Jean H. Schroeder was awarded her Juris Doctor in 1994 from American University’s Washington College
of Law in Washington, DC. While in law school Ms. Schroeder competitively litigated trial level moot court, and served as Director of the Moot Court Board. Following graduation and the bar exam, Ms. Schroeder was sworn in and admitted by the Illinois Supreme Court to practice law in Illinois. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Lake County Bar Association.
Ms. Schroeder was awarded her Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, with additional majors in Spanish and German. At Bradley University, Ms. Schroeder was active in the International Affairs Organization and the international foreign language honor society, Phi Sigma Iota. Ms. Schroeder also earned an athletic scholarship from Bradley University and played shortstop for their Division I softball team. While in Washington, DC, Ms. Schroeder worked with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Litigation Branch, and the Felony Homicide Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office where she provided valuable backup for the District of Columbia’s first death penalty prosecution by attending autopsies, conducting witness interviews, and attending court appearances. She also continued her study and use of the Spanish language, serving as an interpreter for an annual conference for a major organization.
Ms. Schroeder served as an Assistant State’s Attorney with the State’s Attorney’s Office in Rockford, Illinois, where she prosecuted complex cases and served as Attorney Advisor for the Northern Illinois Auto Theft Task Force. During her time with the State’s Attorney’s Office she successfully utilized her negotiation and trial skills. After leaving the State’s Attorney’s Office, she then further honed her litigation skills by successfully trying complex medical malpractice cases. For the past six years, Ms. Schroeder has focused her practice in the areas of criminal defense and family law, concentrating in all aspects of family law litigation and focusing on giving the gift of a brighter future to children and families.
Significant Victories
In the face of strenuous opposition, Ms. Schroeder obtained a critical court order allowing the father to finally have parenting time with his children, whose lives he had been pushed out of for years. He had never even met one of his children until this court victory. In another case, Ms. Schroeder obtained a critical court order allowing her client to take the parties’ three children to Mexico to visit their grandparents whom they hadn’t seen in over five years.
