Kathryn Marie Somers

Divorce and separation Attorney at Northfield, IL

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Outstanding Attorney

great attorney

About Kathryn

Learn Kathryn’s areas of practice.

Practice areas

Divorce and separation

70%
Child custody

10%
Child support

10%
Estate planning

10%

My experience in divorce matters led me to understand that everyone who has a significant life change needs to create or update their estate plan.

OVER 37 YEARS EXPERIENCE ACHIEVING SUCCESSFUL RESULTS FOR DIVORCE AND FAMILY LAW CLIENTS.

I work in close partnership with my clients to achieve successful results. In over 38 years of practice I've represented over a thousand clients in all aspects of divorce and family law dealing with issues such as maintenance, custody, parentage, adoption, child support, visitation, property division, debt allocation, mediation, Collaborative divorce and tax laws in connection with divorce. I strive to achieve the very best result for my client.

A member of the Cook County Child Representative Panel, I have represented many children in contested custody proceedings. Additionally, I have the following professional affiliations: Member of the Chicago Bar Association and Past Chairperson of its Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee; Past Board Member of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois; Past Board Member of the Mediation Council of Illinois; Illinois State Bar Association; Lake County Bar Association; Lake County Arbitrators Panel; and International Association of Collaborative Practitioners.

In addition to my busy family law practice, I like to educate the community about divorce and family law matters as a commentator in print media, on radio and television news covering divorce mediation and Collaborative divorce; as chair of the training and education committee of the Collaborative Law Institute Of Illinois; and as a speaker at The Lilac Tree and other business and community organizations. I formerly hosted the family law edition of the cable television program Law Talk. I am happy to offer a free consultation to talk to you about your problem in person or on the telephone. The solution to your problem may be easier than you think.

Licensed for 41 years

State IL

Status Active and Authorized to Practice Law

Acquired 1981

Updated 01/06/2023

We have not found any instances of professional misconduct for this lawyer.

Contact Kathryn

Kathryn M. Somers

(847) 999-4258 Office

(847) 784-8929 Fax

1 Northfield Plaza

Suite 300

Northfield, IL, 60093

digiacomo-somers.com/Attorneys/Kathryn-M-Somers.shtml

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Reviews

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4.4 / 5.0

11 customer reviews

3 Star

1 Star

Posted by Dr. Rick | March 26, 2013

Outstanding Attorney

Ms. Somers is one of the best attorneys in Illinois. I have used her services multiple times during the past 10 years. As a medical practitioner, I have offered her name to many of my patients. Ms. Somers conducts business in a professional manner. Her knowledge regarding legal issues is nothing less than superb. I will continue to use her services and refer my patients.

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Posted by Darlene | December 10, 2014

great attorney

Kathryn was outstanding, I felt well represented and comfortable with the advice she gave me. I would feel confident to recommend her to anyone. Should the need arise I would not hesitate to use her in the future.

Posted by Heather | September 1, 2018

Very Helpful and Very Supportive

Kathryn has been a blessing. My divorce has been super stressful and Kathryn has made me feel much better about the whole thing. Whenever I have questions or concerns, she is always there for me. She is realistic and understands the best approaches to take. My situation is not pleasant and required someone skilled, dedicated, and persistent...that was Kathryn. I appreciate her so much and I am confident you will too. I highly recommend her.

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Posted by anonymous | January 26, 2015

Highly recommended

Kathryn Somers is a highly educated, experienced and compassionate attorney. I felt very comfortable with her guidance throughout my divorce and was happy with the outcome. She is fair and professional, involved and available to her clients. Without hesitation I would choose Ms. Somers to again and highly recommend her to anyone needing legal advice or representation.

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Posted by Phyllis Glick | December 12, 2014

Help the Elderly

My daughter suggested I call Kathryn. I had a malpractice claim. She was not able to assist me but did recommend someone for me to call. Because of her consideration, I consulted her with other legal issues that she was very helpful with. I am very grateful for her help. It's nice to know that there someone I can rely on when I have legal issue.

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Posted by K Bernstein | December 12, 2014

Divorce attorney

There have been numerous occasions that I have used Miss Sommers. Her enthusiasm and hard work ethic simplified every day living, which could have been catastrophic. I honestly owe her so much for being so helpful and considerate .... I would definitely recommend her to any family member or close friend. Kathryn was truly a g-d sent.

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Posted by Ricky | September 13, 2013

Recommend Highly

For nearly 10 years, I have had the privilege of knowing Kathryn Somers and utilizing her talents as a superb attorney. Kathryn has offered outstanding advice for everyone in my immediate family. We are extremely grateful for her concern regarding our legal needs. I am comfortable referring patients to her for assistance, as I know they will experience high-quality care. I would recommend her services to anyone and everyone, who is in need of honest, compassionate, and respectable service.

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Posted by anonymous | October 8, 2010

Professional, reliable, reasonable

Kathy, has been my divorce lawyer for the past 2 years now. She has been very helpful in giving me direction and expert advice. Anytime I have called or e-mailed her she had promptly gotten back to me. I chose Kathy to represent me in court for few reasons: first from the few divorce lawyers I spoke with she had the most reasonable prices an second she has a very good reputation amongst her collegues and lots of practice. I will recommend her to anybody that needs a good, trustworthy and reasonably priced divorce lawyer.

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Posted by anonymous | October 5, 2010

Well represented

Kathryn is a professional, experienced, and sharp attorney. She helped me understand the process from start to finish including pointing out that we needed to include college tuition costs in the divorce decree even though my children are very young. She was always looking out for my well being and I trusted her completely. She was always quick to respond to my emails and phone calls. She went above and beyond to assure I was well represented.

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Posted by anonymous | November 19, 2017

Unprepared lawyer

I hired Kathryn to handle my divorce. At first she was very responsive, but as we approached our trial date she became less and less available. I asked her at the very beginning if she could fully defend a father and she said she could. I also made it very clear that I was fighting for 50/50 parenting time and equitable division of assets, something of Illinois divorce court does not normally do for fathers. On the date of trial, we had a pretrial conference where my ex was awarded an significantly inequitable amount of assets and future income (maintenance and child support). Her response was that it is only money and I could make more. After the divorce was final she sent me an extremely large bill and when I questioned it, she chastised me and stated she has a kid in college. So to her, money only matters when it’s going to her. She also advised me to give up my interest in my ex’s pension for a present day value. At the time, I was pretty sure this was the wrong choice and questioned her. I ended up going against her recommendation because everyone (lawyer, accountants, etc) I have talked to since have told me I made the correct decision. I’m guessing if I was a women she would have put real effort into my case, but I caution and father who wants to get equal time with their kids and equitable division of assets to avoid her. There are enough things against fathers; your lawyer should not be one of them.

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Posted by anonymous | September 2, 2010

Too expensive

I actually withdrew my divorce filing with Kathryn due to her retainer fee of $2,500 which she charged me after the initial free consultation but having done nothing otherwise. There was no payment plan. I became flat broke and withdrew the divorce when I found out that other lawyers charged less and had payment plans available. In spite of my withdrawal, Kathryn charged me more than $700 for "work already done", which was merely one form of petition of marriage dissolution.

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AVVO RATING 9.7 (Superb)

Work Experience

Partner
DiGiacomo & Somers, LLC
1997 - Present

TV Host
Law Talk
1996 - 2000

Partner
Law Offices of Kathryn M. Somers
1985 - 1998

Associate
Zalutsky & Pinski, Ltd.
1983 - 1985

Associate
Law Offices of Peter Francis Geraci
1981 - 1983

View all work experience

Education

DePaul University College of Law
JD - Juris Doctor
1980

Northeastern Illinois University
MA - Masters
1976

Northwestern University
BA - Bachelor of Arts
1975

Associations

International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
Member
2002 - Present

Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
Member
2002 - Present

Chicago Bar Association
Member
1983 - Present

Illinois State Bar Association
Member
N/A

Lake County Bar Associations
Member
N/A

Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
Chair of Training & Education Committee
2012 - 2015

Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
Former Board of Directors
2009 - 2012

Mediation Council of Illinois
Former Board of Directors
1995 - 2000

Chicago Bar Association,Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
Chairman
1993 - 1994

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Languages Spoken

English

Honors and Awards

Outstanding Leadership
The Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
2012

Certificate of Recognition
Mediation Council of Illinois
2001

Certificate of Appreciation
Chicago Bar Association
1995

Publications

Suburban Woman North Shore
Deciding on Divorce- Knowing Your Options
2007

Divorce Magazine
Expert Advice
1996

Speaking Engagements

Basic Collaborative Law Training
Collaborative Divorce
2018

Understanding Child Support and Parenting Plans
Parenting Plans and Allocation Judgments
2018

Cook County Child Representative Training
Is This Child Doomed?
2015

Divorce University
Collaborative Law & Mediation
2013

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Attorney endorsements

Received (9)

Given (10)

Endorse Kathryn

Brigitte Bell

Divorce and separation Attorney | Jan 31
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"Kathryn and I have known each other and worked together for a long time, originally through our work in mediation, and now as Collaborative professionals. We have worked together on challenging Collaborative cases and helped our clients discuss and find solutions to difficult situations without the need to involve judges or the legal system for anything more than approval of their unique agreement. I trust her not to make the issues more difficult than necessary and not to be positional when problem-solving would help the family more. I refer to her as a mediation-friendly attorney when I am the mediator for people who don't want lawyers to spoil their self-directed settlements."

Lyn Conniff

Divorce and separation Attorney | Apr 03
Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"Kathryn Somers is an outstanding family law attorney. Kathryn and I have worked on Collaborative divorces, and I have appreciated her professionalism, while diligently representing her client's interests. Kathryn is a creative problems solver who works well with her peers and clients."

Kimberly Anderson

Divorce and separation Attorney | Jan 16
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer. Great advocate for her clients. Hire Kathryn when you need a strong litigator in your corner."

Jason Sposeep

Divorce and separation Attorney | Oct 15
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse Kathryn. Kathryn is well respected in the divorce community and specifically as it relates to her work in Collaborative divorce."

James Palmisano

Family Attorney | Sep 15
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I endorse this lawyer."

Loren Lapidus

Child custody Attorney | May 29
Relationship: Co-worker

"Kathryn is a skilled and knowledgable advocate for children. Being a child's representative is one of the most challenging areas of family law and it requires a combination of compassion and strength. Kathryn has both of these skills and is therefore able to help families through difficult times."

Janice Berman

Divorce and separation Attorney | May 17
Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter

"I endorse this lawyer."

Carol Di Giacomo

Child custody Attorney | May 16
Relationship: Co-worker

"I endorse this lawyer. I've known Kathryn for almost 30 years as a practicing attorney. She is very knowledgeable of the law and works hard to achieve her client's goals. I believe she is an asset to the legal community."

Sandra Rosenbloom

Family Attorney | Mar 26
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community

"I wholeheartedly endorse Kathryn Somers as a fine and principled attorney who represents her clients with the highest of standards.. Kathryn is knowledgeable, experienced and compassionate. I have worked on Collaborative cases with her and always have found her to treat clients, her own as well as mine, with dignity and respect."

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