Genie Miller Gillespie, Attorney at Law  

                                     Address:   
                                     105 W. Madison Street, Suite 1101
                                     Chicago, IL 60602

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                                     Phone:  (312) 332-6339

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Lawyer Profile:
Genie Miller Gillespie has been practicing law since 1993, primarily in the area of adoption.

Upon her graduation from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in 1992, she clerked for the Honorable Wendell P. Gardner, Jr., of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. In 1993, she returned to Chicago and practiced domestic relations and mental health law for a small firm, before joining the Chicago Bar Foundation as its pro bono director in 1997.

In 2001, she started her own practice, focusing on adoption, mediation, and issues related to children and families. In addition to her practice, Genie is also a co-founder of the Center for Law and Social Work, a non-profit agency devoted to developing viable backup plans for older and ill adoptive parents, and is the former director of the Child Custody and Adoption Project at the American Bar Association.

Additionally, Genie is one of five guardians ad litem appointed by the Circuit Court of Cook County to represent children in adoption cases. Genie has written numerous articles and spoken at several seminars about adoption issues. She has also trained hundreds of attorneys to handle pro bono adoption and guardianship cases. She is the general editor and a chapter author of the IICLE Adoption Law Manual.

Genie is on the board of directors of Parents Care and Share, a child abuse prevention program. She was the chair of the Chicago Bar Association Adoption Law Committee in 2001, and again in 2008.

Areas of Practice:  
Adoption
Guardianship
Mediation                             
Children's and Families' Issues

Bar Admissions: 
Illinois, 1993

Education:
Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, Washington, District of Columbia, 1992, J.D.

Published Works:
IICLE Adoption Law Manual, General Editor and Chapter Author

Presentations
Equal Justice Conference 2010: Energizing Change: Transforming Compassion Fatigue, Finding Balance, and Sustaining Effectiveness

Equal Justice Conference 2009: Lawyers and Social Workers Working Together: Resolving Ethical Dilemmas

IICLE Adoption Law (2009): DCFS Adoptions

Adoption Law Start to Finish (NBI; 2009)

4th Annual ISBA Solo Small Firm Conference: Adoption Law

ABA Family Law Section Conference (2008): Bringing Mental Health Expertise into the Legal Representation of Children

Children's Law Center Conference (2007): ABA Child Custody and Adoption Pro Bono Project

Professional Associations and Memberships:
Chicago Bar Association Adoption Law Committee, 2008 - 2009, Chair

Chicago Bar Association Adoption Law Committee, 2001, Chair

American Bar Association, Member 

National Association of Counsel for Children, Member

Past Employment Positions:
Center for Law and Social Work, Co-Founder

Circuit Court of Cook County, Guardian ad litem, appointed

Director, Child Custody and Adoption Project at the American Bar Association 

Chicago Bar Foundation, Pro Bono Director, 1997 - 2000

Honorable Wendell P. Gardner, Jr.,Superior Court for the District of Columbia, Law Clerk, 1992 - 1993

Pro Bono Activities:
IICLE Adoption Law Manual, General Editor and Chapter Author

Board of Directors, Parents Care and Share

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