Cooper Trachtenberg Law Group, LLC

Special thank you to attorney Ms. Elka Blonder for the exceptional legal service provided. Your professionalism, knowledge, and expertise was what secured a favorable outcome. Thank you to attorney Ms. Miriam Cooper for reassuring me with the initial consultation and attorney Ms. Irina Melnik for your valuable experience. I appreciate the attention and the immediate action taken with my case-exactly what I asked for. Most importantly-thank you for always keeping me updated (yes, Elka returns phone calls and emails), being direct/transparent, and focusing on facts not nonsense. What was not accomplished in 18 months, you took care of in less than a month; phenomenal and unbelievable. Thank you to Cooper Trachtenberg Law Group, LLC, your team has earned my trust and highest recommendation.

It’s been really nice working with Helena Trachtenberg and her team! They were very attentive, stayed in close contact with me through the whole process and were available whenever I had a question. They helped guide about next steps and I really trusted that they had my best interest at heart.

Elka Blonder is extremely professional and an absolute pleasure to talk to, highly recommend!!

Helena Trachtenberg is the GAL your child needs. Helena was appointed as GAL to our complicated divorce case and she was great. Very objective and straight to the point. Interests of the child on the first place.

The attorneys at this firm are steadfast in their advocacy for their clients. I would trust anyone at Cooper Trachtenberg to handle family matters with compassion and professionalism. You can tell these lawyers care about their clients!

Miriam Cooper was appointed as the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) for my boyfriend’s daughter. Throughout the case, we grew increasingly concerned about the quality and thoroughness of her involvement. From our perspective, she appeared to develop conclusions early in the process, before meaningfully speaking with either parent or with the child. Her recommendations often seemed to favor the mother, even when there were documented concerns about the mother’s stability and the safety of her environment. The parenting plan she recommended ultimately contributed to increased tension and distance between the mother and child. During this period, the mother’s ongoing struggles with addiction and mental health continued, and she eventually disengaged from the child entirely. After the final hearing, my boyfriend was granted full allocation of parental responsibilities, and the mother instructed him not to have the child call her anymore. Despite being informed twice that the child was in therapy, the GAL did not contact the therapist until the court directed her to do so. According to the therapist, the call was brief and involved minimal questioning. Over the past year, most of the GAL’s billing activity involved communication with the mother, even though the child lived with my boyfriend and had limited contact with the mother. The GAL rarely communicated with my boyfriend regarding the child’s wellbeing and did not request regular access to speak with the child. My boyfriend paid his full portion of the GAL fees, while the mother still owes a significant balance. Around the time that balance grew, the GAL shifted from recommending professional supervision (despite court direction) to a lower-cost alternative, which raised concerns about consistency and compliance with the court’s expectations. As part of her investigation, the GAL facilitated a supervised visit between the mother and child after an eight-month gap in contact. She allowed the mother’s new partner, whom she had recently met in a psychiatric facility, to attend. The child later expressed discomfort with his presence and confusion about why he was involved. The child has also witnessed multiple episodes of instability from her mother, and after only a handful of visits, the mother–child contact was terminated. The child is now processing significant confusion and anger regarding her relationship with her mother. At the final hearing (when the court awarded sole parental responsibility to my boyfriend) the only statement the GAL offered was a request to be discharged from the case. Overall, we feel that the GAL’s involvement did not support the child’s best interests and that her efforts did not reflect the level of care or diligence the role requires. Throughout this process, my boyfriend’s attorneys showed more concern for the child’s safety and wellbeing than the GAL assigned to represent her. This experience has been extremely discouraging, and we hope steps are taken to ensure other families do not encounter similar issues. It’s a shame to be assigned Ms. Cooper. I’ve heard amazing stories about other GAL’s. This one is a bad seed.

Miriam Cooper was assigned to our case for quite a while now as a GAL. If I could give it 0 Stars I would. She likes to favor parents who can’t seem to be after the best interest of the child. She will decide based on her own personal opinion and disregard the actual evidence presented to her. It seems like she is always overworked that even when she does visits to meet clients children all she does is sits in the living room and ask questions. My child has been put through so much danger including living conditions that she didn’t bother doing a thorough check. If you show that you are on top of things pertaining to your child.she will label you as “doing too much” and will use this against you. She made me feel like I couldn’t voice out any concerns on behalf of my children . Even after all the abuse that was presented to her she sided with the other parent in having equal parenting that now I am having to go back to court so present new evidence of my children’s risks. Not to mention she will drain your pockets as she charges for every second she even stares at you. Protect your children and stay away from this firm.

Irina and the all-female Cooper Trachtenburg firm absolutely deliver in court while always keeping the best interests of children at the center. I wish I had worked with them from the very beginning as they are a true asset in the Chicagoland area.

Stay away- Helena makes assumptions without evidence and is constantly worrying about how much money people spend on lawyers. My children hated her, she was bias towards my ex husband believed that a man 3x my size who abused me medically, financially and physically was the victim. She only took my ex husband’s collaterals into account when as an educator numerous professionals spoke on my behalf while not one spoke up for my ex. She believes abusers over women- and truthfully women who don’t support women are never people I want in my life. Stay away- she’s cheap and sneaky and doesn’t care what is in the best interest of children. She admitted I do the lion’s share of the parenting but she doesn’t care about the mental load of women as parents and supports disgusting abusive men. Seems like she probably leans a certain way in the current political climate- and not the way of those of us with values.

I'm very thankful to this knowledgeable people. They helped me to go through the painful process.

My experience with Miriam Cooper has been extremely disappointing. Her judgment was based more on appearances (such as a school district) rather than the actual safety and well-being of the child involved. Serious issues were overlooked, which has led to harmful situations. I will be following up with her directly with proof of these issues, since the environment she considered “good” has already resulted in violent incidents. If you are considering working with her, be aware that she may not look at the full picture when making decisions that deeply impact families. She raised her prices, just to collect the money.

The entire Cooper Trachtenberg team is phenomenal - whether they are the court appointed Guardian or advocates, they are responsive, helpful, reasonable, and smart. They are a pleasure to work with as professionals.

Elka, and the rest of the team, were very supportive and easy to communicate with during a very stressful time in my life. Elka understood my concerns and was able to guide me throughout the entire legal process.

Nothing but good things to say about CTLG. We had the absolute pleasure of working with Elka. She really made everything easy to understand which was a nice change of pace from us trying to figure everything out on our own. Very transparent about everything and very responsive to any and all questions during the process. Couldn't ask for everything to go more smoothly. All of the office staff was excellent to work with as well. Highly recommend!

I have engaged Helena Trachtenberg and her office to be my representative in one of family related issues. Helena helped me to get an understanding of the whole process, always available to answer all of my questions with very thorough feedback. Her advice was always suitable and communicated very clearly and easy to understand, that made the whole process effective and efficient. Helena came across not only as a great professional but also as a truly caring and intelligent lawyer! I am very grateful for the support and highly recommend Helena to anyone seeking a legal counsel. Kind Regards, Mariya

Complete waste of time and thousands of dollars. Was assigned Irene M. If I had an enemy, they'd be a better advocate for me than Irene was. Asked her questions about possible outcomes specific to my case and was falsely reassured that such a negative outcome would not take place. Guess what, it did. I was never given advice or warned about possible outcomes. I was made to believe the case was a done deal. In both court hearings the cat had her tongue. Judge made a disparaging remark and she said nothing. I believe Irene did not brush up on the specifics of my case and it showed. I basically paid them thousands of dollars to process paperwork for me. Everyone is in business to make a buck, at least put some effort into it.

If “Mimi” gets assigned to your case please do everything you can to get someone else. Extra star because I don’t think she’s intentionally incompetent (or I hope). It seems she’s very overworked, and certainly past the retirement age. She is not equipped to handle the sensitivity required in family matters. If you’re reading this I pray things go differently for you than they did for my family.

The journey of divorce is an uphill climb and at times it was a bit stressful. But Cooper Trachtenberg took all my worries away. They gave me all the guidelines for the process and partnership that I will never forget. They are focused on your needs and wants and will provide honest feedback. Thank you, Cooper Trachtenberg Law Group for everything.

I was very happy to have Helena Trachtenberg and the team to be with me throughout the divorce process. I always felt protected and supported. They took care of all big and small issues... Whenever I think about the whole process I overwhelmed with gratitude. Highly recommend.