Michael J. Scalzo

Founder

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Michael J. Scalzo has been practicing family law in DuPage County, Illinois since 1978, when he was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force, where he served as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He has tried many cases to verdict and through the appellate process. In 2019, he delivered an in-person oral argument before the Illinois Supreme Court in a case involving a DuPage County family law matter, and he prevailed on behalf of his client. More importantly, he has negotiated favorable settlements on behalf of his clients and avoided litigation.

He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and has served on its ADR and Family Law Section Councils. He also has served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Bar Foundation and is currently on its Lawyers Care Committee. He is an active member of the DuPage County Bar Association and has served on numerous committees and been a member of its Executive Committee. He is currently General Counsel of the DuPage County Bar Association. He served on the Board of the DuPage Legal Assistance Foundation for many years and served as its President on two occasions. He has been on the Board of Directors of Prairie State Legal Services and served as its Treasurer. He is a Fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and has served on the Board of Directors and as its Treasurer. He was selected as the DuPage Justinian Society Man of the Year in 2016.

He has been a court-appointed divorce mediator since the inception of the program and has mediated hundreds of cases. He is also a court approved civil law mediator in DuPage County since the inception of the program and has successfully mediated cases involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. He is a certified divorce arbitrator and has decided cases involving custody, maintenance, removal, college education expenses, and many financial matters. In addition, he is a court-approved Guardian Ad Litem and has served in that capacity frequently.

He is a graduate of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio. He is married, only once, with four married sons and eleven grandchildren. He enjoys bridge, baseball (Go Cubs!), and bicycle riding, and of course, spending time with his family.

Bar Admissions

• U.S. Supreme Court
• Illinois Supreme Court
• Ohio Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Education

• Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, Ohio
• DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana
  

Professional Organizations

• Illinois State Bar Association
  • Family Law Section Council
• Illinois State Bar Foundation
  • Board of Directors
• Prairie State Legal Services
  • Treasurer; Board of Directors
• Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
  • Treasurer; Board of Directors
• DuPage County Bar Association
  • Executive Committee
• DuPage County Bar Foundation
  • Board of Directors
• Justinian Society of Lawyers
  • 2015 Recipient of the Justice Anthony M. Peccarelli Award
  • Officer and Bocce Ball Champ

Honors and Awards

• DuPage County Bar Association, Lawyer of the Year, 2024
• Illinois Bar Foundation, Honoree, 2024
• Super Lawyers, 2019 - 2023

Lectures

• Maintenance: Predictable or Perplexing?, DuPage County Bar Association, Annual Mega Meeting, Family Law Committee (January 2016)
• Things You Need to Know and Things You Should Consider as a Family Law Mediator, DuPage County Bar Association Family Law Mediation Training (May 2014)
• Financial Issues in Post-Decree Divorce Cases, Association of Divorce Financial Planners, Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois (September 2013)

Appeals

• Yakich v. Aulds, 2019 IL 123667
• In re Marriage of Berendt, 2015 IL App (2d) 140797-U
• Collins v. IDHFS, 2014 IL App (2d) 130536
• In re Marriage of Heinrich, 2014 IL App (2d) 121333

Publications

• The Appearance of Impropriety, DCBA Brief (September / October 2022)