LINDA A. BRYCELAND is an Associate with Monahan & Cohen having joined the firm in 2007. Ms. Bryceland concentrates her practice in probate, guardianship, mental health and hospital law and civil appeals.
Before joining Monahan & Cohen, Ms. Bryceland practiced in the areas of civil appeals, guardianship, probate, professional regulation and other civil litigation at Novoselsky Law Office. Ms. Bryceland has been appointed Guardian ad Litem and attorney defending respondents and representing wards in guardianship cases. She has also successfully participated in a number of significant appeals before the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, including such cases as Proctor v. Upjohn which established a drug manufacturer’s duty to adequately warn physicians of the dangers of an off-label use of a drug, and Boyd v. Travelers Insurance Company which first recognized a claim for negligent spoliation of evidence in Illinois.
Ms. Bryceland received a juris doctorate from DePaul College of Law in 1986. In law school, Ms. Bryceland was an Articles Editor for the DePaul Law Review. She participated in the DePaul Moot Court competition and received the top oralist award and also participated in National Moot Court Competition. Ms. Bryceland was the recipient of the Women’s Bar Association Scholarship for leadership and scholarship. Ms. Bryceland is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, receiving a B.A. in History with Departmental Honors, and an M.A. in History.
Linda can be reached at lbryceland@monahan-cohen.com
AMY E. McCARTY is an Associate with Monahan & Cohen, having joined the firm in 2004. Ms. McCarty concentrates her practice in probate, guardianship, child welfare and mental health and confidentiality. Prior to joining Monahan & Cohen, she was an Assistant Public Guardian with the Cook County Public Guardian's office from1997 to 2004.
From 1997 to 2002, Ms. McCarty served as court-appointed attorney and guardian ad Litem for hundreds of children and young adults in abuse, neglect and dependency proceedings. In that capacity, she advocated for and litigated on behalf of these children and young adults in both court and administrative proceedings.
From 2002 to 2004, Ms. McCarty served as counsel for the Public Guardian as a court appointed guardian of over600 disabled adults. In that capacity, she litigated numerous contested guardianship matters, represented the interests of the disabled adults in all aspects of legal and administrative proceedings involving their person and estate and participated in the litigation of multiple citations to recover the assets of disabled adults from alleged exploiters.
Both during and prior to attending law school, Ms. McCarty worked extensively in the areas of fund-raising and development for non-profit organizations, most specifically with Food Gatherers of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ms. McCarty received her Juris Doctor from the LoyolaCivitasChildLawCenter at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She is a graduate of the of CollegeLiterature, Science and the Arts, majoring in Psychology.JohnMarshallLawSchool and was a visiting student for the 1995-96 academic year at the UniversityMichigan, where she received a Bachelor of Arts from the of
Amy can be reached via email at amccarty@monahan-cohen.com
MARGARET (MEG) SIMA is an Associate with Monahan & Cohen having joined the firm in 2003. From 1994 to1996, 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 CookCounty. )
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 & Cohen, 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 RobertMorrisCollege, including Torts, Legal Environment of Business and Domestic Relations.BenedictineUniversity. She has taught several paralegal classes for
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 of UniversityIllinois, 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@monahan-cohen.com
