Jeffery M. Leving

Jeffery M. Leving received his Juris Doctor from IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law in 1979. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. His professional associations include the Chicago, Illinois and the Federal Trial Bar; and the Decalogue Society of Lawyers. Leving has been named one of "America's Best Lawyers" by Forbes Radio and selected by his peers as one of Illinois' top attorneys.

His past experience includes co-authorship of the 1986 Illinois Joint Custody Law, and testimony before both branches of the Illinois Legislature on Joint Custody, Grandparent's Visitation and Child Support Accountability bills. He has lectured locally and nationally on family law issues and has also made numerous television and radio appearances. His law practice is concentrated in Matrimonial and Family Law and he heads a team of aggressive attorneys.

The firm was founded in 1981 by Jeffery M. Leving who is a national litigator and consultant. Mr. Leving received the Recognition and Commendation Award for Meritorious Service to the Public and Legal Community from the Illinois State Bar Association.

Leving was the Chicago Attorney from the Elian Gonzalez case. He represented Manuel Gonzalez, at Juan Miguel's request, to be designated as Elian's care giver in the early stages of the federal case. Leving was invited as an expert on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox National News and Court TV to analyze the Elian Gonzalez case. Subsequently, he was presented the Award of Merit from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Leving was appointed as Chair of the Council on Responsible Fatherhood for the State of Illinois by Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Leving is also the publisher of Leving's Divorce Magazine, an innovative new magazine for divorced men that focuses on parenting and men's legal issues.

The Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd. is possibly one of the only law firms in the country focused almost exclusively on men's issues.

Firm Focus:
Family and paternity law; matrimonial litigation; sophisticated financial discovery and analysis; tax considerations and retirement benefits; negotiation and mediation; fathers' custody and visitation rights and appeals; interstate and intrastate litigation; international child abduction cases.

More information about Mr. Leving's personal appearances on behalf of men and fathers

Anthony S. D’Agostino

Anthony S. D’Agostino attended the U.S. Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island, before he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude at St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota. He graduated in the top of his class in 1993 when he received his Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He is a distinguished member of the trial bar for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and is licensed to practice law in Illinois.

During law school, Anthony learned the ins and outs of the legal system from the ground up when he worked as a paralegal for a top Chicago Law firm. After graduating law school in January 1993, Anthony litigated for several high profile law firms, including his own law firm, D’Agostino and Associates, where he represented state and federal criminal defendants, state and federal civil litigants, parents in contested dissolutions of marriage and child custody, visitation and child support matters. At the Law offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., Anthony’s experience leads him to concentrate his practice of law, diligently advocating fathers’ rights in the following areas: orders of protection, dissolutions of marriage, paternity cases, child custody disputes, child support modifications, visitation issues and domestic violence. (Return to top)

William G. Dowling

A 1977 graduate of St. Mary's College and 1980 Graduate of John Marshall Law School, Bill has extensive litigation experience in Family and Custody Law. He describes his life's work as a "struggle for equality in which there are no preferences and no prejudices against either side." His professional goal is "equal protection under the law for both genders."

In 2003, Bill was honored by the Fatherhood Educational Institute, a leading national non-profit organization focused on promoting fatherhood, for his superior legal work on behalf of fathers. (Return to top)

Andrey B. Filipowicz

Andrey B. Filipowicz, a graduate of Northwestern University, earned a Master's Degree from the University of Chicago in International Relations. He speaks fluent Spanish, and is conversant in several Slavic languages. He received his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law in 1984. He is a member of the trial bar for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and is licensed to practice law in Illinois, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Seventh Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prior to joining the Law Offices of Jeffrey M. Leving, Ltd., Andrey Filipowicz concentrated his practice in the fields of Family Law, Federal Litigation, and Appellate Practice. He has litigated highly complex federal civil cases, and prior to joining the firm secured jury verdicts in federal civil cases in excess of one million dollars. As the father of a twelve-year-old boy, Mr. Filipowicz realizes that the cases litigated by the firm have a value greater than any monetary award. Mr. Filipowicz is an assertive and tireless advocate and a frequent legal expert on WLEY-FM, a popular Spanish-language radio station in Chicago. In 2004, Andrey was honored by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children "in recognition and appreciation for outstanding commitment to the protection of children and the knowledge of the Hague Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction."

In 2005 Andrey was selected by his peers in the legal community as an "Illinois Super Lawyer" after an extensive nomination and polling process conducted by Law & Politics. Considered the best in their profession, "Super Lawyers" represent the top practicing attorneys in Illinois. (Return to top)

Sylvia Galic

Sylvia Galic received her Bachelor of Science degree from St. Joseph's College and her Juris Doctorate from Indiana University School of Law. She was honored and selected to the Order of Barrister's. Sylvia is licensed to practice law in both Illinois and Indiana.

Sylvia has rightfully earned a reputation in Illinois as a highly-skilled and zealous litigator in the area of Marital and Family Law. Sylvia is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Indiana State Bar Association and the Serbian Bar Association. Sylvia is also fluent in Serbo-Croatian. (Return to top)

Maureen A. Gorman

Maureen Gorman earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Dominican University, where she graduated first in her class, and her Juris Doctorate from Chicago Kent College of Law. After law school she served in two judicial law clerk positions: first for the Honorable James B. Zagel, United States District Judge, Northern District of Illinois, and then for Honorable John J. Stamos, former Illinois Supreme Court Justice.

Maureen has nearly 20 years of complex litigation experience. She has defended government agencies and their employees in civil and constitutional rights cases, and has litigated Section 1983 civil rights cases, sexual harassment, employment discrimination and class action security fraud cases. Prior to joining the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., Maureen served as Counsel for the Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. She brings her formidable legal skills and passion for protecting fathers and children to the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd. (Return to top)

James M. Hagler

To accompany his degrees from Boston University and John Marshall Law School, Jim also holds an FAA Airframe and Power Plant License from the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation and retired in 2005 after serving as Sergeant First Class in a combat unit of the Illinois National Guard. Jim brings his battlefield tactics to the courtroom on behalf of others.

Jim was honored with the Award of Merit from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children due to his experience and knowledge in international Hague Convention custody litigation. The National Center has referred many international cases to him in which he helped many fathers with their children from Poland, Argentina, and Mexico. (Return to top)

Arthur S. Kallow

Art is a native Chicagoan who graduated from Northwestern University School of Law cum laude in 1973. He also received his B.A. in political science from Northwestern. Art was awarded certification from Notre Dame Law School at Brunel University for his legal studies in Uxbridge, England. He has been practicing in the family law area for more than 20 years after returning to Chicago from Washington, D.C., where he was resident counsel for a major corporation. Before joining our firm, he was a partner in a small firm that concentrated in the area of family law, and served as a hearing officer for the City of Chicago and has completed training for the National Judicial College. Art has been appointed by judges to represent children in contested visitation and custody cases.

He has represented hundreds of clients throughout the decades in a variety of types of cases including jury trials, contested custody and visitation cases, child support cases, paternity cases, appeals in State and Federal Courts and cases involving intricate financial issues. Art is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Illinois, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including the Federal Trial Bar. He is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association.

In 2005, Art was selected by his peers in the legal community as an "Illinois Super Lawyer" after an extensive nomination and polling process conducted by Law & Politics. Considered the best in their profession, "Super Lawyers" represent the top practicing attorneys in Illinois.

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Shahzad Khan

Shahzad Khan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas and his Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. While in law school Shahzad worked on federal employment discrimination cases for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in Ft. Worth, Texas. Upon graduation, he provided legal counsel and litigated domestic relations cases for the indigent residents of Chicago for Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic. This advocacy reflects Shahzad’s philosophy that “justice should not be a luxury only the rich can afford.” Before joining the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., he further honed his highly strategic legal skills successfully litigating contested divorce, child support and paternity cases in DuPage, Cook, Kane and Will counties for a family law firm.

Shahzad is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois. He is a member of the Illinois Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Muslim Bar Association. Shahzad speaks fluent Urdu, a language native to Pakistan, and Hindi.

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Anne L. Mueller

Anne Louise holds a bachelors degree from St. Norbert College in DePere Wisconsin, and a master's degree from Notre Dame University in Molecular Genetics, a field in which she is a published author. She earned her Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law and was licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois in 1983.

Anne Louise devotes her legal practice to matrimonial law. As a legal aid attorney she litigated domestic violence cases, representing both children and adults, under a grant from the Office of the Attorney General of Illinois. Moving into private practice, Anne Louise has proven experience in all aspects of domestic relations litigation including parentage, divorce, post-decree, adoption, custody & visitation, child support and maintenance, domestic violence defense, child removal and high assets divorce property contests. Her colleagues and her opponents’ alike attribute her high frequency of success in the courtroom to being exceptionally well prepared. (Return to top)

Jenny E.M. Nilsson

Jenny Nilsson earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Iowa State University, where she graduated with distinction, and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa. While in law school, Jenny worked for the renowned University of Iowa Center for Human Rights, an organization which focuses on children’s rights and child labor laws in the United States and internationally. She also worked as a clinic extern for the Youth Law Center, appearing before the Juvenile Court in the Polk County Courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa.

Jenny brings her formidable legal skills and passion for protecting the rights of fathers and children to the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association. Jenny is licensed to practice law as an attorney and counselor of law by the Illinois Supreme Court. She is an accomplished author who has written on subjects including, but not limited to, fetal homicide laws and immigrant labor laws. In addition to her native language – Swedish – Jenny is also fluent in several languages, including English, French and Spanish.

Timothy O'Grady

Mr. Timothy O'Grady received his bachelor's degree from Loyola University of Chicago, and finished in the top of his class from Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor in 1995. Mr. O'Grady is licensed to practice law in both Missouri and Illinois. He practiced law in St. Louis, Missouri where he worked with one of the nation's top criminal defense attorneys. He directed his practice to domestic relations, and he has important experience in enforcing visitation and custody rights.  Mr. O'Grady now lives in Chicago where he continues to focus his practice on protecting fathers' rights.

In 2005, Tim was appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to serve as a commissioner on the Council on Responsible Fatherhood for the State of Illinois.(Return to top)

Michael W. Ochoa

After receiving his Business Degree Magna Cum Laude from Loyola University, Mike earned his Doctor of Law Degree at Georgia's Emory University. Although he concentrates in family law, he is an experienced and highly successful criminal defense litigator. Mike is licensed to practice law in Illinois by the Illinois State Supreme Court and has represented fathers Pro Hac Vice in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, California, Kansas, Florida, and Minnesota.

In 2000, the Consumer Business Review selected Michael as a leading family law and trial attorney for the new millennium. Mike is also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a business school honors society. He treats his clients as individuals recognizing the human element as well as the legal component. Through and detail-oriented, his record speaks for itself. (Return to top)

Martin L. Osinski

Martin Osinski received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and his Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois by the Illinois State Supreme Court and is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and Chicago Bar Association.

Martin has devoted his practice to fighting for fathers' rights in all areas of family law, including, but not limited to, child custody, parentage, child support modification, interstate removal, dissolution of marriage, orders of protection, and distribution of property cases. Martin is also fluent in Polish and active in the Polish-American community.

C. Stacie Pathammaboun

Stacie earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Loyola University in Chicago and Juris Doctorate from The John Marshall School. Stacie is a recipient of an Ambassador of the Year Award and is licensed and admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois by the Illinois Supreme Court. Stacie is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the American Bar Association and Phi Alpha Delta.

Prior to joining the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., Stacie practiced family law in the private sector. Now with a focus on her passion, fathers' rights, Stacie continues to skillfully and strategically practice family law, including parentage, custody, visitation, support, dissolution of marriage, distribution of property and parental alienation disputes.(Return to top)

Robert K. Reardon

Robert Reardon earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Roosevelt University and his Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School in 1983. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In his more than 22 years of legal experience, Robert has successfully litigated hundreds of high-conflict domestic relations cases, as well as sophisticated criminal defense cases. Prior to joining the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., Robert also served as Legal Advisor to the Director of the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation where he supervised the drafting of legislation for the state of Illinois. Prior to said role, he was the Chief of Prosecution and supervised a group of 15 attorneys in the prosecution and discipline of licensed professionals. He has personally prosecuted more than 100 cases. He brings his exceptional legal skills and passion for protecting the rights of fathers to the firm. (Return to top)

Scott Shell

Scott earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University and his Juris Doctorate from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois. Scott is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Iroquois County Bar Association.

Scott focuses exclusively on Martial and Family Law matters in Cook County and the collar counties, with extensive and effective litigation experience in Central Illinois. Scott has successfully litigated numerous highly contested custody and visitation cases, as well as child support, adoption and paternity cases. Scott has also successfully represented both parental and children's interest in many DCFS cases. He brings his track record of success and his strategic planning and litigation skills to the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., where he can concentrate on his passion for protecting the rights of fathers and families. (Return to top)

Joseph H. Sparacino

Joseph Sparacino was awarded his Juris Doctorate from John Marshall Law School and is licensed to practice law in Illinois by the State of Illinois Supreme Court.

With nearly 20 years of experience practicing law in Illinois, Joseph has earned a reputation throughout the state, especially in Central and Northern Illinois, as a skilled and zealous litigator. Prior to joining the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving, Ltd., Joseph was in private practice where he successfully litigated complex divorce, paternity, juvenile and domestic violence cases. He also has significant experience defending his clients in Criminal and U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Joseph lives in Utica, Ill., where he serves as the General Counsel to the Utica Community Fire and Ambulance District.

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