How It Works

Negotiation

The best result in a divorce or other family matter is that parties settle issues and avoid the expense and emotional toll of trial. Leslie approaches every case with the goal of obtaining a negotiated settlement. A skilled negotiator, she combines a level-headed approach and a thorough understanding of people to manage the negotiation process and minimize its potential adversarial nature. An in-depth knowledge of the law and attention to detail ensure that issues are resolved fairly for her clients.

Mediation

As an alternative to attorney negotiated settlements, Leslie assists her clients in the mediation process. In attorney assisted mediation, she participates with her client, the opposing party, and their counsel in a joint settlement session guided by a certified, neutral mediator. In mediation, she helps her clients to formulate and analyze settlement options that are often more favorable alternatives to litigation.

Litigation

Leslie is a seasoned trial attorney. While trial is the last resort for finalizing a divorce or other family law matter, sometimes the parties simply cannot reach a settlement. At trial, it is the judge, not the parties, who decides how issues in the case will be resolved. If a matter goes to trial, a party is best positioned with an experienced trial lawyer. Leslie has tried numerous divorce cases involving complex property, business, retirement benefit and support issues as well as complicated custody cases to obtain favorable decisions for her clients.

Appeal

Leslie has a winning appellate practice and her appeals make law in Illinois. At the conclusion of a trial, a party who receives an adverse outcome has the right to appeal the trial court’s ruling. Unlike Leslie, not all family law lawyers are appellate lawyers. Because of her ability to concisely brief and convincingly argue a trial court’s error to an appellate court, Leslie has successfully prosecuted and defended numerous high-profile appeals. Many of her appellate cases are well-known, ground-breaking decisions which courts and lawyers rely upon for guidance on specific family law issues.