*DUI Risk Education;

*DUI Minimal Risk Classes;

*DUI Moderate Risk Group;

*DUI Significant Risk Group;

*Art Therapy Techniques;

*Cognitive Therapy Techniques;

*Individual Alcohol & Drug Counseling; and

*Convenient hours for DUI services – open Saturday and Sunday.

To learn more about The Birt Group’s DUI classes, Treatment, costs, services, and schedule, please contact us at (630) 891-2478.

At the 46th Commencement, Chairman Birt stated, “if there is one thought that I hope you all take with you today, it is that your hard earned degree is not an end, but rather a beginning to your commitment to lifelong learning.”

Ms. Birt is also a graduate of the College of DuPage.  Erin studied addiction counseling at the College of DuPage and has turned her education into a business that helps others.  She is the owner and a counselor at The Birt Group, an alcohol and drug counseling and DUI services agency. Ms. Birt is also a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and the DePaul College of Law.

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Erin Birt is a Family Law Attorney, Collaborative Divorce Attorney, Family Law Mediator, and Addictions Counselor.  She is the owner of The Law  Firm of Erin Birt and The Birt Group.  She is a past presenter for the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, the Collaborative Institute of Illinois, the Mediation Council of Illinois, the DuPage County Bar Association, and she is an adjunct professor at Aurora University.  Click here to learn more about Erin and her professional services. To contact Erin, please call (630) 891-2478.

The Mediation Council of Illinois issued the following statement:

“On Friday, May 3, 2013, The Mediation Council of Illinois will hold an all day all day conference, “Current Issues in Mediation” at the Wojcik Conference Center at Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine, Illinois 60067.  Attached are the registration forms and MCI flyer.  Register today before the fees go up after April 27, 2013!!

Issues covered will be:

**Screening for Alcohol and Drugs – Presented by Erin Birt, JD, CADC

**Overview of Parenting Coordination, Presented by Dr. Rocio Munoz, PhD and Jerry Kessler, JD

**Dollars and Divorce:  Navigating Through the Financial Uncertainties – Presented by Nick Cosky, CFP and Matt Mikula, CFP, CDFA

**Managing High Conflict Clients – Presented by Joe Canevello, LCSW

*What are the pending bills?

“Illinois Senate Bill 31 and House Bill 1029 would pave the way for the Uniform Collaborative Law Act, which would outline the process of using a model of conflict resolution known as collaborative practice.

Collaborative practice aims to resolve disputes respectfully, out of court, while working with trained professionals. The method would be more cost-effective to an already cash-strapped state court system and clients unable to afford the cost of ongoing litigation.”

*Why is the Uniform Collaborative Law Act important?

“This is a way of describing this complex process and keeping folks out of the courtroom,” said attorney Sandra Crawford, of Lake in the Hills. “[Divorce and separation] are times when people aren’t functioning at their highest. When you are talking with clients already in distress, you need to make sure they understand the alternatives to going to court.”

*How does the process differ from traditional divorce litigation?

“The process begins with attorneys laying out all options for clients and their particular situations. If collaboration is chosen, they agree not to litigate, and a collaborative team that could include attorneys, health professionals, financial advisers and other counselors helps negotiate resolutions.

A key distinction between collaborative practice and litigation is if the trained lawyers cannot help the client reach a settlement, they have to exclude themselves and a different lawyer is hired.”

“…That makes all the professionals focus on finding a solution instead of going to litigation.” said Crawford.

“In family law, I have some clients who are back in court every Christmas making modifications of a parenting agreement because they didn’t get it right the first time,” Crawford said. “Collaboration isn’t for everyone, but people should have options.”

*Do other states have a Collaborative Divorce Act?

“Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Washington, D.C., already have passed the Uniform Collaborative Law Act. Three other states, including Illinois, are considering it.”

[The Northwest Herald, Last viewed April 4, 2013]

For additional information about an Illinois Collaborative Divorce, please visit The Law Firm of Erin Birt’s webpage devoted to Collaborative Practices.  A free download of a “Collaborative Divorce Knowledge Kit” is also available. To discuss the benefits of utilizing a Collaborative Divorce, please contact The Law Firm of Erin Birt to request a 1/2 hour consultation.

Illinois Collaborative Divorce Attorney, Erin Birt, has been practicing in the area of family law for over 10 years.  She began offering her clients divorce options and alternatives, such as Collaborative Divorce in 2009.  She has helped many couples and families resolve their divorce amicably and without court intervention.  She serves clients in Wheaton, Winfield, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Naperville, Carol Stream, Aurora, Glen Ellyn, Lisle, Lombard, Elmhurst, Oak Park, Chicago, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, West Chicago, Downers Grove, Westmont, Oak Brook, Boolingbrook, and many other cities and towns located throughout of counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will. Please feel free to contact Ms. Birt to discuss her availability in your location.

A recent article in Georgia’s Gainesville Times explains DUI Court and its benefits, which are located in approximately 19 counties across Georgia, the following are some excerpts of the article published March 24, 2013:

“As substance abuse caused his life to spiral out of control, Jason Bennett began to lose hope.

“I thought my life was over, that there was no future for me,” he said. “I figured I was going to die, or be in jail my whole life.”

After getting his second driving under the influence conviction in 2005, he was ordered to participate in Hall County’s DUI Court program.

“I don’t feel like I was strong enough to get sober on my own. DUI Court is what gave me my second chance at life,” Bennett said, a 2006 graduate of the program.

Bennett’s recovery and the recovery of others speak to the effectiveness of the DUI Court, program leaders said. Often times, people in the grips of addiction feel shame, despair and helplessness.

“The things my addictions had been telling myself were all lies. By putting away all the shame and the fear … that it had created, I was able to recover,” Bennett said. “If they did put me in jail, I would have never broken the cycle. They held me accountable and gave me the chance to do the right thing, and continue down the road I’m on right now.”

DUI Court participants’ time in the program is as long as the judge deems necessary, based on their sentence and cooperation. They must attend weekly court and counseling sessions and submit to random drug screenings, or face reincarceration.

The program lasts a minimum of 15 months, divided into three phases, each five months long. The average length of time is about 16 months, program coordinator Katie Bruner said.

Unlike in drug court, DUI Court is not a way to erase the charge but is a part of probation after conviction, in most cases a second or third conviction, Judge Charles Wynne explained.

Today, according to the Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts, there are DUI courts in 19 counties.

In measuring success, the statistics speak for themselves, Wynne said. In 10 years, only 10 percent of DUI Court graduates wound up back in court with a DUI conviction, Bruner said.

Bruner noted another impressive statistic: a 98 percent employment rate upon graduation, versus 66 percent prior to the court’s creation.

“A lot of people look at the program and think it’s a cost to society,” Wynne said. “Well, that’s not true on two counts. You have to pay to be in program. And there are countless monetary benefits to society.”

Judge Larry Baldwin, who now presides over DUI Court, spoke at Thursday’s graduation of nine participants. He said he cherished the sound of crying babies in court.

“That’s one more drug-free baby,” Baldwin said, smiling.

Wynne noted that DUI Court’s success requires not just collaboration between judges, participants, prosecutors, counselors and probation officers, but also within the entire judicial circuit to be truly effective; often, the families and participants of DUI Court overlap with other accountability courts.

Program organizers agree that work dealing in abuse and addiction can be mentally exhausting, but it’s worth it.

In fact, it was just the sort of role Bennett saw himself fulfilling when he completed DUI Court. He went back to the University of Georgia and completed his master’s degree in social work in 2011. He now works as a substance abuse and mental health counselor in Gainesville.

“Basically, what I do now is manage people who have mental health issues who are in the court system,” Bennett said.

[Full Article: Gainesville Times, March 24, 2013]

While the traditional Illinois DUI criminal courts order offenders to attend counseling through an Illinois licensed DUI treatment Agency, such as The Birt Group located in DuPage County, not all DUI offenders have a substance abuse or substance dependency issue.  Creating a separate court that assists and monitors the progress of offenders with a substance abuse or dependency issue could help to reduce the traditional DUI criminal court docket, provide the community with additional protection, and assist an offender with addressing their disease.

Furthermore, it may help to protect the public from repeat offenders such as the man in Carpentersville, Illinois who continues to drive intoxicated without a valid driver’s license. He has been arrested 5 times for the violent criminal offense of driving under the influence.

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Erin Birt is an attorney, certified alcohol and drug counselor, and owner of The Birt Group, an Illinois Licensed DUI Treatment Agency.  She regularly works with individuals that want to learn more about their alcohol or drug use, have a diagnosis of substance abuse or dependency, or have been arrested in Illinois for a DUI offense.  The Birt Group runs its DUI risk education, early intervention, and treatment program on the weekends.  To learn more or enroll in our Illinois DUI Risk Education, Moderate Risk, or Significant Risk services, please contact us at (630) 891-2478.

The Birt Group serves Illinois clients in Winfield, Warrenville, Carol Stream, Wheaton, West Chicago, Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Chicago, Joliet, St. Charles, Batavia, and other cities located throughout Cook County, DuPage County, Will County, Kane County, McDonough County, Boones, County, Dekalb County, and other counties throughout Illinois.  The Birt Group is licensed to provide services for any DUI arrest in the State of Illinois and we also can provide services to Illinois residents that have been arrested in a different state while attending college, on vacation, or traveling.  Please contact us to discuss your requirements and needs at (630) 891-2478.

Illinois Collaborative Law Attorneys and Collaborative Professionals continue to work hard to pass the Illinois Uniform Collaborative Law Act (“UCLA”).  The Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary Committee will be holding hearings on 3/19/13 and 3/20/13 on the pending UCLA bills SB 31 and HB 1029.  Those that support Collaborative Practices and the UCLA  are encouraged to contact their legislators to send a message of support via www.collaborativelawact.org.

Collaborative Divorce is moving mainstream in Chicago and other cities throughout DuPage, Kane, Will, as well as other counties and cities throughout Illinois. The move to mainstream is evidenced by the thousands of families that have utilized collaborative divorce practices, the numerous professional collaborative practice groups such as the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois  & Collaborative Practice Professionals of Illinois, and the efforts by Illinois and other states to pass a Collaborative Law Act.

The efforts to create the proposed UCLA started years ago and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin previously highlighted the early efforts:

The Dallas Business Journal published the following:

“Billionaire T. Boone Pickens is clearly a man who knows a good deal when he sees one.

That’s why he used a collaborative divorce approach in his recent parting of ways from his fourth wife, Madeleine.

Pickens told a room full of lawyers about his experience Friday during a lunchtime panel in Dallas.

The State Bar of Texas didn’t let me into the room for his talk, saying it was a paid, private event, but I was able to grab a couple of comments from Pickens on the way out of the Hotel Palomar.

The collaborative approach saves both money and emotional wear and tear on families, the energy tycoon told me.

“Collaborative law keeps everything on a high level, and everybody cooperating,” Pickens said.

I asked him how much the collaborative approach saved him?

“Money?” he deadpanned. “About $100 million.”

He cracked a smile and revised his answer to “several million.”

Pickens is such a believer in the process that he gave the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas $100,000.

Pickens, who’s fond of saying “the first billion is the hardest,” said his second divorce was the toughest. He didn’t use the collaborative approach on that one.

Any chance he’ll marry again, I asked, feeling a bit funny about raising the question.

“No plans,” Pickens said as he walked out of the hotel, “but don’t rule it out.”

Dallas Business Journal, March 4, 2013

For more information about Collaborative Divorce in Illinois, please visit our website devoted to Collaborative Divorce to  download a free Collaborative Divorce Knowledge Kit and schedule a 1/2 hour consultation with Illinois Collaborative Divorce Attorney, Erin Birt by contacting us at (630) 891-2478.

Erin Birt has devoted her practice of law in the area of family law and divorce since 2003 and has utilized collaborative law methods since 2009.  Ms. Birt serves clients from Addison, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Burr Ridge, Carol Stream, Clarendon Hills, Chicago, Darien, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Hinsdale, Itasca, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Roselle, Schaumburg, Villa Park, Warrenville, Wayne, West Chicago, Westmont, Wheaton, Willowbrook, Winfield, Wood Dale and other cities throughout DuPage County, Cook County, Kane County and Will County, Illinois.

“I enjoy working directly with people and helping them achieve their personal goals. It can be difficult for people to walk through my office door and confront a painful issue such as a custody dispute, a divorce, a DUI, or a substance abuse problem. Our clients, however, have responded that once they initiate services they felt comfortable, supported, and received the tools to build a better future for themselves and their loved ones. Helping people through life transitions is what I enjoy most about my businesses,” stated Erin Birt.

To read the full article, please click here.

The Law Firm of Erin Birt & The Birt Group serve clients from Addison, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Burr Ridge, Carol Stream, Clarendon Hills, Chicago, Darien, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Hinsdale, Itasca, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Roselle, Schaumburg, Villa Park, Warrenville, Wayne, West Chicago, Westmont, Wheaton, Willowbrook, Winfield, Wood Dale and other cities throughout DuPage County, Cook County, Kane County and Will County, Illinois.

To learn more or initiate services, please contact us at (630) 891-2478.

In a sea of divorce attorneys that will take $2,000.00 and file a petition before they know the goals of a client, there are those that have decided enough is enough.  Families rarely satisfactorily resolve intimate and personal matters through 10 minute conversations with paralegals, attorneys, and a court. Collaborative Divorce and Collaborative Family Law encourage all participants to diligently work toward resolving disputes respectfully and privately.

Recently, I was told that hearing that Collaborative Divorce is available in Illinois was refreshing and relieving. “It gives me hope for my children, ” said another.

If you would like to learn more about Collaborative Divorce and Collaborative Family Law Services, please visit our webpage devoted to Collaborative services.  Please feel free to download a free packet of information about the benefits of Collaborative Divorce services that are available in Illinois. To meet with a Collaborative Divorce Attorney, please contact Erin Birt at (630) 891-2478.

Erin Birt, an Illinois Collaborative Attorney, received her training in collaborative practices in 2009 and participates in various trainings in collaborative practices several times a year.  She has been a presenter for both the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals as well as the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois.  She is also an adjunct professor at Aurora University where she devotes a lecture in her “Community Justice” course to divorce and Collaborative Divorce and Collaborative Family Law practices.

We serve clients from Addison, Bensenville, Bloomingdale, Burr Ridge, Carol Stream, Clarendon Hills, Chicago, Darien, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Hinsdale, Itasca, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Oak Brook, Oakbrook Terrace, Roselle, Schaumburg, Villa Park, Warrenville, Wayne, West Chicago, Westmont, Wheaton, Willowbrook, Winfield, Wood Dale and other cities throughout DuPage County, Cook County, Kane County and Will County, Illinois.

On February 13, 2013, members of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois (“CLII”) traveled to Springfield, IL and met with many various groups, legislators, and senators.  It was very productive and valuable information was learned by the members of CLII.  CLII hopes to have a continued discussion with law makers over the next few weeks/months and are hoping to have the Illinois Uniform Collaborative Law Act up for hearing in the near future.  For additional information please visit www.collablawil.org or feel free to contact Erin Birt at (630) 891-2478 to learn more about collaborative law and the UCLA.