Jody L. Usow

PRO

Jody L. Usow

5.0
Rating: 10.0

Licensed for 39 years

Divorce and separation Lawyer at Milwaukee, WI
Practice Areas: Divorce & Separation, Child Custody, Child Support ... +2 more

105 E. Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, WI

Virtual Consultation Available

About Jody

Biography

Seeking an experienced litigator to negotiate or try your case? Help is a phone call away.

Experienced Custody attorney who's not afraid to fight for you. Help is only a phone call away!

Experienced Child Support attorney who's not afraid to fight for you. Help is only a phone call away!

Experienced Divorce attorney who's not afraid to fight for you. Help is only a phone call away!

Experienced attorney who's not afraid to fight for you. Help is only a phone call away!

Experienced Family attorney who's not afraid to fight for you. Help is only a phone call away!

Practice Areas

5

Practice Areas

Divorce and Separation 30%

Attorney Jody L. Usow is an experienced divorce attorney, providing expert guidance for individuals regarding divorce or legal separation, including property rights, child-support, placement and child custody.

40 years

30%
Child Custody 20%

Attorney Jody L. Usow is an experienced child custody attorney, providing expert guidance for individuals regarding child custody, whether after a marriage or after a non-marital relationship (paternity) matter.

40 years

20%
Child Support 20%

Attorney Jody L. Usow is an experienced child support attorney, providing expert guidance for individuals regarding child support, whether after a marriage or after a non-marital relationship (paternity) matter.

40 years

20%
Family 20%

Attorney Jody L. Usow is an experienced family law attorney, providing expert guidance for individuals regarding divorce, paternity and issues of child-support, child placement and child custody.

40 years

20%
Domestic Violence 10%

Attorney Jody L. Usow is an experienced criminal law attorney, allowing her to represent parties charged with criminal issues in or out of the family setting. Specialties include domestic abuse, child abuse, domestic violence and restraining orders.

40 years

10%

Fees and Rates

We have not found any cost information for this lawyer

Awards

Client's Choice
Client's Choice
2024 2023 2022
...
+ 5

Licenses

Licensed in Wisconsin for 39 years

State: Wisconsin

Acquired: 1986

Good Standing

No misconduct found

Location

Jody L. Usow, Attorney at Law, S.C.

105 E. Silver Spring Drive, Milwaukee, WI, 53217

www.usowlaw.com

Jody L. Usow's Reviews

Avvo Review Score

5.0 /5.0

71 Client Reviews

Showing 1 - 5 of 14 reviews | Family

Posted by anonymous | June 22, 2024 | Hired Attorney | Family

Best Family Attorney

Jody is the best family attorney I have met, she is knowledgeable, professional, and always willing to help. With her help I went through very hard times in my family situation. Every time I faced challenges and asked her, she was able to give very professional and helpful advice. If you need a famil...y attorney, I would highly recommend Jody from my experience.

Posted by Douglas | June 20, 2024 | Hired Attorney | Family

Compelling in the courtroom!

As a business professional, I have required legal services for countless situations over my lifetime. Mostly for normal business dealings, though a few were more adversarial in nature. In either case, selecting the best attorney for the situation is obviously important. When our family was face...d with a situation involving a family member being falsely accused, I found myself out of my element as family law was an area I had never needed to explore. I did know however, not having the best attorney in this particular case would mean a devastating outcome and a tarnished record that would haunt us for a very long time. My vast and extensive research brought our family to Usow Law and thank goodness it did. Simply put, Jody Usow is an extraordinary attorney in every way. From the beginning, she was great at managing the expectations, the process and our family. Even though our emotions and frustrations would sometimes run wild due to the unjust accusations, Jody always managed to recenter us and focus on the law and her plan to succeed. Jody's experience and overall strategy in dealing with the opposition was brilliant. I was very impressed with her proactive tactics that set the stage for a favorable outcome. Watching Jody in the courtroom was a sight to behold. Measured and mild-mannered up until the petitioner's testimony became clearly disingenuous, and the lion was unleashed. In this day and age when we have so little accountability, it was thrilling to watch a dishonest person eviscerated on the witness stand during cross-examination due to their lack of integrity and vengeful actions. Needless to say, Jody was so compelling in the courtroom that the case was dismissed without her client (our side) ever needing to testify. Jody brought this 4-month nightmare our family was living, to an end! If you are in need of a family law attorney, you should contact Usow Law. If you are faced with unfair and unjust family-law legal issues you should definitely contact Usow Law. If you don't, the opposing side might. We are forever grateful for Jody Usow!

Posted by Jerrell | March 04, 2024 | Hired Attorney | Family

10/1000 Lawyer

I initially hired Jody to assist with a temporary restraining order case I was facing where my child’s mother over exaggerated an argument and lied to police to get the TRO. Jody stepped in last minute literally the day before, heard my story, met me at court and represented me for the hearing. The... TRO was granted but Jody being the realist she is, let me know going into the hearing that it would likely be granted and why. Even then I appreciated her honesty and willingness to represent me on such short notice. After the TRO hearing my child’s mother decided she did not want me to see him so I continued to work with Jody with the goal of getting 50/50 custody and placement. Jody has proven to be a beast in the court room at every hearing we’ve had. She is very professional, down to earth, respected by the court and she knows her stuff! Her assistant Nick is just as awesome! We all worked together to accomplish the end goal and they were both very professional, nonjudgmental, and willing to educate me every step of the way. Nick even took the time to call and find out officers were in office, and ride his bicycle to the district to serve them for a court hearing the next day because they had not been able to be reached or served. I enjoyed working with Jody and her staff especially with this all being new to me, she would always answer my very long emails or phone calls in a timely manner, she worked with my family members/friends who were helping me with testifying or confirming information, and she understood how important it was to me to be apart of my sons life and have him be apart of my family and his siblings lives. She took time to educate me on what was happening throughout the entire custody battle and was patient with me when I did not do my part in a timely manner. At the end of my case, I got everything I wanted 50/50 placement and custody, even with the mother having representation and even with the TRO in place- which was a blessing in disguise because Jody fought for the mother and I to have court ordered communication through Our Family wizard where everything is documented for lawyers or the court to be able to access with no way for parents to delete information. Jody has been a huge blessing to me and my family and was worth every penny! Even after my case closed she followed up, gave me great advice and encouraged me to reach out to her if needed. I highly highly recommend and she will be the first name I give to anyone going through any family court disputes.

Posted by anonymous | December 01, 2023 | Hired Attorney | Family

Cannot thank her enough!

My case was a very complicated case trying to protect my young daughter from abuse. I went through several family law attorneys (five in total!) that lacked the know how or skills for the challenge and instead tried to convince me that I had already done everything I could to protect her. By the... time I came to Jody, my child's situation seemed very bleak. I was emotionally drained and feeling almost hopeless, but Jody turned things around completely by the time we reached our final trial. Jody was always straight forward, never one to tell me what I wanted to hear but what I NEEDED to hear keeping me focused on what mattered most. She is savy, tough, clearly we'll versed in family law and has a great presence in the court room. My child is finally safe now because of Jody's fearlessness and dedication.

Jody Usow

Replied last March 04, 2024

I am touched. Clients and kids come first. It takes time, but if you have the commitment you can turn that ship around.

Posted by RHW | November 05, 2023 | Hired Attorney | Family

Smart, Respectful Atty who Puts Kids First!

I cannot begin to thank Jody for all of her hard work and dedication to helping kids - I think that’s the thing that sets her apart! What I could have never predicted was that in this process, my parents and I really came by some big time healing. While I won't speak on their behalf, I think my p...arents would agree that they could never have even known how much WE needed this healing, this relief and this better understanding of one another. It was also the first time I was able (meaning get the words out of mouth in real time) to be transparent with them about my ex and his behavior. I asked them to view that as insight into our son’s understanding of the world and the job of a father, and they in turn learned a lot about their grandson. When your dad is dying, that's not little. It's everything. When you're using up your inheritance, this was not a little choice for any of us. We all now wholeheartedly agree that we did the right thing by hiring Jody. This gives my dad peace of mind that when he is no longer with us, his grandson is better protected. This was worth every penny. We are learning to accept that we can't save or protect my son’s heart from his dad, but we can say collectively as a family that this is the best plan (legal agreement) for him given all these crummy circumstances outside our scope of control. Jody is the person responsible for that. Jody knew the attorneys and the parties (yes me!) better than I can explain. Jody listened to me even when I was so angry with my son’s dad or at the law that I could spit nails while actively grieving. And there's something else - I am no longer afraid of the big bad wolf. I listened to every droplet Jody said in our initial phone call. And I did the work she asked me to. While life with my ex will never be over, his cord around my neck is gone forever. I will never, ever, ever be able to express my gratitude to Jody fully.

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Jody L. Usow's Lawyer Endorsements

Endorse Jody
Kathryn Weaver headshot
Kathryn Weaver

Family lawyer | Nov 22

Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"I have worked with Jody on several cases and she is a wonderful advocate for her client. Jody is also well versed in the law which makes discussing possible resolutions easier and faster. Jody knows the value to a client of settling a case on reasonable terms. Jody is always willing to take the matter to Court but tries hard to find a resolution that works first. We have always been able to resolve even the most complicated cases on terms that were acceptable to both our clients. I highly endorse Jody as an attorney in family law. Kathryn Weaver."

Paulette A. Brazil headshot
Paulette Brazil

Family lawyer | Jan 07

Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I strongly recommend Attorney Jody Usow. I have had many cases with Attorney Usow over the years. Whether we are able to reach agreements or litigate the issues, Attorney Usow is always professional, prepared and strongly advocates for her clients. When attorneys are knowledgeable, prepared and professional we can often work through the issues parties are facing with a proper and appropriate settlement. This saves unnecessary costs and fees associated with litigation when an agreement would have been possible. If the case needs to be tried then you can be assured Attorney Usow will be ready to go and will advocate strongly on your behalf. Strongly recommend."

Steven R. Kohn headshot
Steven Kohn

Family lawyer | Jun 12

Relationship: Worked together on matter

"I have worked with Jody on numerous cases. She is bright, energetic, personable and aggressive when required. I highly recommend her to any person seeking superb representation."

Patrick R. Oszewski headshot
Patrick Oszewski

Unknown lawyer | Jan 11

Relationship: Worked for lawyer

"I endorse this lawyer. I have known Jody for over 20 years having had the pleasure of working under her direction at the start of my career. Jody is both knowledgable and a fearless advocate for her clients. I routinely refer my own clients to her in litigation matters, confident their interests will be well protected."

View All Endorsements
Kathryn Weaver headshot
Kathryn Weaver

Family lawyer

Paulette A. Brazil headshot
Paulette Brazil

Divorce and separation lawyer

Linda M. Van De Water headshot
Linda Van De Water

Mediation lawyer

Steven R. Kohn headshot
Steven Kohn

Criminal defense lawyer

Patrick R. Oszewski headshot
Patrick Oszewski

Real estate lawyer

Experience

Rating:  10.0 (Superb)

Honors

2025

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2024

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2023

Superlawyer, SuperLawyers

2023

Super Lawyer, Super Lawyers

2020

Top 100 Trial Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers Association

2019

Top 100 Trial Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers Association

2018

Top 100 Trial Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers Association

2017

Top 100 Trial Lawyers, National Trial Lawyers Association

2016

10 Best Female Attorneys, American Institute of Family Law Attorneys

Work Experience

2013 - Present

Board of Directors, Non-Profit Legal Services of South East Wisconsin Inc.

2010 - Present

President, Jody L. Usow, Attorney at Law, S.C.

1996 - 2010

Principal, Hickey, Turim and Usow, S.C.

1986 - 1996

Associate, Herbert L. Usow SC.

1986 - 1996

Shareholder, Herbert L. Usow SC

Associations

2017 - Present

National Trial Lawyers Association

Member

2013 - Present

Non-Profit Legal Services of South East Wisconsin Inc.

Board of Directors

2005 - Present

Collaborative Family Law Council of Wisconsin

Member

1994 - Present

State Bar of Wisconsin, Family Law Section

Member

1986 - Present

State Bar of Wisconsin

Member

Education

1986

Marquette University Law School

JD - Juris Doctor

1983

University of Wisconsin, Madison

BA - Bachelor of Arts

1983

University of Wisconsin, Madison

BA - Bachelor of Arts

Speaking Engagements

2019

Domestic Abuse Injunctions Training Event Presenter - Domestic Violence Mock Hearing

2009

MBA Eight Annual Guardian ad Litem Update

Guardians ad Litem

Languages

English

Avvo Rating

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Avvo Rating Levels
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