CHICAGO FAMILY LAWYERS  |   (312) 332 2919

ATTORNEYS

Please click on the names below to learn about the attorneys at Wayne & Jemilo.

• Candace Wayne
• Anne Ricci Taylor
• John Jemilo, of counsel
• Jerome Kaplan, of counsel

Candace Wayne, Senior Partner

Founding and senior partner Candace Wayne offers more than 30 years of litigation experience in family law. She has additional expertise in certain areas of employment law and Individualized Education Plan (IEP plans for children with disabilities) consulting. A highly respected attorney, Ms. Wayne combines tough litigation skills and comprehensive knowledge of the law and the legal system with focused settlement strategies to successfully represent clients. From her early years as a supervising attorney with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, she learned how to balance her time so that she could represent individual clients with skill and care while also mentoring and supervising her associates and staff.

In addition to the practice of law, Ms. Wayne has taught legal courses at Kent College of Law, Northeastern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois, Chicago. She also mentors younger lawyers in informal settings and looks forward to continuing those efforts. A member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Women's Bar Association, she received her B.A. in Political Science from George Washington University and her J.D. from the DePaul College of Law. DePaul has honored Ms. Wayne as one of its distinguished alumni.

Ms. Wayne supports the Chicago community in which she lives. She mentors public high school students in the college application process and has been highly involved in Friends of Independence Park Library and the Greater Independence Park Neighborhood Association. She has served for 15 years as judge for the Chicago Park District Junior Citizens Award program at Independence Park. She was an active member of her children's schools and served as a member of the Local School Council at Walter Payton Preparatory High School when her children were students there. She is a committed volunteer for many political and philanthropic organizations.

In her free time, Ms. Wayne enjoys walks in the park with her husband and her dog, swimming, drawing, playing guitar and singing, and gatherings with her daughters, family and friends. She loves to host parties, as her friends will attest.

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Anne Ricci Taylor, Associate

Annie Ricci Taylor joined Wayne & Jemilo as a law clerk in 2004 and commenced her legal practice with the firm in 2005. Ms. Taylor represents clients in all areas of matrimonial law, working closely and collaboratively with Ms. Wayne on the representation of all clients of Wayne and Jemilo. She counsels clients on all family law issues, including but not limited to child custody, visitation, removal, child support, maintenance, valuation and distribution of assets, post-dissolution matters and prenuptial agreements. She uses her skills as a litigator when required, but first tries to resolve matters in accordance with the goals and objectives of Wayne and Jemilo clients.

Ms. Taylor received her undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University and attended DePaul College of Law where she specialized and earned a certificate in Family law. Currently, Ms. Taylor serves on the Auxiliary Board of ChildServ, a not-for-profit child and family well-being organization, volunteers for the Judicial Evaluation Committee of the Chicago Bar Association and is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association and American Bar Association.

In her free time, Ms. Taylor enjoys spending time at her husband's restaurant, the Southern, and cheering on the University of Kansas basketball team.

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John Jemilo, of counsel

Founding partner John Jemilo, now retired, was a First Deputy of the Chicago Police Department, Executive Director of the Chicago Crime Commission, and an adjunct professor at University of Illinois Chicago, Loyola University, and DePaul University.

Jerome Kaplan, of counsel

Jerome Kaplan has been in practice for many years. For the last 25 years, he has dedicated himself to domestic relations, with an emphasis on appeals of domestic relations orders. He has been involved in more than 140 appeals and has had 66 published opinions. Mr. Kaplan is known and respected throughout the Chicago legal community as an attorney with great regard for—and knowledge of—the law. He provides advice and consultation to Wayne & Jemilo on all matters involving family law including strategy and case law support.