Sondra Johnson joined Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Straub in August 2003 as an assistant in both the Workers’ Compensation and Litigation Departments.  She is currently the Front Desk Receptionist and is here to greet and assist all visitors to the office.  Sondra also works as a Post-Closer for the Real Estate Department.  She prepares insurance policies and disbursements for real estate closings.  Sondra has always worked serving the public, previously as a Juvenile Detention Officer, Mental Health Technician and Emergency Medical Technician.

Connie has 30 years of experience in the legal field and joined the firm in 2013.  She has 20 years’ experience working with maritime cases and with maritime transactions.  She supports attorney Nicholas Holland in business transactions, business litigation and maritime transactions and also assists the maritime section as needed. 

Michele has been with the firm since 2000. She worked in the litigation department for 3 years and then moved to the Real Estate Department as a Real Estate Assistant.

Jamie is a Ballard County native with 15+ years of experience in the legal field who joined the firm in 2015. She is a member of Western Kentucky Paralegals. She supports attorney James R. Coltharp, Jr. (Jason) in all medical malpractice and personal injury defense matters, attorneys Eric C. Straub and J. Paul Bradford in estate litigation matters, and handles scheduling and coordination of mediation matters with attorneys E. Fredrick Straub, Jr. and Thomas B. Russell.

Sheryl joined the firm in 2013 and works in the Litigation area assisting with medical malpractice and personal injury defense.  Sheryl holds a BSN from Murray State University.  Prior to joining WRHS, she worked in the medical field, including time in the ICU and PACU at Baptist Health and Lourdes Hospital.  She also spent 18+ years at the General Surgery Offices of Drs. Grogan and Howard in Paducah, KY.

Jill is a Paralegal in our Workers’ Compensation Practice Group.  She has over 35 years’ experience in the legal profession for both plaintiffs and defendants.  Jill was a Hearing Clerk for the Social Security Hearing Office for 5 years and an Office Manager for a local law firm for 22 years.  She joined Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Straub as a Paralegal in 2016 and works closely with the attorneys to defend workers’ compensation claims.

Laura joined WRHS in 2019 and is a Certified Paralegal in our Estate Planning Practice Group.  She received her Paralegal degree in 2005. 

Nikita is the Billing/IT Supervisor for WRHS.  As IT Supervisor she assures that our daily workflow is uninterrupted due to technology issues and works closely with our outsourced IT experts.  With regard to billing, she oversees our monthly invoice generation, submission, and all other aspects of the billing process.  Nikita was previously a legal assistant to our workers’ compensation practice group from 2012 until 2022.  Nikita has many years of legal experience, having worked as a legal assistant continuously since 1993.

A Paducah native, Melissa joined the firm in 2011. She earned a B.S. in Business Management from Mid-Continent University in May 2012.  Since November 2013 she has maintained status as a Certified Kentucky Paralegal by passing a proficiency examination, meeting defined levels of experience, professional standards, and continuing education.  She works with the Estate Planning, Elder Law & Estate Administration Practice Groups.

Jennifer has been with WRHS since 2018 in her role as the Finance and Accounting Supervisor.  She has many financial responsibilities including accounts payable and receivable, monthly and bi-weekly payroll, maintaining payroll taxes and annual vendor 1099’s.  Jennifer brings nearly 25 years of experience in the field.

Joni joined WRHS in 1998 and has works with our Real Estate Practice Group.  She is a Member of both the Kentucky Paralegals Association and West Kentucky Paralegals.

Miranda joined the firm in 2021 as a Legal Assistant.  Prior to joining WRHS, Miranda worked for two years with a firm out of Jackson, TN.  She currently works for Chris Hutson in the workers’ compensation practice group and Darren Smith in the litigation and workers’ compensation sections.

Mindi works with Estate Planning and Administration team.  Mindi graduated from MSU with a degree in Business Administration and worked for 20 years in the Human Resources and Internal Audit sectors before joining WRHS in February of 2024.