ELIZABETH A. LAWHORN

Elizabeth A. Lawhorn is an associate at the law firm of Monahan Law Group, LLC, and an adjunct professor of law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she teaches Legal Writing.  She represents hospitals and individuals in guardianship proceedings, mental health litigation, and other general matters of mental health and developmental disabilities law.  She regularly provides legal consultation on issues involving the Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act, Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, and Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act.  She has participated in contested litigation involving guardianships, decedents’ estates and financial exploitation of the elderly and disabled, and has provided consultation on matters ranging from adoptions under the Indian Child Welfare Act to Social Security and Railroad Retirement disability benefits.  In addition to representing clients, Ms. Lawhorn regularly assists with presentations and lectures on topics such as mental health, confidentiality of records, and risk management for social service providers.   

Ms. Lawhorn co-authored an article with Joe Monahan entitled Life Sustaining Treatment and the Law: The Evolution of Informed Consent, Advance Directives and Surrogate Decision Making, which was recently published in a special edition of the Annals of Health Law.  She also assisted Mr. Monahan in drafting a chapter on confidentiality of mental health records for the Illinois Practice Series, Law of Medical Practice in Illinois. 

Ms. Lawhorn graduated magna cum laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where she was a Child Law Fellow with the Loyola Civitas ChildLaw Center.  She graduated with a certificate of specialization in Child and Family Law.  Ms. Lawhorn was an Executive Editor of the school’s Law Journal and served as a Senior Editor of the Children’s Legal Rights Journal.  She received awards of recognition for receiving the highest grade in Family Law, Advocacy, Special Education Law, Pretrial Litigation, Legal Writing, Class Actions, and Child, Parent & State.  During law school, Ms. Lawhorn served as a summer law clerk for Monahan Law Group, LLC.  She also spent time as a law clerk for the Illinois Appellate Defender’s Office and served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Ronald A. Guzman, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois.

Prior to attending law school, Ms. Lawhorn graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she majored in Psychology.  She was a member of the Husker softball team, receiving All-Conference honors and serving as team Captain during her senior year.

Elizabeth can be reached at elawhorn@monahanlawllc.com

MARGARET (MEG) SIMA

Meg Sima is an Associate with Monahan Law Group, LLC, having joined the firm in 2003. From 1994 to 1996, Ms. Sima was an Assistant Public Guardian with the Cook County Public Guardian's Office in the Juvenile Division.  In this capacity, Ms. Sima represented the needs of many abused and neglected children in Cook County.

Subsequent to her position in the Juvenile Division, Ms. Sima entered private practice in 1996, concentrating in the areas of guardianship, probate, juvenile, and family law.  While in private practice, Ms. Sima continued her services to the Public Guardian's Office, this time as an independent contractor in the Probate Division.  As an independent contractor, she has prepared numerous complex accountings for the guardianship estates of disabled adults.  In addition, she has provided her accounting expertise to Fifth/Third Bank by preparing intricate trust accounts for guardianship trusts managed by the bank.  At Monahan Law Group, LLC, Ms. Sima practices in the areas of guardianship, probate, estate planning and juvenile law, including preparation of all Accounts and Inventories for Probate and guardianship estates.

Ms. Sima has also lectured on the subject of Legal Issues and the Elderly at Benedictine University.  She has taught several paralegal classes for Robert Morris College, including Torts, Legal Environment of Business and Domestic Relations.

Ms. Sima received a juris doctorate from DePaul College of Law in 1994, graduating with Honors.  She was also inducted as member of the Order of the Coif upon her graduation from law school.  Ms. Sima is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology.  She is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, a political science Honor Society.

Meg can be reached via email at msima@monahanlawllc.com

KEVIN C. LICHTENBERG         

Kevin C. Lichtenberg joined Monahan Law Group, LLC, on August 18, 2011.  Mr. Lichtenberg most recently served as a Fellow and Staff Attorney with Loyola University Chicago School of Law’s Health Justice Project.  In that capacity, Mr. Lichtenberg represented tenants in forcible entry and detainer actions and oversaw the referral and intake programs.

Mr. Lichtenberg is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law where he earned a Certificate in Health Law, served as Publications Editor of the Annals of Health Law, and was a Senior Law Student Clinician in Loyola's Child and Family Law Clinic.

Prior to attending law school, Mr. Lichtenberg graduated magna cum laude from Boston College where he majored in Political Science.  Mr. Lichtenberg completed a semester-long research project on Special Education in the Australian state of Victoria, which was presented to the Victorian Parliament.

Mr. Lichtenberg received his M.A. in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago in 2011.

You can reach him directly at klichtenberg@monahanlawllc.com

AMY E. CULLNAN

Amy E. Cullnan joined Monahan Law Group, LLC as an associate attorney in 2011.  She works with Joe and Amy on contested guardianships and mental health matters.