Urbik Kern, Laura M. Esq.

Current Employment Position(s)

Principal

Lawyer Overview

I recognize that you have a choice in attorneys and all family law attorneys CAN ultimately resolve your problem. The questions you must ask is, "Will the attorney I choose work to dismantle my marriage as carefully as it was originally built? Will my children be the #1 priority throughout the process? Will my lawyer explain the process and recognize that my life will be forever changed from this point forever?"

Our practice is a client centered, team approach: your life, your decisions. We will guide you, lay out your options and try to teach you conflict resolution methods that you may use in the future. Your family unit needs to be dismantled with the same care as when it was built. Our goal is to try to preserve family principles while resolving your problems.

Areas of Practice

• Family Law - General
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)/Mediation
• Criminal Law

West Practice Categories

Criminal Law, Family Law, Transportation Law, Aviation

Bar Admissions

• U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 1984
• Supreme Court of Illinois, 1984
• Supreme Court of New York, 1985

Professional Associations and Memberships

• DuPage County Arbitration Program , 1990 - Present (Arbitrator)
• City of Elmhurst Police and Fire Commissioner, 2000 - 2005
• DuPage County Mediation Program, 1995 - Present (Mediator)
• City of Elmhurst Youth Commission, 1995 - 1996 (Commissioner)
• Federal Defender Program, Chicago, Illinois, 1983 - 1984 (Internship)
• California Western School of Law, San Diego, California, 1982 - 1983 (Research Assistant)
• Special Committee on Juvenile Justice, 2010 - 2011
• Custody Illinois State Bar Association, 2003 - 2007 (Co-Chair, Special Committee)
• Special Committee on Child Representatives, 2000 (Member)
• Visitation Council of Catholic Women, 1999 - 2007 (Legislation Chair)
• Attorney General's Task Force on Violence to Children, 1997 - 2000 (Member)
• Special Task Force on Children’s Representatives, 1997 - 1999 (Member)
• Task Force on Unified Family Courts, 1997 - 1999 (Member)
• Committee to Establish Juvenile Conflict Attorney, DuPage County, 1988 (Member)
• Illinois State Bar Association, 1984 - Present (Member)
• Illinois State Bar Association, Family Law Section Council, 2004 - 2005 (Ex-Officio)
• Illinois State Bar Association, Family Law Section Council, 2003 - 2004 (Chair)
• Illinois State Bar Association Family Law Section Council, 2002 - 2003 (Vice Chair)
• Illinois State Bar Association, Family Law Section Council, 2002 - 2003 (Vice Chair)
• Illinois State Bar Association, Family Law Section Council, 2001 - Present (Secretary)
• Illinois State Bar Association, 2001 - 2008 (Assembly Member)
• Illinois State Bar Association, Family Law Section Council, 1998 - 2001 (Member, Continuing Legal Education Committee )
• DuPage County Bar Association, 1984 - Present
• DuPage County Bar Association (Member, Committee Member)
• DuPage County Bar Association (Children's Rights Committee)
• DuPage County Bar Association, 1994 - 1997 (Board of Directors)
• DuPage County Bar Association, 1993 - 1994 (Chair & Founder Children’s Rights Committee)
• DuPage County Bar Association (Family Law Committee)
• Association of Family Court and Community Professionals
• DuPage Juvenile Officers Association
• DuPage Women Lawyers Association
• Illinois Juvenile Officer Association
• Illinois Mediation Counsel
• National Association of Counsel for Children
• CASA of DuPage, 1996 - 2000 (Pro Bono Staff Attorney)
• DuPage County Legal Aid Office, 1986 - Present (Pro Bono Attorney)
• International Academy of Collaborative Professionals
• Supreme Court of the United States, 2009

Honors and Awards

• BV Rated by Martindale Hubbell
• Selected by Peers as Leading Lawyer (Top 5% in State in Family Law), 2003 - 2010
• Top 100 Consumer Lawyers by Leading Lawyers
• Top 50 Women Lawyers by Leading Lawyers
• 2003 Pro Bono Award - DuPage County Bar Association Legal Aid
• American Jurisprudence Award, 1984
• Best Appellate Brief Award, 1982
• Special Commendation for Outstanding Performance in Legal Research, Writing and Oral Argument, 1982
• Illinois Collaborative Law Fellow

Classes and Seminars

• Instructor, University of Illinois Officer Training School, Champaign, Illinois, 1993 - 1994
• Instructor, Responsibilities included Teaching Classes on Juvenile Law, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, 1991 - 1992
• Lecturer, Family Law Topics, 1999 - Present
• Instructor, YWCA Legal Night, 1996 - Present
• Mediation Training Instructor, College of DuPage, 2009
• Moderator, Illinois Continuing Legal Education Family Law , 2008
• Presenter, DuPage County Bar Association Adoption Seminar, 2007
• Presenter, Interviewing Children, Guardian ad litem Training, DuPage County, 2006 - 2009
• Presenter, DuPage County Bar Association Mega Meeting, Parental Allocation, 2005 - Present
• Presenter, Elder Law Seminar, Part II, 2003
• Presenter, Advice for Family Law Practitioner, Kids Come First, Illinois State Bar Association, 2002
• Presenter, Illinois State Bar Association Family Law Program, 2000
• Presenter, Illinois State Bar Association Family Law, 2000
• Presenter, Mega Meeting DuPage County Bar Association, 2000
• Facilitator, Juvenile Diversion Program , 1999 - 2000
• Presenter, Child Representative Training, 1999
• Oral Presentations, Metro Family Services and Tough Love, 1996 - 1998
• Presenter, DuPage Association of Women Lawyers, Annual Trial Advocacy Seminar, 1996

Pro Bono Activities

• DuPage County Professional Women's Network, 2008
• Think Tank - Family Advocacy
• Member, Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce, 2005 - Present
• Participant, Law Day Mock Trial, 1999 - Present
• Member, Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce, 1996 - 1998
• Hinsdale Rotary, 1994 - 1996

Past Employment Positions

• Kubiesa, Spiroff, Gosselar, Acker & Kern, P.C. , 2001 - 2004
• DuPage County Prosecution of Traffic, Juvenile and Criminal Misdemeanors & Felonies, Assistant States Attorney, 1985 - 1988
• Village of Roselle, Village Prosecutor, 1994 - 2006
• City of Elmhurst Police and Fire Commissioner, 2000 - 2005

Education

• California Western School of Law, San Diego, California, 1984
  J.D.
• University of Salzburg, Faculty of Law, Salzburg, Austria, 1982
  Course Work and Certification in International Legal Studies & Jurisprudence
• McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento, California, 1982
• College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, Minnesota, 1978
  B.A.
  Major: Political Science
• Immaculate Conception High School, Elmhurst, Illinois, 1975

Accepts Credit Cards

Published Works

• Editorials, Illinois State Bar Association Family Law Newsletter, September 2003, December 2003, April 2004
• Editorial: "Children’s Rights", DuPage County Bar Brief, January, 1994
• Book Review: "Legal Rights of Children", DuPage County Bar Brief, January, 1994

Address

386 North York Road
Suite 204
Elmhurst, IL 60126-2367

Office Hours

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday

Phones

630-333-9169
866-595-4098

Faxes

630-993-1231

Emails

Contact Us

Websites

http://www.laurakern.com
http://familykidlaw.org