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Our Firm

Skilled Divorce and Family Lawyers Serving Clients in Cook County, Will County and Neighboring Counties of Kankakee, Grundy, Kendall, Kane and DuPage.

Oak Park and Mokena Divorce Attorneys

At Wakenight & Associates, P.C., our compassionate team knows how difficult a divorce or family law dispute can be, and we understand why you might hesitate to call a lawyer. You may even believe that lawyers only make things more complicated than they need to be. At Wakenight & Associates, P.C. this idea could not be further from the truth. A skilled attorney from our firm can provide experienced guidance and representation in all matters of family law and can help you make sense of even the most challenging situations.

Our law firm focuses exclusively on matters related to divorce and family law only, which means that we understand the challenges associated with such cases. We offer evening and weekend appointments to accommodate your busy lifestyle. We have two convenient locations to serve you and our remote internet systems allow for speedy, efficient and easy communications. Our lawyers will help minimize your stress and anxiety while fully protecting your rights at every stage of the legal process.

More About Us

For many people, a divorce or family-related dispute represents their first experience with the Illinois legal system. Unfortunately, resolving such a dispute is not always easy. The personal nature of family law conflicts frequently leads to strong emotions such as anger, resentment, and hostility which can hinder an efficient resolution. In many cases, facts and objective truths may be distorted by the parties' feelings, and too often, children are caught in the middle.

The lawyers at our firm have more than 95 years of combined legal experience, and our entire staff is focused exclusively on the practice of family law. Our attorneys are committed to finding a resolution, not wasting time and money on unproductive tasks. With our background, knowledge, and attention to detail, we are equipped to help our clients recognize what is at stake in their dispute. We will help you understand your options and the possible consequences of your decisions before you make them. By giving you the tools you need, we can help facilitate the favorable outcome that you deserve.

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Our Attorneys

Mark T. Wakenight

President

Mark T. Wakenight

President

Mark T. Wakenight graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1988 and returned home to the Chicago area. For the next 12 years, he represented clients in many different areas of law including bankruptcy, criminal defense, human rights, personal injury, property damage, real estate, traffic, license reinstatement, adoption, probate, guardianship, paternity, divorce, etc. When Bartley F. Goldberg, a classmate from the University of Chicago, was looking for a litigator to join his practice, Mark joined Mr. Goldberg in his Lincoln Park Office. The pair later created the Law Offices of Goldberg & Wakenight and thereafter opened an Oak Park Office. It was then that Mark began to refine his thinking about the type of clients he wanted to represent.

 
Words from Attorney Wakenight Himself

Mark shares his experience in establishing Wakenight & Associates:

By the time I opened Wakenight & Associates, P.C. in Oak Park, it was clear that I was most comfortable representing divorce and family law clients, and that if I wanted to improve as a lawyer, I had to pursue these areas of law wholeheartedly. I could not hope to become a good divorce and family law attorney by representing clients with other types of problems.

As my divorce and family law business grew, I soon had more clients than I could handle, and I began to hire like-minded Associates to represent the additional clients. This made the process better still because now I had colleagues with whom I could exchange ideas, strategies, and information and my office has been growing ever since.

We still get occasional requests to represent clients in other types of cases, but we do not accept any case outside family law.

All we do is family law, all day, every day. That's the philosophy behind our company which is why today the firm is known as the Divorce and Family Law Offices of Wakenight & Associates, P.C.

 
The Most Important Cases in Family Law: Child Custody

In child custody cases, the stakes are high, the pressure is intense and emotions run high. Over the years Mark T. Wakenight has successfully won custody for many clients. "It's not just a matter of knowing and applying the facts to the law it's also a matter of coaching a distraught mother or father through the most difficult time of their lives. Just like I took these cases now my Associates capably handle these difficult cases, but with much more help from colleagues and myself, where necessary."

In handling custody cases Wakenight became eligible to serve as an attorney for children in custody cases and in 2001 he was certified by the Honorable Judge Moshe Jacobius, then Presiding Judge of the Cook County Domestic Relations Division, to represent children in custody cases in the Circuit Court of Cook County Illinois. He maintained that certification until 2013 when he resigned to concentrate more fully on the management of the Divorce and Family Law Offices of Wakenight & Associates, P.C.

Practice Areas
  • Divorce
  • Paternity
  • Custody
  • Guardianship
  • Child Support
  • Maintenance
  • Property Division
  • Visitation
  • Post-Decree Litigation
  • Grandparents Rights
Bar Admissions
  • Illinois, 1988
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1989
Education
  • University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, Kansas, 1988, J.D.
  • University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1981, B.A.
Professional Associations
  • American Bar Association
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • DuPage County Bar Association
  • Will County Bar Association
  • West Suburban Bar Association

 

 

 

 

 

Bio

Melissa S. Fish

Senior Associate Attorney

Melissa S. Fish

Senior Associate Attorney

Melissa S. Fish earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 2006 and in 2007 she started the study of law at John Marshall Law School not at all certain what direction those studies might take her. In her second year of law school, however, Melissa took a Family Law Course as an elective and the uncertainty was over. Melissa aced the class and earned the 2009 Family Law CALI award given to that student who does the best in the class. Melissa, thereafter, pursued her interest by working with the Cook County Office of Public Guardian where she represented and fought for abused and neglected children. She also worked at the Domestic Violence Clinic at 555 W. Harrison where she encountered the type of high conflict situations that persuade many attorneys to pursue other areas of practice. She further honed her courtroom skills by working for the Lake County State's Attorney's Office where, as a 711 licensee, she appeared in Court regularly. In 2010 Melissa graduated from John Marshall Law School.

After starting her family law career with a small family law firm in the northern suburbs, in 2011 Melissa was hired by the Divorce and Family Law Offices of Wakenight & Associates, P.C. in Oak Park. Just as she demonstrated in that first family law class Melissa immediately took to her new position and responsibilities with a flourish. She has excelled in her representation of her divorce and family law clients in and out of the courtroom to quickly establish herself as the top Associate Attorney in the Oak Park Office. She provides her clients with the counsel and communications they require, takes command of the legal issues in the case and presents the Court with the concise exact analysis and evidence that the Court expects from an attorney such as Melissa, who has devoted her career to the practice of divorce and family law.

Practice Areas
  • Family Law
  • Domestic Relations
  • Divorce
  • Paternity
  • Child Support
  • Allocation of Parental Responsibilities 
Bar Admissions
  • Illinois, 2010
Education
  • The John Marshall Law School, May 2010, J.D.
  • The University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana, 2006, B.A. English
Professional Associations
  • Illinois State Bar Association
Past Employment
  • Associate Attorney, The Law Office of Martin Delaney, May-October 2011
  • 711 Law Clerk, Lake County States Attorney, Jan-May 2010
  • 711 Law Clerk, Cook County Public Guardian's Office, 2009
  • 711 Law Clerk, Domestic Violence Legal Clinic, 2009
Bio

Gonzalo Gomez

Senior Associate Attorney

Gonzalo Gomez

Senior Associate

In 1990, after four years of service in the United States Army, Gonzalo was Honorably Discharged and returned to the Chicago area to pursue a career in law enforcement. For the next fifteen years, Gonzalo was employed as a full-time police officer in Elmhurst and Bensenville, where he was highly decorated and received numerous awards of merit and honor. He served as a patrol officer, tactical officer, detective, and finally as Sergeant. He also became a licensed Emergency Medical Technician and an Illinois Certified Firefighter II.

When he wasn't busy being a police officer, Gonzalo went to college part-time and in 1997 received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Illinois University. He then went to law school at night and in 2004 obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

In 2008 Gonzalo retired from the police force to practice law full time. His long service as a police officer had exposed him to domestic violence, child abuse, crisis intervention, drug and alcohol abuse and numerous families with problems that needed the help of third-party professionals.

Due to these experiences, Gonzalo was drawn to the practice of family law and he has dedicated himself as an attorney to helping clients with divorce and family law problems ever since. He has helped clients with litigation over custody, visitation and parenting issues, with complex financial issues and, with DCFS cases, appeals, hearings, trials and more.

After 13 years of practicing in the family law and divorce arena, in 2017, Gonzalo began looking to join a team of attorneys that also shared his passions and desires in family and divorce law. So that year, Gonzalo joined a team of similarly-dedicated attorneys at Wakenight & Associates, P.C. where he currently serves as a Senior Associate Attorney at their Oak Park Office serving Cook County.

Gonzalo has a bilingual (English-Spanish) education, is fluent in Spanish (written and spoken) and has many Spanish speaking clients. His familiarity with the military and civil services has made Gonzalo a natural choice to provide legal services to active and inactive military personnel and police and fire department employees. As a married father of three with an additional three step-children, Gonzalo is well versed in and acclimated to the many complex issues confronting modern "blended" families.

Lastly, Gonzalo continues to strive and adds to his knowledge in family and divorce law by attending continuing legal education programs offered by the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Chicago, DuPage County and the West Suburban Bar Association. Gonzalo received a fellowship for professionalism jointly from the DuPage Bar Association and North Park University in Naperville after an intensive program undertaking studies on legal ethics and professionalism concerning the practice of law in Divorce and Family Law.

Practice Areas
  • Family Law
Bar Admissions
  • Illinois, 2004
  • Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar, 2006
  • Attorney and Counselor of the United States Supreme Court 2015
Education
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2003, J.D.
  • Western Illinois University, 1997, B.A.
Honors and Awards
  • Academy of Bar Leaders (through a joint program with North Park College, Naperville, IL and DuPage Bar Association) Fellowship for Professionalism in the Legal Profession, 2007
  • DuPage County Domestic Relations Divisions' Pro Se Night Court Program and at Domestic Relations help desk Pro-Bono Recognition Awards, 2007-2010
Professional Associations
  • American Bar Association, 2017
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • Chicago Bar Association - Family Law Committee
  • Illinois Hispanic Lawyer's Association - Judicial Evaluations Committee
Bio

Gonzalo Gomez

Asociado Senior

En 1990, después de cuatro años de servicio en el ejército de los Estados Unidos, Gonzalo fue Honorablemente Exonerado y regresó al área de Chicago para seguir una carrera en la aplicación de la ley. Por los próximos quince años, Gonzalo estuvo empleado como oficial de la policía a tiempo completo en Elmhurst y Bensenville, donde fue condecorado y recibió numerosos premios de mérito y honor. Se desempeñó como oficial de patrulla, oficial táctico, detective y, finalmente, como sargento. También sirvió como Técnico Médico de Emergencias y Bombero Certificado Illinois II.

Cuando no estaba ocupado laborando como oficial de la policía, Gonzalo asistía a la universidad a tiempo parcial y en 1997 adquirió un Bachillerato en Artes de la Universidad del Oeste de Illinois. Luego fue a la escuela de derecho en la noche y en 2004 obtuvo su título de Juris Doctor en Chicago-Kent College of Law.

En 2008, Gonzalo se retiró de la fuerza policial para ejercer la ley a tiempo completo. Su largo servicio como oficial de la policía lo había expuesto a violencia doméstica, abuso infantil, intervención en crisis, abuso de drogas y alcohol y numerosas familias con problemas que necesitaban la ayuda de otros profesionales.

Debido a estas experiencias, Gonzalo se sintió atraído por la práctica del derecho de familia y desde entonces se ha dedicado como abogado a ayudar a los clientes con problemas de divorcio y derecho de familia. Ha ayudado a clientes con litigios sobre custodia, visitas y cuestiones de crianza de los hijos, con problemas financieros complejos y, con casos de DCFS, apelaciones, audiencias, juicios y más.

Después de 13 años de práctica en el ámbito del derecho de familia y divorcio, en 2017, Gonzalo comenzó a buscar unirse a un equipo de abogados que también compartiera sus pasiones y deseos en las mismas áreas de práctica. Entonces, ese año, Gonzalo se unió a un equipo de abogados con la misma dedicación en Wakenight & Associates, P.C. donde actualmente se desempeña como Abogado Asociado Senior en la oficina de Oak Park que presta servicios en el Condado de Cook.

Gonzalo tiene una educación bilingüe (inglés-español), habla español (escrito y hablado) con fluidez y tiene muchos clientes que hablan español. Su familiaridad con los servicios militares y civiles ha hecho de Gonzalo una opción natural para brindar servicios legales a personal militar activo e inactivo, así como a empleados de la policía y del departamento de bomberos. Como un padre casado de tres hijos y tres hijastras, Gonzalo está bien versado y acostumbrado a los muchos problemas y complicaciones que enfrentan las familias “mixtas” modernas.

Por último, Gonzalo continúa esforzándose y aumenta su conocimiento en derecho de familia y divorcio al asistir a programas de educación legal continuada ofrecidos por el Colegio de Abogados del Estado de Illinois, el Instituto de Educación Continua de Illinois, el Condado de DuPage y el Colegio de Abogados del Oeste de Illinois. Gonzalo recibió una beca para profesionalismo en conjunto del Colegio de Abogados de DuPage y la Universidad de North Park en Naperville después de un programa intensivo que emprendió estudios sobre ética legal y profesionalismo en relación con la práctica de la ley en Divorcio y Derecho de Familia.

Áreas de Práctica
  • Derecho de Familia
Admisiones a Colegios de Abogados
  • Illinois, 2004
  • Colegio de Juicios del Distrito Norte de Illinois, 2006
  • Abogado y Consejero de la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos 2015
Educacion
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2003, J.D.
  • Universidad del Oeste de Illinois, 1997, B.A.
Honores y Reconocimientos
  • Academy of Bar Leaders (mediante un programa conjunto con North Park College, Naperville, IL y el Colegio de Abogados del Condado de DuPage) Fellowship for Professionalism in the Legal Profession, 2007
  • DuPage County Domestic Relations Divisions' Pro Se Night Court Program and at Domestic Relations help desk Pro-Bono Recognition Awards, 2007-2010
Afiliaciones Profesionales
  • Colegio de Abogados de Estados Unidos, 2017
  • Colegio de Abogados del Estado de Illinois
  • Colegio de Abogados de Chicago - Comité de Derecho de Familia
  • Asociación de Abogados Hispanos de Illinois - Comité Judicial de Evaluaciones
Bio (Español)
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Contact Us Today

From our offices in Oak Park, Illinois, and Mokena, Illinois we serve clients throughout the Chicago area including but not limited to Chicago, Cicero, Berwyn, Oak Lawn, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Evanston, Palatine, Schaumburg, Tinley Park, Mt. Prospect, Barrington, Hoffman Estates, Buffalo Grove, Bartlett, Streamwood, Hanover Park, Wheeling, Elk Grove, Orland Park, Joliet, Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Naperville, Romeoville, Lockport, New Lenox, Frankfort, Homer Glen, Aurora, Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Yorkville, Morris, Kankakee, etc.

© 2020 Wakenight & Associates, P.C. | 1100 Lake Street, Suite 120, Oak Park, IL 60301 | 708-848-3159
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