Katie McAteer Biography

Katie McAteer works as a mediator with C.E.L. & Associates. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Illinois in 1996. After graduation, she began her professional journey at a community mental health center in Chicago. In 2000, Katie returned to the University of Illinois to earn her Juris Doctor degree, and she has practiced law for nearly two decades.

In 2020, Katie completed her certification in family and divorce mediation. In her role at C.E.L. & Associates, she focuses on helping families reach agreements that serve the best interests of all involved and strengthen healthy relationships.

Katie’s interest in mediation stems from her own experience with the emotional and financial hardships of a contested divorce. She is now happily divorced and lives in Arlington Heights with her two teenage children, three cats, and a dog.

Katie believes strongly in the value of mediation, especially for matters involving marital dissolution. Based on her personal experience with the Cook County Domestic Relations system, she sees one of mediation’s greatest benefits as the ability it gives parties to retain control over decisions that affect their lives.

Though courthouses are slowly opening back up, and people are starting to attend court dates in person, successfully mediated cases will continue to be heard in court via Zoom in some counties. Imagine, one brief Zoom appearance and your divorce is finalized. Since March 2020, except for a handful of clients, we have conducted our mediation sessions exclusively via Zoom. Though we were skeptical at first, we have been pleasantly surprised with the following observations: our clients are more civil toward each other, they are completing mediation more efficiently, which lessens the overall cost and time it takes to get divorced, and their ability to co-parent their children remains intact, as they not “burning bridges” during the divorce. At C.E.L. & Associates, Inc., Zoom is here to stay.

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