Winfield Divorce Lawyers

A trusted and highly experienced attorney, Joseph M. Laraia is a representative in the courts of DuPage, Kane, and Will Counties in Illinois. Mr. Laraia has been a trial attorney for more than 48 years and takes pride in serving clients in both criminal and civil cases. When Mr. Laraia first started our law firm back in 1966, attorneys had to be versatile enough to represent clients in all types of legal cases. Because of this experience, he has been successful in cases ranging from traffic violations to capital murder, as well as in family law and business litigation.
Experience Makes...

The Honorable John W. Demling (Ret.) was appointed as an Associate Judge for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court, DuPage County, Illinois in 1997. He served 21 years, 18 of which were in the Domestic Relations Division. From 2016 through 2017 he served as the Presiding Judge of the division. During his tenure in the Domestic Relations Division he presided over hundreds of divorce trials including custody, relocation and complex financial matters. In 2007 Judge Demling completed the Family Mediation Program presented by The John Paul Jones Group for the Illinois Supreme Court. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge...

Mr. Estes, partner at Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C. is a trial attorney who has successfully tried several custody cases in parentage and dissolution proceedings that ultimately resulted in the award of sole custody of minors to the parent which Mr. Estes represented. He has successfully vacated several Judgments for Dissolution of Marriage due to fraud, unconscionability, and coercion. Mr. Estes vigorously advocates the position of his clients in complicated custody and visitation cases. Mr. Estes also adeptly untangles complex financial facts to maximize the benefits for his clients both at trial and in settlement negotiations. Mr. Estes has tried successfully...

Since joining The Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C. in 2006, Mr. Williamson has worked exclusively in the field of matrimonial law. Mr. Williamson is dedicated to providing his clients, no matter the issue, with the experience and knowledge necessary to bring their case to a positive resolution. Mr. Williamson has successfully negotiated settlements and/or litigated issues involving complex financial matters, custody, support, and division of property. Mr. Williamson has also successfully negotiated custody/financial settlements as they relate to paternity actions.

Mr. Williamson is also the general counsel and associate board president of Griffith Tutoring. Griffith Tutoring is a non-profit organization preparing at-risk...

Brian Nigohosian is known as a skilled litigator who is able to direct his clients towards a successful resolution of their cases. He works hard to establish trust based relationships with each client, and provides the guidance necessary to get them to their goal. He employs an approach that provides his clients with the maximum amount of information with which to make an informed decision. While the majority of cases result in a settlement, he has found that the best approach is to prepare each case thoroughly, thereby placing his clients in a strong position to settle, or if necessary,...

Margaret M. O'Connell is a Senior Partner at A. Traub & Associates. Margaret practices in all areas of family, criminal, traffic, and expungement law, and is a court-approved Guardian ad litem in DuPage, Kane and Kendall County. Margaret is a graduate of Bradley University 1986 and the John Marshall Law School 1991.

Margaret worked as an Assistant State's Attorney in DuPage County from 1991 to 1996. During her tenure as an Assistant State's Attorney, Margaret prosecuted cases involving domestic violence, child abuse, felonies, and misdemeanors. From 1996 to 2003, Margaret was a Senior Assistant Attorney General. During her tenure as a...

Christopher J. Zaruba joined The Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C. in June of 2014. Prior to that, Chris was an Assistant State's Attorney at the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office from 2009-2014. Chris began his career at the State's Attorney's office handling traffic and misdemeanor offenses, including DUI's, orders of protection, and domestic batteries. In 2012, Chris received the Outstanding Misdemeanor Prosecutor of the Year award. He was promoted to the Felony Juvenile Division where he worked closely with DCFS in handling cases involving abused or neglected children. After working in the Juvenile Division, Chris was again promoted to the Felony...

Nancy Kasko earned her Bachelor Degree from Northern Illinois in Finance. Early in her career Ms. Kasko worked in the finance industry for Fortune 500 companies such as Hewlett Packard and Westinghouse Electric. Yearning for a career in law, like her mother before her, Ms. Kasko returned to school to fulfill her ambition and earn her law degree.

Ms. Kasko attended The John Marshall Law School in Chicago where she attained her Juris Doctorate. During law school, Ms. Kasko was a teaching assistant at the John Marshall Law School and was a paralegal with Davi Law Group, LLC in Wheaton. Upon...

Attorney Tom Elsner, Partner at Lafata Law LLC. Tom received his undergraduate degree in business management at Arizona State University. Tom had found his calling for helping others attain what was just and right while working as a business manager. He then was admitted into law school at Northern Illinois University. While enrolled, Tom worked as a Clerk for the US District Court in Northern Illinois and as an intern with the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. Since graduating from law school, Tom went on to become an Assistant State's Attorney for DuPage County where Tom worked in the traffic, misdemeanor and...

Megan Lafata (Elsner) is the Founder of Lafata Law LLC. Megan received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and went on to work as a law clerk with a DuPage County Law Firm specializing in local prosecutions, criminal defense and family law. She then was admitted to Northern Illinois University College of Law. After graduating from Northern Illinois University College of Law, Megan embarked on her legal career as an Assistant State's Attorney for DuPage County. Her hard work and ambition catapulted her from prosecutions of traffic offenses to misdemeanors including DUI, battery, domestic battery, orders of protection, theft,...

Bradley R. Kaye (“Brad”) is a licensed attorney concentrating in the areas of divorce, post-decree issues, estate planning, and criminal law. Brad is based in the Schaumburg office of Anderson & Associates, P.C., and handles cases primarily in Cook, DuPage, Kane and Will counties.

Since joining The Stogsdill Law Firm, P.C. in 2000, Mr. Smit has remained committed to providing his clients with the client first attention to detail along with the knowledge and experience required to accomplish the client's desired outcome. Mr. Smit approaches each individual client with the understanding that it is very important to actually listen to the client and reach a consensus as to what they can expect from the given situation.

Mr. Smit obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Law Enforcement Administration from Western Illinois University in 1994. Mr. Smit then went on to graduate from the John Marshall...

Raleigh is the Past President of the DuPage County Association of Women Lawyers, the Past President and a current Board Member of the DuPage County Bar Foundation, a Past-Editor-In-Chief and current Editor for the DCBA Brief Magazine and a member of the following organizations: DuPage County Bar Association including the Family Law Committee, and Illinois State Bar Association. Raleigh received her Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in 1993 and graduated from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2001. Raleigh is a solo practitioner in Wheaton, IL. The firm handles matters in Wheaton, Kendall, Kane, Will, DeKalb, and...

Nick Kulagin is a dedicated family law and estate planning attorney who has represented residents of DuPage County and Kane County for 15 years. Based in Wheaton, Mr. Kulagin works diligently to protect his clients’ families, homes, and businesses. He believes that successful advocacy begins with investigating each person’s particular needs. With a strong reputation in the legal community, he is committed to helping his clients understand their legal rights and options so that they can make fully informed decisions.

Mr. Kulagin attended De Paul University for his undergraduate studies, graduating with a Political Science degree. He went on to earn...

Chuck’s law practice includes both family law and civil litigation. Equally at home in divorce court as he is in front of a jury protecting his clients' rights, Chuck enjoys the challenges which arise from doing both kinds of work.

Chuck is proud of his appointment as a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Academy Fellows are widely recognized by judges and attorneys as preeminent family law practitioners with the highest level of knowledge, skill, and integrity.

There is no substitute for preparation, and a great deal of Chuck’s daily schedule includes meetings with clients and staff. Availability to clients...

Jeffrey S. Keller founded his law firm in 1994. Mr. Keller concentrates his practice in the following main areas: Litigation, Divorce/Family Law, Real Estate, and Business Law.

Sean Chaudhuri was admitted to practice law in 2001. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and went to law school in Michigan. He primarily practices in the areas of Family Law, Contested Divorces and Custody Cases, Parentage Cases, Foreclosure Defense, Building Court Cases, Eviction Cases, and Real Estate Litigation. He aggressively litigates cases with passion for his clients, and has built a strong reputation in doing so. Mr. Chaudhuri is a past or present member of the following organizations: The Chicago Bar Association, The Chicago Bar Association-Judicial Evaluation Committee, The Cook County Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program, Apna Ghar Pro Bono...

Mr. Newman practiced in the civil litigation department of the firm prior to concentrating in Family Law and participated in several million dollar settlements and was trial co-counsel for an $11,000,000 medical negligence verdict in Cook County, Illinois. Mr. Newman’s current concentration in Family Law includes custody, child support, property division, maintenance/alimony and post-judgment litigation. Mr. Newman has more than 38 years of experience in the Family Law area, representing litigants in simple divorce and complex property division, including tax and valuation issues. Mr. Newman believes that his concentration in Family Law within a general practice firm has advantages...

Emily Rapp is a partner at McSwain, Nagle, Giese & Rapp PC. Emily practices in Kane, DuPage and Kendall counties and additionally practices at the appellate court level. Emily is a past President of the Kane County Bar Association, and Past Chair of the Family Law Section for DuPage County Bar Association. She has presented at Illinois State Bar Association, DuPage County Bar Association and Kane County Bar Association seminars speaking on topics relating to family law. In addition to her speaking engagements, Emily has authored legal articles including a chapter on the Parentage Act for Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal...

Matt Karstens is an Associate Attorney at McSwain Nagle Giese & Rapp., P.C. based out of Wheaton, Illinois. Matt has extensive courtroom experience gained from his time spent as an Assistant State's Attorney in Kane County, Illinois. Matt specializes in Criminal Defense (Traffic, DUI, Domestic Violence, Misdemeanor, and Felony) and Family Law matters (divorce, parentage, allocation of parental decision making making and parenting time, child support, spousal support, relocation, orders of protection, and prenuptial/postnuptial agreements.

Robert "Bobby" Buchanan is a seasoned practitioner that focuses his practice exclusively on helping parents through divorce and custody matters. He is a 2019 recipient of the "10 Best" award for client satisfaction and a 2023 Illinois SuperLawyer. His team at The Law Offices of Robert B. Buchanan has consistently achieved results for his clients, including: - Secured regular parenting time for father who had not seen his two-year old son in over one year. - Obtained 50-50 parenting time for father who had been marginalized to every other weekend before hiring lawyer and starting court process. - Successfully re-gained custody for a...

The most gratifying part of practicing matrimonial law is to be able to give guidance and help people through one of, if not the most, difficult times of their lives. My goal in most cases is to help clients resolve their issues in an amicable manner to a positive resolution, as the majority of cases do not proceed to trial. However, there are certain cases that cannot be settled for a multitude of reasons. As such, I am always prepared to litigate the issues. I maintain the mindset of a litigator while always being open to...

Robert Motta II is the Managing Partner at Motta & Motta LLC. He concentrates his law practice in criminal defense, DUI, divorce & family law. Robert was named 2014 Top 100 National Trial Lawyer and is known in the legal community for his unparalleled pre-trial and trial strategies.

Benedict Schwarz, II has limited his practice to matrimonial and family law for over 40 years. He is a past director of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and is also a trained divorce mediator; Mr. Schwarz has taught numerous 40-hour divorce mediation training and conflict resolution seminars and has also co-authored chapters on the subject in the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education publications.

In 1992, Mr. Schwarz was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court as a Commissioner of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). In 2001, Mr. Schwarz was appointed the Chairperson of the Commission from January...

Known for promoting innovative litigation alternatives in family-related legal disputes, Rachel Nicole Hernandez is a collaborative family lawyer & the founder of Bruckner Hernandez Legal Solutions, LLC, a collaborative law & family law firm with offices in St. Charles & Sycamore, Illinois.

Bruckner Hernandez Legal Solutions, LLC helps families resolve legal issues without going to court, whether it be through mediation, collaborative process, uncontested divorce, pre-divorce legal counseling, or limited scope representation. Rachel Nicole Hernandez provides advice to clients regarding their rights with respect to marital/non-marital assets & debts, maintenance, & child custody issues. Rachel Nicole Hernandez solicits the expertise of...