In the late 1990s, Illinois enacted legislation that governs attorneys’ fees in divorce and family law cases. Lawyers call this package of amendments the “Leveling the Playing Field Act.” While proponents of the amendments promised to quickly amend this law because of its problems, Illinois saw no amendments until 2009 and 2016. The more recent amendments provide tweaks to the law regarding attorneys’ fees in divorce cases. And since then, two Illinois Supreme Court cases: Heroy II and Goesel, have addressed contribution awards and disgorgement.
Heroy II balanced the historical ability/inability-to-pay standard with the language of our law. Illinois lawyers do not generally understand the nuances of this decision in light of Crecos.
Goesel resolved the split among the districts regarding whether the court could order disgorgement of earned fees.
For further updates, etc., see Gitlin on Divorce: A Guide to Illinois Family Law (6th Edition).
Note that separately, I have an outline that addresses issues unique to parentage in Illinois family law cases.
