A Highly Experienced Chicago Family Lawyer Serving Cook County in Illinois
Laurel Black Rector is acknowledged as a highly experienced and dedicated attorney in the practice of family law in Cook County (including Suburban Districts), and collar counties in Illinois.
Laurel Rector has extensive experience in representing clients in all areas of family law, including but not limited to:
- divorce
- property and debt division
- custody (now known as Allocation of Parental Responsibility)
- maintenance
- child support
- pre-and post-nuptial agreements
- issues related exclusively to never married parents
- domestic violence, and
- issues that arise after the divorce (post-judgment), such as college contribution and enforcement of divorce judgments.
Ms. Rector uses her vast experience to educate and inform her clients so that they may make the best decisions for the future. She also ensures that it is the client who is making the decisions. Because her firm is small, she is able to provide the necessary individual attention that each client requires and deserves.
Practicing Exclusively in Family Law Since 1991
Laurel Rector commenced her exclusive practice in the area of family law in 1991 while working as a Support Enforcement Prosecutor in St. Louis County, Missouri and obtained the first felony non-support conviction of a non-paying parent in that County. Through her employment in various government agencies, she has extensive trial experience. She commenced her private practice in the area of Family Law in 1996.
An Adjunct Professor at John Marshall Law School
Laurel Rector is also an adjunct professor at the Domestic Violence and Family Law Clinic at John Marshall Law School, where she supervises students in handling domestic violence and domestic relations matters.
Rated as a Distinguished Attorney for 15 Straight Years
Laurel Rector has received a “Distinguished” rating 15 years in a row from Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™, the gold standard in attorney ratings which have recognized lawyers for their strong legal ability and high ethical standards for more than a century.
Volunteer Work in Domestic Violence
Laurel Rector also has extensive volunteer experience with various domestic violence agencies including Apha Ghar and WINGS.
She was on the Board of WINGS for more than 11 years. WINGS provides a full spectrum of services to women and children who are victims of domestic violence. Their services start with a Domestic Violence Shelter (built from the ground up and opened in 2005) all the way through transitional housing and services after graduation.
Additional Volunteer Work
Ms. Rector has won awards for her volunteer work from the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services and Pro Bono Advocates (now known as the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic)
Since 2016, Ms. Rector has volunteered for the Girl Scout Law Track Project which is sponsored by Girl Scouts Of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. In this project, one or two girl scouts are assigned to each attorney to learn about the law and to even put on a mock trial at the Federal District Courthouse in downtown Chicago. The scouts range in age from 12 to 17 and come from a variety of areas in Chicago. Some of the scouts want to become attorneys and others just want the experience of learning a new skill and broadening their horizons.
Education
Laurel Rector is a graduate of the University of Rochester (N. Y.) with Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science (with honors) and a minor in both history and music. She is a 1978 graduate of Washington University (St. Louis) School Of Law.