Top best Divorce & Separation Lawyers in ZIP 60301 | 3 available

Melissa S. Fish earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 2006 and in 2007 she started the study of law at John Marshall Law School not at all certain what direction those studies might take her. In her second year of law school, however, Melissa took a Family Law Course as an elective and the uncertainty was over. Melissa aced the class and earned the 2009 Family Law CALI award given to that student who does the best in the class. Melissa, thereafter, pursued her interest by working with the Cook County Office of Public Guardian where she represented and fought for abused and neglected children. She also worked at the Domestic Violence Clinic at 555 W. Harrison where she encountered the type of high conflict situations that persuade many attorneys to pursue other areas of practice. She further honed her courtroom skills by working for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office where, as a 711 licensee, she appeared in Court regularly. In 2010 Melissa graduated from John Marshall Law School.. After starting her family law career with a small family law firm in the northern suburbs, in 2011 Melissa was hired by the Divorce and Family Law Offices of Wakenight & Associates, P.C. in Oak Park. Just as she demonstrated in that first family law class Melissa immediately took to her new position and responsibilities with a flourish. She has excelled in her representation of her divorce and family law clients in and out of the courtroom to quickly establish herself as the top Associate Attorney in the Oak Park Office. She provides her clients with the counsel and communications they require, takes command of the legal issues in the case andpresents the Court with the concise exact analysis and evidence that the Court expects from an attorney such as Melissa, who has devoted her career to the practice of divorce and family law.

Mark T. Wakenight, founder of Wakenight & Associates, P.C., has over three decades of legal experience, with a focus on divorce and family law. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law in 1988, Mark began his career in Chicago, representing clients in diverse legal areas. However, his passion for family law led him to establish Wakenight & Associates, P.C. in 2002, where he committed exclusively to helping clients navigate divorce, child custody, and other family law matters.Mark’s approach emphasizes collaboration and preparation, ensuring clients receive tailored guidance during emotionally charged situations. His adept experience in child custody cases earned him certification by the Honorable Judge Moshe Jacobius to represent children in custody disputes, a role he held until 2013. Today, Mark focuses on managing his growing firm, fostering a team of like-minded attorneys dedicated to family law.An active member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, and other professional organizations, Mark’s philosophy—“All we do is family law, all day, every day”—reflects his unwavering commitment to providing compassionate and effective legal representation for families in need.

Combining knowledge, experience, and compassion to guide clients through the emotional rigors of court proceedings, and help them achieve a desirable outcome. My practice focuses on the representation of clients in divorce, parentage, orders of protection, and juvenile court proceedings. As a certified mediator, a part of my practice also includes mediating custody (allocation of parental responsibilities) and visitation (parenting time) disputes of parties seeking to mitigate the costs of protracted litigation.. Djuana O’Connor Oshin has practiced family law for several years, in her previous positions as the legal director of Life Span Center for Legal Services and Advocacy for almost fourteen years, and as a supervisory attorney at the Legal Assistance Foundation.. She both represented, as well as supervised and trained attorneys in the representation of clients in divorce and parentage proceedings involving issues of allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, orders of protection, maintenance, relocation, and inter-jurisdictional custody disputes.. Prior to litigating family law proceedings, Djuana was a supervisory attorney at the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, where she represented children as a guardian ad litem in abuse and neglect proceedings for eight and a half years.. She received both her law and undergraduate degrees from Loyola University Chicago. She completed mediation training at Northwestern University.. Djuana is an adjunct professor in family law at John Marshall Law School. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Association for Conflict Resolution.. She has given presentations on family law to the Chicago Bar Association, 2014 Illinois Legal Aid Advocates Conference, Illinois Parent Attorney Network, the Department of Children and Family Services, juvenile court personnel, and several domestic violence organizations.. She has an advanced level proficiency in Spanish.