Profile

Prior to starting The Law Offices of Jonathan Merel, P.C. in early 2009, Jonathan was an attorney with another Chicago-based family law practice for many years. He has represented a wide range of clients in nearly every type of family law situation.

Jonathan has a great deal of experience in obtaining favorable outcomes for his clients in multi-million dollar marital estates and contested custody suits. His ability to settle heated divorces and custody disputes has gained him a great deal of respect from fellow attorneys and judges within the Chicagoland legal community. When settlement is not a viable or reasonable option, Jonathan’s experience as a zealous litigator in the courtroom has produced outstanding results for his clients.

Always committed to his clients and their causes, Jonathan's philosophy is to build strong, trusting relationships with his clients, founded on caring, listening, smart legal strategy, and open and regular communications.

Known as a skillful and aggressive negotiator with strong tenacity, Jonathan has an impressive track record of protecting his clients’ best interests and helping them meet their legal goals.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1999, Jonathan received a Juris Doctor from the Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2002. While at Chicago-Kent, he was on the Dean’s List and served as a law clerk at a family law firm in Chicago. This valuable and diverse, hands-on work experience sparked Jonathan’s passion for helping others through the practice of family law.

Jonathan has provided his legal expertise to prominent national media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and NBC's Today Show. Jonathan was selected as a 2012 Super Lawyer Rising Star. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. To view Jonathan's Super Lawyer online profile, click Jonathan's name in the Super Lawyer's icon below.

Jonathan is a member of the American Bar Association (and American Bar Association Family Law Committee), Illinois Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, North Suburban Bar Association, and Lake County Bar Association.

Melissa graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science (2007). She then went on to earn her Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law (2010), where she was named to the Dean’s list.

During law school, Melissa clerked for Chicago-Kent’s distinguished Family Law Clinic, where she worked closely with clients throughout various stages of litigation. Melissa is also a certified mediator and has used her mediation skills extensively to resolve cases in the Cook County court system, as well as issues with her clients in private practice. She has been working exclusively in the area of family law since 2008.

Melissa has worked with the Law Offices of Jonathan Merel since 2009, having worked as a law clerk prior to being admitted to the Illinois Bar. She has helped her clients solve their legal problems in all areas of domestic relations including property settlements, establishing appropriate amounts of child support and maintenance, visitation enforcement, establishing parentage, analyzing and investigating complicated financial assets and transactions, obtaining and defending orders of protection, and resolving similarly related disputes. Melissa has been licensed to practice since 2010 and is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, and American Bar Association.

Melissa has been selected as a 2012 Super Lawyer Rising Star. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. To view Melissa's Super Lawyer online profile, click Melissa's name in the Super Lawyer's icon below.