Lawyer Monthly Magazine - January 2019 Edition

47 SUPER LAWYERS JAN 2019 www. lawyer-monthly .com conduct of both parties and put your client back on an equal footing with the other spouse for parenting and other issues in the case. It may enable the Respondent to come back to the marital home and/or enable another peaceful status quo to be established which will not endanger the Respondent's livelihood, professional license, parenting and other critical issues of the case. There are also times when marriage counseling and/or co-parenting or family counseling can be considered. This provides the parties to have an opportunity to explore resolutions and to finally deal with some of the underlying problems of the marriage as well as anger management issues, drug or alcohol treatment, and/or the need for therapy and counseling for the parent, spouse, and/or children involved. In some cases, this can also lead to reconciliation of the marriage or relationship. When a criminal case is underlying, defending an Order of Protection can be more difficult. In a criminal case, the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt, contrasted to an Order which is only a preponderance of the evidence. An attorney should not have their client testify in an Order of Protection hearing when there is a criminal case pending, since it is much easier to obtain a finding of abuse in the civil order of protection hearing, than in the criminal case and you may be jeopardizing your client’s interests in the criminal case to allow such testimony in the civil case. In the criminal case, if the case cannot be dismissed, and particularly if the Respondent is guilty, one can explore the reduction of the charge to a misdemeanor battery or other lower misdemeanor charge and the Respondent can agree to a plea of guilty and to go to anger management and/or other therapy and obtain supervision, which is not available in a domestic battery case and will not jeopardize the Respondent's professional license or job. The most important qualities to look for when seeking an attorney to represent you to either seek an Order of Protection or defend against one are extensive experience in family law litigation, in general, and in dealing with litigation of Orders of Protection in particular. The extensive experience in family law and in representing clients in order of protection litigation should provide the attorney with the ability to determine the best strategy for the client under the specific individual circumstances. There are many options and a client needs this kind of highly experienced professional to assist in the determination, and execute what is needed to carry it out to represent the client’s best interests. To achieve the best results for your client you need to know what the reasonable goals of the individual client are, after you have educated the client as to what can reasonably be accomplished. An attorney also needs to remain flexible throughout the process while also being empathetic, objective, and directive with the client to properly guide the client. This is the case whether it regards preparing and going to trial or pursuing negotiations for a restraining order, or other solutions and remedies to meet the often-changing nature of the situation as it unfolds, while being always ever conscious of the impact the Order of Protection will have on parenting and all other issues involved in a divorce or legal separation. If you are representing the Petitioner, you need to take a strong stance to best protect your client from any further abuse or jeopardy to them and/or the children involved. If there is clear and repeated abuse, a restraining order may not be appropriate and going to trial and obtaining a Plenary Order of Protection may be what is needed to best protect the interests of your client and the children involved, as well as other remedies in domestic relations divisions, particularly if drugs or alcohol abuse is also involved. LM About Wendy R. Morgan Wendy R. Morgan is the Found- er, Owner, and CEO of The Law Firm of Wendy R. Morgan, es- tablished in 1981. Judges and attorneys have praised Wendy for her ardent advocacy and her ability to “find the angle” in even the most difficult and complex cases and when all other lawyers fail. Wendy is con- sidered an expert in the area of litigation and family law which also includes orders of protec- tion. Wendy is also an extremely skilled negotiator; successfully negotiating favorable settle- ments for untold numbers of clients over the years. Wendy is also known for her compassion for her clients and the ability to know what they need and how to successfully strategize to ac- complish their goals. Firm Profile Divorce and other family issues can turn a person’s world up- side down. The fight determines how life is going to be when it’s all over. It is a very difficult time and proper support is critical. This means educating clients about every option at their fin- gertips and then helping them to make the best, most educated decision for themselves and their families. Detailed evalua- tion and full disclosure are so im- portant when someone is about to start the process of going through a divorce, order of pro- tection or other family law issues. Wendy offers clients a complete analysis of their case to provide them a full understanding of all of their rights, choices, and pos- sible outcomes that helps drive costs down. 1 750 ILCS 60/201. 2 750 ILCS 60/103 and 201. 3 Glater v. Fabianich, 252 Ill. App. 3d 372, 625 N.E. 2d 96 (1st Dist. 1993. 4 750 ILCS 60/103. 5 750 ILCS 60/103. 6 750 ILCS 60/202, 203, 210 et seq. 7 750 ILCS 60/209. 8 750 ILCS 60/205. 9 750 ILCS 60/217. 10 750 ILCS 60/210-219. 11 In Re: Marriage of Paclik, 371 Ill. App. 3d 890, 864 N.E. 2d 274, (5th Dist. 2007), Radke ex. Rel. Radke v. Radke, 349 Ill. App. 3d 264, 812 N.E. 2d 9 (3rd Dist. 2004) with many recent relevant opinions as unpublished under Rule 23-ie. In Re; Marriage of Yost, 2018 IL App (4th) 180283-U, 2018, Ibisevic v. Ibisevic 2016 IL App. (2d) 151179-U, 2016