About Us

About Legal Newsline

Founded in 2006, Legal Newsline and its affiliated Record newspapers are independently owned legal publications dedicated to covering civil law across the United States. Our reporting focuses on state and federal courts, state attorneys general offices, the U.S. Department of Justice, regulatory agencies, and every arena where the law intersects with the economy, politics, public policy, and society.

At Legal Newsline, our mission is to make legal issues understandable and accessible to the American public. As the intersection of law and public policy continues to expand, transparent and fair reporting has never been more essential. Unfortunately, much of today’s legal coverage remains locked behind paywalls, limiting public access to critical information.

That’s why every Legal Newsline story is—and will always be—100% paywall-free and freely available to the public.

 

Meet our Staff

Jonathan Bilyk

Jonathan Bilyk serves as an editor with Legal Newsline. Jonathan has worked as a reporter and editor for more than 25 years, including stops at daily and weekly publications in Chicago's suburbs and other parts of northern Illinois. His reporting has covered a wide range of issues, such as government and politics, law, business, science, religion and sports. His work has been regularly recognized for excellence in multiple categories by regional press associations. Jonathan is a graduate of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.

 

Chris Dickerson

Chris Dickerson is an editor with Legal Newsline. Since 2005, he has been the editor of The West Virginia Record. Before that, he managed the day-to-day operations of two of West Virginia's largest daily newspapers. In addition to legal news, he also has covered government, education, sports, entertainment and much more. He is a member of the Marshall University W. Page Pitt School of Journalism & Mass Communications Hall of Fame and is Vice President of the Marshall University Alumni Association Board of Directors as well as President of the SOJMC Alumni Advisory Board. He was named the 2011 Journalist of the Year by the West Virginia Association for Justice.

 

Daniel Fisher

Daniel Fisher is a veteran legal and business reporter who was a senior editor at Forbes magazine for nearly 20 years and a reporter for Bloomberg Business News in Houston from 1992-1998. He began his career at the Kenosha News in Wisconsin and also wrote for the Dallas Times Herald and the Houston Post. He was a Knight Fellow at Yale Law School in 2003-2004 and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

 

John O’Brien

John O'Brien is an editor for Legal Newsline, having joined the publication when it launched in 2006 after a year as a courts reporter in Charleston, W.Va. Previous to that, he was an award-winning sportswriter at The Journal in Martinsburg, W.Va., for five years and The Herald-Mail in Hagerstown, Md., for one year.

He is a proud college dropout who chose to start his career in newsrooms at 20 years old rather than pursue a degree.

 

Kyla Asbury

Kyla Asbury has more than 15 years of experience covering courts, government and other issues. She holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in journalism.

 

Michael Carroll 

Michael Carroll worked in print journalism for decades as a reporter, copy editor, editorial writer and page designer in Southern California. He also has worked as a blogger, editor of online content and legal news reporter.

 

Jessica M. DeBois

Jessica M. DeBois is a freelance writer, former daily newspaper reporter, West Virginia University alumnus and preschool teacher.

 

Phil Davidson

Phil Davidson is an Air Force veteran with a degree in journalism. He has covered the court system and government for more than a decade.