawyers who do family law, the Bakersfield Californian named Mr. Thomas "Bakersfield’s Best Family Law Attorney." Mr. Thomas is generally acknowledged to be Bakersfield's best divorce lawyer.

Kathryn Thompkins graduated from Auburn University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in Spanish. She then went on to receive her Juris Doctorate from Jones School of Law in 2013 and has been practicing law in Alabama since. Kathryn joined the firm as an associate attorney in December 2016. Her practice is primarily focused on family and domestic relations law, including divorce, post-divorce, child custody and visitation, child support, alimony, asset division, paternity and adoptions. Kathryn also handles personal injury and municipal court cases.