As a child, Michele M. Jochner couldn’t wait until her next visit to the bookstore. “It was exciting to return home with a bag full of books and dive into the captivating stories told on those pages, being completely enthralled until the last word,” she says. Her appreciation of effective communication and a desire to help people in difficult times led her to family law, where she has been honored as one of the top 50 most influential women in law and listed in Best Lawyers in America. Jochner is the ardent voice for her high-asset appellate clients seeking to protect hard-won trial victories or looking to reverse adverse rulings, while also serving as her firm’s go-to legal problem solver for critical trial pleadings requiring sophisticated analysis, advocacy, and drafting. “The stakes are about as high as they can get when family law issues become contentious: a divorce is a ‘watershed moment’ because day-to-day life will never be the same,” she explains. Jochner—a former law clerk to two Chief Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court, a sought-after speaker, and a recognized thought leader who has penned more than 200 articles—has the unquestioned expertise, reputation, and credibility to tell the compelling stories of her clients in a way that strongly resonates with judges. With so much hanging in the balance, clients highly value her unique skills to obtain a favorable result; as she notes, “rock-solid research, writing, and strategy is extremely tough to beat.”

For more information, visit sdflaw.com/team/detail/michele-jochner/bio.