Owner

Phone: (815) 556-2057

Fax: (815) 577-9769

Email: [email protected]

Katherine L. Maloney has been a lifelong resident of Plainfield, Illinois. After graduating with honors from Plainfield High School, she was accepted into the Open Door Exchange Program and spent a year as a foreign exchange student in Cairo, Egypt, attending the American University and becoming proficient in French and Arabic while adapting to a new culture. Today, after 32 years handling complex family, trust, and estate litigation at a prominent regional firm, she has established her own practice, Katherine L. Maloney & Associates, LLC, bringing that extensive litigation expertise to help clients navigate difficult legal transitions with professionalism and empathy.

Katherine's practice is diverse, encompassing contested trust & estate litigation, high conflict divorce, estate planning, real estate, small business matters, probate. She also regularly receives court appointments as a Guardian ad Litem (court advocate) for children and disabled adults, a role she continues to serve in across five counties. Katherine's approach emphasizes personalized attention and strategic solutions, drawing on decades of complex family, trust, probate including decedents estate and guardianships for minors & disabled adults, and estate litigation experience.

Katherine continued her education at Northern Illinois University after her exchange year abroad. In her senior year, she was awarded the Marketing Department's Outstanding Leadership Award for her work as president of the business fraternity, Pi Sigma Epsilon. She then attended George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., where she was granted an internship with the Counsel for the Marine Corps Commandant at the Pentagon. She held that position for three years, handling matters of federal and international law.

After graduating from law school, Katherine returned to her hometown and began her legal career at a small firm in downtown Plainfield, practicing across a wide range of legal areas. She has been deeply involved in the Plainfield community and the Illinois legal profession throughout her career. Her affiliations and leadership roles include:

• Past Member of the Plainfield Rotary
• Involvement with Plainfield Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts Troops
• Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Member of the Women's Bar Association of Will County; served as President for two years
• Organizer of the Will County Bar's New Lawyers Committee in 1996
• Attorney for Will County CASA for two years (2023-2025)
• Member of Judicial Selection Committees as appointed by Illinois Supreme Court
• YMCA Advisory Board member for six years

In 1998, Katherine received the Pro Bono Award for all of Will County, predominantly for her work on behalf of children and the elderly.

On her home front, Katherine is a widow. Her husband, Dennis Hunke, was killed in 2014 and was posthumously awarded the 2015 Carnegie Hero Award. She has two wonderful adult children.

Katherine is dedicated to providing personalized, strategic representation for clients facing complex family, trust, and estate matters. She brings 32 years of litigation expertise, a deep commitment to her community, and a steady, empathetic approach to every client she serves.