Kathryn Ciesla - Northfield, IL
Attorney at Ciesla Beeler, LLC
Adoption Lawyers in Northfield, IL
Two Northfield Plaza Suite 255 Northfield, IL 60093
- Free Consultation
- 1 Super Lawyers®
-
29
Years
Experience
Northfield Adoption Lawyer
Updated: 03/26/2026
Areas of Practice
- Adoption
- Alimony
- Child Advocacy
- Child Custody
- Child Support
- College Expenses
- Collaborative Divorce
- Divorce Litigation
- Domestic Violence
- Guardianship
- Hidden Assets
- High Net Worth Divorce
- LGBTQ Representation
- Mediation
- Paternity
- Post Divorce
- Post Nuptial Agreements
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Relocation
- Uncontested Divorce
- Wills, Trusts & Estates
Attorney Information
Overview
Email me: kciesla@cclegal.net
Kathryn Ciesla has a broad depth of experience in litigation, corporate law, matrimonial law, licensing, and estate planning and administration. Her clients include business executives at Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs and companies from a variety of industries. Kathryn’s clients have common goals – to protect their interests, assets and families.
Kathryn’s career began at a general practice firm in Evanston, where she was thrown into the trenches, and focusing her work on litigation, divorce, custody, and other family related matters.
Matrimonial Law & Civil Litigation
She then moved to the largest law firm in the nation focusing exclusively on matrimonial law. Kathryn handled cases for clients with multi-million dollar holdings. Work on these cases required sophisticated financial expertise in matters of business valuation, personal tax consequences, discovery of assets, property settlement, support and trust and estate planning, as well as a deep knowledge base in business operations.
Immediately prior to joining Ciesla & Ciesla, Kathryn served as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer for a regionally accredited college with campuses in Chicago and the surrounding metropolitan area. While ‘in-house,’ Kathryn focused her practice on corporate issues – concentrating heavily on business operations and finance.
Kathryn is able to combine her business background and her litigation skills to effectively represent businesses and executives in matters elating to business operations, litigation and family law.
Liquor Licensing
In addition to her work at Ciesla & Ciesla, in April, 2009, Kathryn was elected to the Village Board of Northbrook, where she currently serves as a Trustee. She is Chair of the Communication and Legislation Committee and is a member of the Administration/Finance and Quality of Life Committees. In 2011 she was appointed by the Village President to serve as a member of the Ad-Hoc Economic Development Committee.
Kathryn combines her practice history, along with the knowledge gained from her work in municipal government to assist clients in the food and beverage industry. She routinely works with clients to open and acquire restaurants, night clubs, bars, liquor stores and other similar establishments. She also defends liquor violations before municipalities and the Illinois Liquor Control Commission.
Kathryn currently lives in Northbrook with her husband and two children.
Awards and Honors
Other Sources of Feedback About Kathryn Ciesla
Included on the 2026Illinois Super Lawyers list
Past Lists
- 2025 Illinois Super Lawyers list
- 2024 Illinois Super Lawyers list
- 2023 Illinois Super Lawyers list
- 2022 Illinois Super Lawyers list
- 2021 Illinois Super Lawyers list
- 2020 Illinois Super Lawyers list
- 2019 Illinois Super Lawyers list
- 2018 Illinois Super Lawyers list
- 2017 Illinois Super Lawyers list
Education
-
Legal Education
-
The John Marshall Law School,
Chicago,
Illinois, 1996
Juris Doctor - Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
-
The John Marshall Law School,
Chicago,
Illinois, 1996
-
Non Legal Education
-
The College of Saint Benedict,
St. Joseph,
Minnesota, 1993
B.A., Bachelor of Arts
Major: English - Northwestern University, School of Continuing Studies, Divorce Mediation Skills Training, Evantson, Illinois
- University of Illinois, Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Leadership Academy, Champaign Urbana, Illinois
-
The College of Saint Benedict,
St. Joseph,
Minnesota, 1993
Current Employment Position(s)
-
Founding Partner
Past Positions
- Northwestern Business College, General Counsel
- Schiller, DuCanto and Fleck, Associate
- Engelman & Smith, Associate
- Northwestern Business College, Chief Operating Officer
Pro Bono Activities
- Village of Northbrook, Trustee, 2009 - Present
- Village of Northbrook, Ad Hoc Labor Relations Committee, Chair
- Village of Northbrook, Administration/Finance Committee, Chair
- Northwest Municipal Conference, Legislative Committee, 2016
- Society for Human Resource Management, 2002
- Northbrook Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2007
- Forensic Forum
Bar Admissions
- Illinois, 1997
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1997
- United States Supreme Court, 2005
- U.S. Tax Court, 2007
- U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 2009
Specialties and Certifications
- Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training (BASSET)
- Certificate in Divorce Mediation Skills Training, School of Continuing Studies of Northwestern University, 2012
Other Affiliations
- American Bar Association, 1996 - Present
- Illinois State Bar Association, 1996 - Present
- North Suburban Bar Association
- Lake County Bar Association
Reviews
Highlights
-
0.5 Value
-
0.5 Quality of Service
-
0.5 Professional Competence
-
Hired Attorney 2012-2022Definitely the worst lawyer I've ever worked with. She puts financial gains and her own agenda ahead of the law. This is definitely not somebody you want to get into bed with
-
Hired Attorney 2013-2022The worst help with custody that I have ever experienced. I left one star because they will not let me leave zero Stars. Ms. Ciesla is lazy, she over charges, and likes to pick sides in order to run up her bill and cause more conflict. She tends to refer her friends for evaluations and supervision. Using them to continually drag the case out and make everybody more money. My case was easily solvable but it literally took her years to do nothing about it. When another person was put on the case he was able to easily solve it and wrap it up in a couple months where she could not get it figured out in years. I cannot stress enough how she is the absolute worst thing that ever happened to me or my children. She is the last person you would ever want on your case. Do not make the mistake that I did by letting her be assigned to you. I would love to go into more and more detail but I leave this at the risk of her lashing out at me because of this. I only hope that somebody reads it and is warned ahead of time. Maybe then they can save themselves a lot of heartache and suffering from dealing with this awful person. It just might wind up costing you more than time and money... It could cost you your heart and soul.
Photo
Contact
Two Northfield Plaza
Suite 255
Northfield, IL 60093
Phone: 847-796-6319
Fax: (847) 868-1862
Email: Send a message
Disclaimer
Your Profile? Update Now
When viewing a listing, consider the state advertising restrictions to which lawyers and law firms must adhere, as well as our FindLaw.com Legal Directory disclaimer. Some lawyers publish comparative information regarding the services that they provide which may be subject to specific comparative communications restrictions.