KATIE McATEER

Katie McAteer graduated from the University of Illinois in 1996 with a B.A. in Sociology. After working at a community mental health center in Chicago, she returned to U of I in 2000 to get her Juris Doctor and has practiced law for almost twenty years. She received her family and divorce mediation certificate in 2020. Katie is passionate about mediation because she has personally experienced the emotional and financial devastation of a contested divorce in court. She is now happily divorced and lives with her two teenagers, 3 cats, and one dog in Arlington Heights.

I truly believe that, when possible, mediation is far and away the best method for resolving the issues related to the dissolution of a marriage and custody of minor children. Based on my traumatic experience in the Cook County Domestic Relations system, the main benefit I see of mediation is the level of control over their lives the parties can retain.

Katie McAteer