Whiteside County Lawyers

Over a decade ago, I embarked on my professional journey with a steadfast commitment to enhancing the lives of my clients and the community I call home. This unwavering dedication remains the cornerstone of my practice, and I eagerly anticipate many more years of service to my cherished neighbors and friends. My roots trace back to Libertyville, where I completed my educational milestones at Copeland Manor, Highland Jr. High, and eventually graduated from Libertyville High School in 1997. I pursued higher education at Miami University, earning a Bachelor’s of Science in Business with a specialization in Marketing. During my college years,...

I am a DUI and Criminal Defense Attorney. I take pride in my work and work hard to obtain great results.

I represent individuals in Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcies in Illinois. Free consultation available. Payment plans available for qualified clients.

Bar Admissions
- State of Illinois, 2010
- United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2011
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 2011
- United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois, 2013
- United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of Illinois, 2016
- State of Texas, 2020

Professional Memberships:
- State Bar of Texas

When faced with the hard times and decisions that come with a family law matter, the most comforting aspect is having an attorney that cares about the situation and how the best way it can be handled. Andrew Rankin always has the best interest of the client in mind, and manages the family law situation with authentic care. Drew is originally from Highland, Illinois. Drew is a Partner at Stange Law Firm, who manages the East Region of the Firm, including all of the Illinois offices and the Arnold, Missouri office of the firm. Drew has been with Stange Law Firm...

My career began as a Ralph J. Bunche Fellow for Amnesty International which brought me from Miami to Chicago. In Illinois I became involved in the International Human Rights/Civil Rights cases which lead write a manual to encourage the use of International documents in local courts. After joining specialty law firms in Employment discrimination, Section 1983, business, I became a Federal Panel Attorney litigating full time. Subsequently I opened TEIL Firms After 12 years of practice and enjoy the growth of employees and successful clients who consult with me on a variety of national and international business transactions involving...

The principal of the firm, Francis J. Discipio, has been practicing law for almost twenty years. Mr. Discipio is a veteran trial attorney and has successfully tried cases in both workers' compensation and personal injury. Throughout his practice, Mr. Discipio has defended cases on behalf of large insurance companies such as Traveler's Insurance Company, Alexis Insurance Company, Cambridge Insurance Company, and the Illinois Insurance Guarantee Fund. Working on behalf of plaintiffs in personal injury cases and petitioners in workers' compensation cases, Mr. Discipio has also prosecuted many claims against the above insurance companies and many others. Mr. Discipio has been...

Matthew R. Gebhardt serves as president of The Law Offices of Matthew R. Gebhardt, P.C. He brings decades of courtroom and transactional experience in criminal defense, traffic matters and real estate law. Before founding his firm, he prosecuted cases for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, gaining firsthand knowledge of every stage of Illinois criminal and property litigation. Matthew appreciates how daunting it can be to choose legal representation. He has crafted his website to provide clear, useful information, but he believes that nothing replaces open, ongoing dialogue. From the moment a new matter begins, he makes himself available to clients...

Amanda M. Oliver (formerly Amanda M. Sleezer) is a Partner of Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC. Ms. Oliver has focused on cases involving child custody, visitation, child support and parentage matters, estate valuation and account tracing, prenuptial agreements, and various other pre-decree and post-decree issues.

A graduate of Millikin University (B.A. Political Science/Pre-Law, 2003) and The John Marshall Law School (J.D. 2006), Ms. Oliver has interned with The Children’s Law Center and The Employment Justice Center in Washington, D.C., as well as with both litigation and family law firms in Chicago. Ms. Oliver was also elected to The John Marshall Journal of...

Maxine Weiss Kunz is a Founding Member and Partner of Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC and has been practicing 100% family law since 2005, including traditional litigation, adoptions, and collaborative law. She is certified for appointment as a Child Representative or Guardian ad Litem in Cook County. She is also certified to practice collaborative law in Illinois. Maxine is on the board of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and a certified mediator through the Center for Conflict Resolution and the Cook County courts.

Maxine received her undergraduate degrees from Indiana University-Bloomington, where she double-majored in Psychology and Telecommunications. She earned her...

Caitlin K. Finnegan joined Schwartz Injury Law in November 2013 shortly after being admitted to the Illinois Bar.

Caitlin concentrates her practice in the areas of medical malpractice, wrongful death, nursing home negligence, and personal injury. As an attorney with Schwartz Injury Law, Caitlin has obtained numerous settlements on behalf of her clients, including, $775,000 for the family of a woman whose surgical site became infected due to improper wound care at the nursing home; $690,000 for the family of an 85-year old who fell in a nursing home and suffered a traumatic brain injury; and $550,000 for the family of...

Patrick D. Austermuehle, a partner at Lubin Austermuehle, P.C., has experience in complex business and commercial litigation and consumer class actions. He has assisted in the successful representation of a number of state and federal matters, including cases at the appellate level.

Mr. Austermuehle received a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin and earned a J.D. with Honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology where he was Notes and Comments Editor on the Law Review.

Prior to joining Lubin Austermuehle, P.C., Mr. Austermuehle served as a law clerk at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and as...

I am an attorney at Tuohy Law Offices with over 40 years of experience. I concentrate in providing Living Trust estate plans and small business representation for working-class families. My passion for serving the community stems from my roots in the West Side of Chicago, where I grew up as the grandson of a police chief and son of a detective. Through Dreams for Kids, the nonprofit organization I founded in 1989, I have represented thousands of police officers and other public servants and mentored and trained thousands of youth as social entrepreneurs. As an adjunct professor at DePaul University, I...

Stephanie Kemen is a Wisconsin native and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. After graduation, she began law school at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. During law school, Stephanie gained valuable trial experience as a felony clerk with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. After graduation, that experience allowed her to begin working for a private criminal defense attorney soon after passing both the Illinois and Wisconsin bar exams. Since 2009, Stephanie has worked with some of the most prominent defense attorneys in Cook County. In 2012, she opened her own firm, the Law Office of Stephanie...

Gary Newland is an experienced trial attorney evidenced by the hundreds of cases he has successfully won at trial. Many of Gary's cases have been covered by USA Today, Forbes, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, NBC, The Daily Herald, Oprah Winfrey, and the list goes on. Many of the clients Gary represents are referrals from other attorneys who are aware of his skills and reputation in the community. He has been an invited guest lecturer to the Bar Association and other legal organizations as well as an author of published articles on legal issues. He has been a member of the...

Since 1991 Steve's practice has grown tremendously. Steve practices in foreclosure defense, estate planning, real estate and mortgage loan modifications and his practice has grown to include several lawyers and support staff. (Steve's partner Gary Newland and his team practices in personal injury_ Due to Steve's experience and expertise he is often asked to speak at bar association seminars to other lawyers on areas of law that he practices in. Steve has also volunteered his services to the foreclosure court help desk at the courthouse to assist individuals who are facing foreclosure. Due to Steve's success...

Kiley M. Whitty is a licensed attorney specializing in the areas of family law, child custody, bankruptcy, and creditor negotiations in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will and surrounding collar counties. While in law school at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Kiley earned a certificate in Child and Family Law as well as a certificate in Advocacy which aided in her success as a litigator. As an associate with Anderson & Associates, P.C., Kiley has handled complex custody cases involving issues with legal and residential custody, parenting time, allegations of abuse and neglect, and child removal. Kiley has also handled a...

Megan C. Harris joined Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella in July 2013, where she focuses on all areas of family law, including divorce, paternity, child custody, and child support. Prior to that, Ms. Harris worked as an attorney and Guardian ad Litem at the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office, representing children in abuse and neglect cases. Ms. Harris is a DuPage County Court-Appointed Guardian ad Litem and presented at the 2013 DuPage Guardian ad Litem training as well as the 2014 National Business Institute training on challenges in family law. She practices in DuPage, Kane, Kendall,...

As an experienced litigator with over 20 years of experience, I have extensive experience handling the following types of cases: divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, alimony (maintenance), property division, modification and support enforcement, QDRO's (division of retirement accounts), criminal law, DUI, traffic tickets, juvenile and expungement.

I believe that representing clients is a great responsibility and privilege. I enjoy helping people through a difficult time. I take a personal approach to each client and to each case. Every client that retains me receives personal attention and knows that their interests truly matters to me. You will...

Lindsay C. Stella is a Partner at Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC, and a highly respected attorney in the legal community. Ms. Stella’s practice is exclusively devoted to Family Law matters. Ms. Stella represents clients in all aspects of Family Law, with particular focus on Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements, complex financial situations including maintenance and child support, contested custody and parenting time matters, cases involving mental health issues, marital business interests, and high-net worth cases. Ms. Stella has handled all types of cases from non-contested divorces to complicated high-profile disputes involving multi-million dollar estates.

Ms. Stella is a seasoned litigator,...

I pride myself on being a tenacious advocate for my clients. I am a real trial lawyer and will fight to get my clients favorable results, whether that means taking a case to trial or not. I always have my clients best interest at heart and will be transparent about the expected outcome of the case. I take the time to look at the case and evidence from every angle, so no detail is spared. My clients like working with me because of my track record, they know I will fight for them.

I am an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois since 2017. I have been continuously licensed in Illinois since 2017. I am admitted to practice in all state courts in Illinois. I have been continuously licensed in Wisconsin since 2021. I am admitted to practice in all state courts in Wisconsin.

Local, easy to work attorney with offices in Elgin and Schaumburg, helping people with their personal injury cases. We handle the insurance company and their lawyers, so that our clients don't have to. We are a small firm which means that our clients do not get lost in the shuffle or treated as just another file. We handle car accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, etc. Services available in Spanish, as we are fully bilingual. Serving the counties of Cook, Kane, DuPage and the surrounding Chicagoland area. Woman/ Minority owned.

Concentrating in helping and defending people accused of crimes, DUI and traffic offenses. Aggressive.

Zealous representation of private and court appointed clients in trial and appellate
courts. Practice includes crimes such as homicide, assault, drug distribution, drug
possession, fraud, DUI, Home Invasion, Sex Offenses and traffic tickets; Jury trials,
bench trials, and contested motions dispositive of the case; Research, draft, file and
serve Appellate briefs, Petitions for Leave to Appeal to the Illinois State Supreme Court,
Post Conviction and 2-1401 petitions for trial courts; Oral Arguments before the Illinois
State Appellate Court, Second Judicial District.

Stacey A. McCullough's career has been focused on the successful defense of the criminally accused in DuPage County for over 20 years. She has firmly established her advocacy skills through hundreds of hearings and trials for offenses ranging from traffic violations to felonies. Stacey's experiences and involvement in the legal community have instilled in her the understanding that each case and client she takes on is unique and important. She reviews all circumstances thoroughly and provides clients with explanations of proceedings, potential challenges, and possible outcomes. Clients can be confident Stacey's representation is personal, honest, respectful and dedicated.

BAR ADMISSIONS

State of...

Steven N. Peskind has reinvented Illinois Family Law. Mr. Peskind believes that a successful divorce results from the intersection of three competencies: legal skill, positive decision making, and financial analysis. As a result, he has compiled a team of highly trained professionals dedicated to helping our clients achieve that success. The lawyers at Peskind Law Firm are skilled negotiators, legal analysts, problem solvers and courtroom advocates. Mr. Peskind is one of only 100 lawyers in the nation elected as a Diplomate to the American College of Family Trial Lawyers, an honor society reflecting accomplishments in Family...

Being injured by a negligent party can have devastating consequences on every aspect of your life. If someone rear-ended your car while you waited at a red light, or if a surgeon made an error during an important medical procedure, your day-to-day routine will be interrupted. It’s important to know that you have rights in these situations. A Chicago personal injury lawyer can help if you’ve suffered due to the reckless acts of another. I am a Chicago native, and I have been practicing personal injury law since 2012. In my years of practice, I have helped clients with a...

Ms. Bartik has extensive experience in all aspects of family law, including, divorce, parentage, allocation of parental responsibilities, visitation, complex and high asset marital estates, business valuations, relocation, appeals, and post-decree matters. Ms. Bartik recognizes that family law matters are complex and that every family’s situation is different and unique. Ms. Bartik strives to communicate effectively with her clients and develop strategies and goals to meet the individual needs of her clients.

Ms. Bartik practices in DuPage, Kane, Will, Cook and Kendall Counties and is a member of the DuPage County and Illinois State Bar Associations.

Ms. Bartik earned her J.D. from...

Lynn M. Mirabella is a partner at MKFM Law, where her practice is concentrated almost exclusively in the area of family law, including high-profile cases and complex litigation files. Prior to joining MKFM Law, she worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. She is certified to represent children as a Guardian ad Litem, Child’s Representative, and Attorney for Child. In addition, she is certified in collaborative law, arbitration, and as a mediator. She has taught several classes and seminars in both DuPage and Kane Counties. She is a member of the DuPage County, Kane...

Todd. D. Scalzo has been practicing law since 2004, handling all matters of family law, such as divorce, paternity, child support, maintenance, relocation, allocation of parental responsibilities, and parenting plans. He has argued before the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Appellate Court. Mr. Scalzo is a court-approved guardian ad litem (GAL) and mediator.

Mr. Scalzo is an active member of the DuPage County Bar Association, the DuPage Justinian Society of (Italian-American) Lawyers, and his hometown of Wheaton.

At Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick & Mirabella, LLC, our attorneys believe that an informed client is better able to make effective decisions. Many of our clients come to us facing the most difficult time in their lives. Our experience has shown us that divorce, custody battles, sexual harassment, employment discrimination and injury cases should be handled to minimize stress and cost. We take the time to fully educate our clients about the legal process and develop a strategy tailored to our clients’ goals and objectives.

At a very young age, Dexter John Evans envisioned himself as an advocate for the sick and injured. The grandson of a Chicago union worker, he has always felt a strong urge to help those trying to protect their rights. It is from this foundation that Dexter established himself as an aggressive advocate for the rights of his clients. “The greatest satisfaction in my profession is the gratitude of my clients. There is no better feeling than to get a hug from a client who is in tears because they finally received the justice they deserve. The thank you letters...

Marissa’s main areas of concentration are family law matters such as Divorce, Child Custody, Child Support, Paternity, Visitation and Adoption. Marissa is also a court approved family Mediator and Guardian ad Litem in Kane and Dekalb County. In addition, Marissa is one of the few Kane County foreclosure mediators for the sixteenth judicial circuit.

I have been practicing law since 2001. I graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law in May of 2001 and from DePaul University in June of 1996. My main area of concentration is family law, i.e., divorce, paternity, child support, allocation of parental responsibilities (formerly known as custody) and adoption. As a family law attorney, I understand that my clients have to make difficult decisions while dealing with complex issues and emotions. As such, I believe that the key to successful representation depends not only in understanding the underlying issues, but, also in experience and expertise in the law...

Rory T. Weiler is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) who concentrates his practice in family law, with an emphasis on cases involving child custody and more complex economic issues, especially those involving family and closely held businesses. He is a member of the Leading Lawyers Network, and has been recognized as an Illinois “Super Lawyer” and as one of the “Best Lawyers in America.”

Rory is a member of the Kane County Bar Association (KCBA) and Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA). He actively serves the ISBA and its charitable arm, the Illinois Bar Foundation. He has...

Cherissa "Reese" Loire Krajniak obtained her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Marquette University before going on to attend Florida Coastal Law School. She graduated with honors in 209 and was active with the school's Pro Bono Clinic, donating more than 200 hours of legal work to underserved members of the community. While taking a full course load and giving her time to the clinic, Reese was still able to complete her Juris Doctorate program in just over two years. She passed the bar exam in 2010 and opened her own practice in downtown Chicago. After medical issues sidetracked her career for...

Jolianne S. Alexander focuses her legal practice on employment law, offering a distinctive perspective shaped by her extensive background as in-house counsel and her work representing both employees and employers. Her experience includes handling a broad range of complex cases under the Illinois Human Rights Act, Title VII, and various employment-related statutes. Throughout her career, Ms. Alexander has drafted and argued numerous dispositive motions and has independently conducted both jury and bench trials before the Illinois Human Rights Commission and in state court. She has also contributed to trial efforts at the federal level. Her appellate work includes a successful argument...

Jennifer Bunker Skerston has worked in the Illinois Valley legal community for the past seven years handling many litigation related matters including will contests, property tax appeals, breach of contract, and personal injury claims.

Jennifer Bunker Skerston is actively involved in the Illinois State Bar Association Trusts and Estates Section Council. She is the Editor of the Council’s monthly publication distributed to members throughout Illinois. She also assists the Council in providing continuing legal education to attorneys, determining the need for new legislation, and reviewing and suggesting changes to current legislative proposals affecting wills, trusts and estates....

With over 30 years of legal practice, Sandra Petras Bruckner is adept in assisting clients with navigating complex financial matters & providing options that maintain assets within families as they transition. In addition to her deft analytical skills, Sandra Petras Bruckner is known for her compassion, always carefully respectfully recognizing each client’s unique interests and concerns.

As a trained family law mediator & collaborative attorney, Sandra Petras Bruckner believes that the mediation & collaborative process options can better help people resolve family related legal disputes. In these roles, she helps clients unravel their legal issues, analyze their situation, and get to...

I joined Hupy and Abraham in 2016. Prior to joining the firm, I spent time doing insurance defense, product liability, pedestrian accident, motorcycle accidents, dog bites, and slip and fall cases. I was born and raised in the Rockford area and am happy to serve the community I grew up in.