Lavelle Law Attorney Preps for Lecture at DePaul College of Law
Colleen Hurley, a family law attorney at Lavelle Law, will be serving as a guest lecturer at the DePaul College of Law Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center's Lunch & Learn Series on Sept. 26. Hurley's presentation on how to establish a parentage case is open to all DePaul College of Law students.
Hurley, who graduated from DePaul College of Law with a family law certificate, joined Lavelle Law in 2017. She plans to share with the students the process for establishing a parentage case with particular focus on recent changes to the Illinois law as introduced by the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015.
"Like many laws, the original Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 had become outdated and not relevant with shifts in cultural and family dynamics," says Hurley. "Since that time, same-sex marriage has become legal, and there has been a shift to focus more on equal responsibility for mothers and fathers."
In addition to cleaning up terminology (parentage instead of paternity, and parent as opposed to mother or father), the Parentage Act of 2015 recognizes the right of every child to the physical, mental, emotional, and financial support of his or her parent. Those rights extend equally to each child regardless of the legal relationship of the parents.
"I'll cover changes in what was known as a paternity test or DNA testing while highlighting some things which haven't changed but are critical to presenting a parentage case such as Temporary Orders of child support, removal, and child representation," Hurley explains. "I'm looking forward to returning to DePaul and providing some background for these future attorneys as they begin to chart out their career path in law."
Students can register for the event on Simplicity. Colleen Hurley can be reached at 847-705-7555 or churley@lavellelaw.com.
Lavelle Law's main office is in Schaumburg with an additional office in the Chicago Loop. The firm was founded in 1989 as a single attorney practice with an emphasis on tax law. The firm has added more than a dozen practice groups including Estate Planning, Business Law, Litigation, Criminal Defense, Immigration, Divorce and Family Law, Commercial and Residential Real Estate, and Law Practice Consulting. The firm has received numerous awards and commendations for its business success and commitment to ethics, national recognition for its pro bono services, and multiple acknowledgements of the charitable work it provides in local communities. For information, visit www.lavellelaw.com or follow Lavelle Law on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.