Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Erik's goal is to help individuals and small businesses with their legal problems. He concentrates his practice in litigation, with emphasis on business-to-business disputes, collections and contract disputes, and real estate disputes.

In the four years since Erik was first admitted to practice, he has taken an active role in hundreds of cases and become a daily fixture in the halls of Chicago's Daley Center (home to the largest unified court system in the United States), as well as State and Federal Courts in the Greater Chicagoland area. As Plaintiffs' counsel, he has had a significent role in winning millions of dollars for his clients; as Defendants' counsel, he has successfuly saved his clients millions of dollars by defeating Plaintiff's lawsuits at summary judgment and on Motions on the pleadings. Erik has taken and defended hundreds of depositions, handled pre-trial and arbitration conferences, and particiated in trials.

He is admitted to practice in before the Illinois Supreme Court, and all the Federal Courts of Illinois (North, Central, and South) and Wisconsin (East and West), as well as the Northern District of Indiana.

Maria is a graduate of the University Of Illinois College Of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a degree in Speech Communication. She received her Juris Doctorate from DePaul University College of Law. She is an experienced litigator who tried over 80 cases in DuPage, Kane, Cook and Will counties. Maria has also advocated for her clients in at least an equal number of arbitration hearings. In recent years her practice has concentrated primarily in family law matters, including divorce proceedings, post decree petitions, child custody and paternity matters. Maria also handled administrative hearings on behalf of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and now accepts cases on behalf of those wishing to appeal an indicated finding made against them by DCFS. She also handles residential real estate closings and estate planning matters.

Maria is currently a member of the adjunct faculty staff at College of DuPage, where she teaches students in the Paralegal Studies program. She has taught seminars for both the DuPage County Bar Association and The DuPage Association of Women Lawyers. She is a past president of the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers and is currently an officer of the DuPage Chapter of the Justinian Society of Lawyers.

Since meeting her husband, Maria has become an avid open wheel racing fan. You can find her every Memorial Day weekend in Indianapolis cheering on the winning driver at the Indy 500 with at least 300,000 other fans! In her spare time she enjoys photography and cooking; especially creating new recipes. She hopes to complete a cookbook of recipes collected from generations of her family and friends.

Sharon R. Knobbe is a partner with Knobbe, Laho, Gradishar & Mack, L, where her practice is concentrated in family law and collections. Sharon is an active member of the DuPage County Bar Association, where she currently serves as the 3rd Vice President and has also served, by appointment, as the DCBA Associate Counsel, Chairman of the Family Law Committee Chairman for the Membership Committee, Judiciary Committee, Planning Committee, CLE Committee and has volunteered her time to act as a Judicial Intervention Leader. Sharon is also the 1st Vice President of the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers and Past President of the DuPage Chapter of the Justinian Society of Lawyers. In her free time, Sharon serves as an Adjunct Professor at the College of DuPage.