Chicago, IL Lawyers

Family and Divorce Law

150 N Michigan Ave, Suite 3600, Chicago, IL 60601

A heartfelt plea to help her mother’s friend with a complex high stakes divorce led Gemma B. Allen to dedicate most of her professional career to family law. Though an advocate for marriage, she has long understood that, when a marriage breaks down irreconcilably, a client needs strong counsel and caring support. Gemma combines her unique brand of strategic thinking and compassion with effective advocacy in the courtroom to successfully represent the firm’s clients. A co-founder of Ladden & Allen, Chartered (now Allen & Glassman, Chartered), Gemma has represented thousands of men and women on matters spanning the entire range of family law issues. Today, Gemma with her law partner Todd Glassman and their team provide the same level of attention to every case, whether it is a simple uncontested divorce or a high-stakes complex case involving multi-millions of dollars. Through their own experience, as well as tapping the expertise of forensic experts in the areas of taxes, accounting, business valuation and estate planning, they effectively assist clients in navigating complex issues involved in legal matters including marriage, divorce, mediation, financial settlements, and parenting matters. She is a court-certified mediator in the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Allen & Glassman is known for its history of hosting cutting-edge family law Better Beginnings, Fewer Endings Think Tanks (TM), bringing together judges, mental health practitioners, clergy, attorneys and other interdisciplinary professionals who are interested in recognizing and addressing serious family law related matters. Topics have included “intimate terrorism” in relationships, the law and psychology relevant to custody litigation and its effect on children, the strategy and costs of litigation, and the need for more resources for divorcing couples both inside and outside the courtroom. Gemma is a co-author with retired Cook County Judge Michele Lowrance and financial writer and money advisor Terry Savage of The New Love Deal: Everything You Must Know Before Marrying, Moving In, or Moving On! (May 2014, Paperback $16.95), which fearlessly explores the financial and practical issues that couples confront, and the agreements that can resolve these differences before they destroy the relationship. She and the co-authors have appeared on national TV and radio on the topic and lectured on the topic. Gemma also authored Secrets of Successful Partners, a compilation of interviews she conducted with successfully married couples of all ages. In March 2015, Gemma and Todd Glassman delivered a presentation titled “The Pros and Cons of Using Social Media in Divorce” at a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program to members of the Lake County Bar Association. Their article on the same topic appeared in the February 2015 issue of the association’s monthly magazine, The Docket. In 2011, Gemma authored a chapter, “Family Law: A Mission and a Career,” published by Aspatore Press, a leading publisher of business and legal materials, and has been invited to do so again in 2016. Additionally, she has written more than 100 other articles and lectured on topics that include divorce, child support, the representation of children in divorce, maintenance, mediation, business valuations in divorce litigation, psychological/legal standards for forensic evaluations in custody issues, cohabitation, civil unions, women and money, and legal separation and reconciliation. She served on the Planning Committee for “Business Valuation: Financial & Tax Issues in Divorce,” Illinois’ foremost CLE event on advanced financial topics for family law attorneys presented by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education. Gemma repeatedly has been selected by her peers as a member of the Leading Lawyers Network(TM), SuperLawyers(R), Best Lawyers(R), and Martindale-Hubbell(R) AV Preeminent Rating(TM). She was named by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of Chicago’s 100 Most Influential Women. In 2017, she won awards from Chicago Business Journal and Enterprising Woman magazine for her business success and commitment to volunteerism and mentoring. She served as an appointed member of the Advisory Council on Women of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations. A columnist for Chicago Woman, she was honored as one of its 50 Fabulous Women Over 50. She hosts a weekly segment called “Marriage Money Gems” on BusinessFirstAM national TV show. A long-time member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Gemma has served as an appointed member of its Family Law Section Council and was co-chair of the Model Mediation Act sub-committee. She was appointed a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Child Support and the Task Force on Attorneys for Children. In November 2018, she was named a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a nonprofit organization considered among the world’s leading research institutes for the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law. As a Fellow, she is part of an honorary society of lawyers, judges, law faculty and legal scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the profession and service to society. For many years, she has been involved in the alumni activities at Loyola University, especially its John Felice Rome Center, where she currently serves on its Director’s Council. She received Loyola University Chicago’s 2018 Felice Award from the school’s John Felice Rome Center at the school’s annual Founders’ Dinner in September 2018. Gemma is the past president of two nonprofit organizations: The Lilac Tree, a resource for women at all stages of divorce, and Forensic Forum, a membership organization that provides a platform for forensic experts in the family law field to share information, propose legislation and work to improve the practice of domestic relations.

Civil Litigation

One East Wacker Drive, Suite 1414, Chicago, IL 60601

Area of Practice: Class Action Litigation Glen was born in Manassass, Virginia and grew up in London, England where his father worked for TWA. Glen was blessed with the opportunity to travel the world with his family as a child and experience foreign culture on nearly every continent. Glen attended one of the leading international boarding schools, The American School In Switzerland (T.A.S.I.S.), where he created lifelong relationships with foreign royalty, diplomats, and leaders of industry. ? A graduate of DePaul College of Law and active member of the American Association for Justice and the Illinois State Bar Association, he works tirelessly in pursuit of an outcome that satisfies his clients. ? Glen spent his early career as a successful defense lawyer, representing a Fortune 100 corporation in matters across the country. In 2004, Glen changed direction and dedicated himself to the representation of individuals who do not have the resources to take on big corporations alone. Glen possesses the unique experience of seeing litigation from the opponent’s perspective, and utilizes this knowledge to expose weaknesses and eliminate delay in the handling of his clients’ affairs. ?

Tax Law

2205 W. Armitage Ave., Suite 1, Chicago, IL 60647

Guinevere Marie Moore is a tax litigator who represents taxpayers in civil and criminal tax controversies. She advocates for taxpayers at the IRS examination and appeals levels and, if a settlement with the IRS cannot be reached, in litigation. She is also the Executive Director of US Partnership Representative, Inc., and in that role she serves as a professional partnership representative. Ms. Moore has represented taxpayers throughout her career, and draws on her experience in working with her clients, with the IRS, and with opposing counsel to help craft and execute the best possible plan to resolve the issues her clients are facing. Ms. Moore has successfully defended taxpayers against assessment of all types of federal tax, including income tax, employment tax, estate tax, gift tax, civil penalties, and criminal penalties. Ms. Moore’s significant experience in practicing before the IRS and in the United States Tax Court enables her to work together with her clients to determine the best path forward to resolving the tax dispute – whatever Internal Revenue Code section may be at issue. The Internal Revenue Code contains thousands of provisions, and no tax professional has encountered them all. But having years of experience with the procedural hurdles that a taxpayer has to jump through in order to resolve a disagreement with the IRS over how much tax is due facilitates a much easier journey towards agreement or resolution through litigation. Ms. Moore particularly enjoys the client counseling that she performs in her role as a taxpayer’s advocate. Having navigated hundreds of disputes with the IRS she is able to guide clients through what is often the most difficult crisis they are facing in their lives. Her clients will never wonder what comes next, or how the most recent development will impact them, because Ms. Moore routinely explains the process, the anticipated timeline, our strategy, and how all of the pieces come together. Ms. Moore will either partner with a client’s existing accountant, or, if necessary, engage a new accountant under a Kovel agreement. Ms. Moore is actively involved in the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation. She is the immediate past Chair of the Standards of Practice Committee of the Section of Taxation. ABA Tax Times recently published an interview with Ms. Moore. Ms. Moore is also actively involved in the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA), where she served as a member of the Board of Directors. Ms. Moore draws on her many years of experience as a member of the Tax Bar to provide advice and insight to others. She is a co-author of Incompetent Authority, (a play on Competent Authority, the person legally designated authority to opine on matters of double taxation), a humorous advice column for tax lawyers published in ABA Tax Notes. Ms. Moore is a frequent speaker at national and local conferences on topics related to tax, ethics, and the ethics of tax. Ms. Moore launched what has become an active pro bono program designed to help low income taxpayers receive representation that they could otherwise not afford. As part of this process, she co-authored and designed a four-part training series for representing low-income taxpayers before the IRS. She has been recognized for her pro bono work as the volunteer of the year by LadderUp, and has represented over one hundred clients pro bono. Ms. Moore lives in Chicago with her husband and her four children. While she lives in Chicago, she represents taxpayers all across the United States and the world.

Civil Litigation

300 North LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60654

Hariklia (Carrie) Karis is a Kirkland trial lawyer who has extensive lead trial experience in jury and bench trials and arbitration involving personal injury in a broad range of high profile personal injury, product liability and other commercial cases throughout the country. Hariklia was recently recognized by various legal publications as a first class trial lawyer in mass tort and commercial litigation. She was awarded Law360 MVP for Trials in 2022. The American Lawyer named Hariklia “Litigator of the Week” for achieving the first defense win in a bellwether trial involving 3M’s dual-ended combat arms in the largest MDL in US history. She was also recognized by the American Lawyer’s List of Midwest Trailblazers and named a nationwide finalist for the The National Law Journal’s Winning Litigator for 2022. Hariklia’s successful defense of General Motors Corporation was chosen as one of the top defense wins by The National Law Journal. She was also been recognized as a Lead Female Trial Lawyer for her work in large exposure civil litigation. In 2018, she was named to Crain’s list of Most Notable Women Lawyers. She has served as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Law, where she taught “Trial Advocacy.” In her 27 year career at Kirkland, Hariklia has managed and tried massive disaster litigation cases for clients, in which substantial reputational and financial exposure is at risk. She served as co-lead trial counsel for BP in the litigation arising from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as in several regulatory agency and government investigations that resulted in numerous nationally televised and highly publicized trials. She also serves as lead trial counsel in the nationwide multi-district litigation involving opioids as well as other pharmaceutical products. She has served as trial counsel for General Motors in state and federal cases arising out of the company’s voluntary recalls related to ignition switches and other safety issues.

Civil Litigation

10 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 2300, Chicago, IL 60606

Harry Arger has been practicing law and trying cases for over 30 years. He is a seasoned litigator and serves as Dykema’s Chicago Office Managing Member. He has tried over 30 cases to verdict and has handled matters in which the amounts in controversy have ranged from hundreds of thousands of dollars to those involving hundreds of millions of dollars. Harry litigates on behalf of a variety of clients throughout Illinois, Missouri and the Midwest. His clients include mortgage companies, financial institutions, insurance carriers, municipalities, product manufacturers, service entities, railroads, public officials, and other professional individuals and entities. He concentrates his practice in the areas of consumer financial services, civil rights litigation, product liability litigation, commercial and business litigation, personal injury litigation, environmental litigation, asbestos and toxic tort litigation and railroad litigation. Harry's representations include disputes involving mortgages, class actions, banking disputes, breach of fiduciary and other related duties, product liability, intellectual property, contracts and tort claims, and BIPA litigation. In addition to his trial work, Harry is an experienced arbitrator and regularly handles mediations and arbitrations through the American Arbitration Association and other alternative dispute resolution services. He is also an experienced appellate attorney, having handled and argued many appeals in various state and federal courts.