Kathryn Ciesla has been practicing law since 1997. She has a broad depth of experience in litigation, business law, employment practices, liquor licensing, estate planning and administration.
Kathryn's corporate client base includes a number of bars, clubs, restaurants, caterers and not-for-profits, to which she provides advice and counsel regarding the legal issues and challenges those businesses face in the areas of liquor law and licensing. Her work in this area includes liquor licensing, change of owners/officers, violation defense, policy development, employee relations and other matters related to compliance with local and state liquor laws and regulations.
Kathryn's litigation practice involves the representation of businesses and individuals in the areas of civil litigation, including domestic relations.
Immediately prior to joining the firm, 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 both corporate and educational issues, including corporate governance, employment law, compliance, Title IV, contracts, transactions and real estate.
Before going 'in-house,' Kathryn worked as an attorney at 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.
Kathryn started her career as an attorney at a general practice firm in Evanston, where she focused on estate planning and administration, real estate and matrimonial law.
Kathryn currently lives in Northbrook with her husband and two children.