Launch of Katz & Stefani Signals New Era in Matrimonial Law

February 15, 2008 – Chicago, IL – Two of Chicago’s most well respected matrimonial lawyers, P. André Katz and Daniel R. Stefani, announced this week that they have teamed as co-principals with the launch of Katz & Stefani, LLC. Joining their practice at its inception are attorneys David Clyde Ainley, Amanda B. Clayman, Margaret E. Keane, Andrea L. Hopkins, Karen V. Paige and Elizabeth Stark Bailey. Office locations include Chicago and Bannockburn, Illinois.

The Katz & Stefani team has represented many individuals whose cases involved the distribution of multi-million dollar holdings and required sophisticated financial expertise. These lawyers have extensive backgrounds in business, financial planning, taxation and accounting. They also have considerable experience in custody issues, including but not limited to international custody disputes involving the Hauge Convention, as well as interstate custody disputes brought under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”).

As legal colleagues and adversaries over the past 15 years, Katz and Stefani have represented numerous high-profile clients nationwide, earning both an industry-wide and mutual respect along the way for their sophisticated approach to matrimonial law, something often lacking in an area of practice sometimes known for lawyer-driven client hostility.

“I worked closely for more than a decade with André during his tenure at McDermott Will & Emery,” said Sandra Murphy, head of the Family Law Practice Group at McDermott and one of the most highly regarded matrimonial lawyers in the nation. “In addition to being an outstanding attorney, André is among a select handful of matrimonial law practitioners in the Chicago area, Daniel Stefani among them, who understand and deliver the highest caliber client representation while generating great results in the process.”

According to Daniel Stefani, “André and I were fortunate to learn the practice of dignified and effective matrimonial law from our former partners and mentors at McDermott Will & Emery and Schiller DuCanto and Fleck, and from one another at Berger Shatz. We respect and understand the privacy concerns of our clients, and we strive to provide the representation that minimizes the typical fueling of client hostilities while maximizing our client’s results.

“We see people usually at the worst point in their lives, and we try to bring dignity to the process without compromising out client’s position. What brought Andre and I together in forming Katz & Stefani, LLC was a common respect for a smarter, more thoughtfil, client-driven approach to an area of law that desperately needs a new direction.”

With this week’s launch of Katz & Stefani, LLC, a new era of matrimonial law begins.