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| John J. Westra
John is one of the founding members of the firm. He concentrates his practice in personal injury litigation, criminal defense, family law, estate planning, probate work and litigation. John initially started practicing law in the DuPage County Public Defender's office. He holds the distinction of being the only attorney in DuPage County to have successfully advocated for a client to be spared the death penalty in a capital criminal case. John has achieved the largest salmonella food poisoning case settlement in DuPage County. He has obtained verdicts and settlements for his product liability clients for claims related to toxic shock syndrome, railroad crossing equipment defects, automobile air bags, mislabeled medications and other products.
In 1978, he began the firm with Tom Johnson, a State's attorney at the time, with a vision to begin a practice based upon the foundation of their common Christian faith. Because of his solid experience and success as a litigator, in addition to his experience in assisting clients with their estate plan, John has experience in the area of probate litigation, focusing on matters involving guardianship and decedents' estates, as well as related tort, contract, or equitable actions.
John is an active member of his church in Wheaton, Illinois. He is also an active volunteer with several non-profit organizations, and currently is on the Board of Directors for Fairview Retirement Center and Donka Computer Training for the Handicapped. He has represented over thirty not for profit clients and churches. He is a member of the Dupage County Bar Association, Christian Legal Society, and the Illinois Trial Lawyer's Association.
John is a graduate of Wheaton College and of the Ohio Northern Law School.
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| Howard W. Broecker
Howard W. Broecker has practiced law in Chicago and the western suburbs since 1966. Mr. Broecker is currently a partner in the law firm of Johnson, Westra, Broecker, Whittaker & Newitt where his practice focuses in family law. He has lectured extensively in the area of family law and family law mediation for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Illinois State Bar Association, Kane and DuPage County (IL) Bar Associations, and the Law Education Institute of Milwaukee (WI).
Mr. Broecker has been utilizing problem-solving and mediation skills in his practice for over 30 years. He maintains sharp skills and an innovative, personalized approach through his active mediation practice as well as through on-going continuing mediation training, including a forty-hour program at the Center for Dispute Resolution in Boulder, Colorado. Mr. Broecker has served as co-chair, faculty member and trainer for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers’s Mediation Study Committee and has trained over 250 Academy members in divorce mediation.
Mr. Broecker is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and served as vice-president of the Illinois Chapter of the Academy. He has written and lectured for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and co-authored, among other documents, the IICLE Family Law Judgement Relief Manual. He has served as President of the Chicago-Kent College of Law Alumni Association and Chair of the Partnership Program for the College of Law.
Education
North Central College
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D.
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| William J. Parkhurst
Bill Parkhurst is a shareholder with the firm who concentrates his practice in the field of family law. Bill favors obtaining a favorable out of court settlements for his clients. However, as an experienced litigator, Bill has represented clients at trials and hearings related to custody, removal, child support, visitation and virtually all other areas of contested family law. Bill has been successful in obtaining numerous awards of penalties against employers who have failed to withhold child support. In a recent case, his client received $15,000 in penalties from the ex-spouse’s employer who failed to withhold child support. Bill was also able to obtain a court order reuniting his client with the client’s child in a case where the Department of Children and Family Services (“DCFS”) wrongly removed the child from the client’s home.
Bill also represents families attempting to adopt children and is familiar with the laws and procedures related to all types of adoptions. Bill is listed as a DCFS certified adoption attorney for DCFS subsidized adoptions.
Bill has written an article related to unallocated family support which was published by the DuPage County Bar Association. He has donated his legal talents to help Administer Justice clients (a legal clinic in Dundee, Illinois) and Court Appointed Special Advocates clients (“CASA”). In 2005, Bill was awarded the pro bono attorney of the year award from CASA.
Licensed in Illinois (1991) and Michigan (1987), Bill is a member of the Kane County Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association and the Michigan Bar Association.
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| Alfred S. Lee
Alfred joined the firm in 1996, and became partner in 2002. Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, Alfred returned to his hometown after his studies, led him out of state and out of country. He attended Dartmouth College graduating in 1992. Alfred then went to Seoul, Korea to learn about and discover his cultural heritage and roots. While teaching English and serving at an English speaking church, Alfred attended the Yonsei University Korean Language School where he graduated in 1993, and received a Certificate of Fluency. Alfred then attended Notre Dame Law School and graduated in 1996. He was President of the Christian Legal Society Chapter at Notre Dame, and was introduced to the firm through the organization.
Concentrating on estate planning and trust and probate administration, Alfred is married with two young children. Alfred is an active member of his church in Itasca, Illinois. Alfred is also an active volunteer with several non for profit organizations, and was an officer of the Dartmouth Alumni Association of Chicago. Alfred is a member of the Northwest Suburban Estate Planning Council, Chicago Bar Association, Northwest Suburban Bar Association, DuPage County Bar Association, and Christian Legal Society.
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 | Michael Shim
Michael joined the firm in 2005. His practice concentrates in litigation.Prior to joining the firm, Michael was with a large firm with a nationwide practice in employment litigation and labor law. He represented employers in both federal and state courts. He handled cases involving Title VII, the ADA, the FMLA and various retaliation claims. He also represented many regional and national clients in many types of complex litigation matters including, products liability, intellectual property, class actions, employment, RICO, and §1983.
Michael was also a former Special Assistant United State's Attorney/Assistant Attorney General for the Territory of Guam. Michael was a member of joint federal task force created to combat drug trafficking and government corruption. Michael was also a former Assistant Cook County State's Attorney in Chicago, Illinois where he prosecuted narcotics cases as a member for the Narcotics Prosecutions Bureau.
Michael grew up in Wilmette, Illinois. He is a graduate of the Loyola Academy. He then went to college at Franklin & Marshall in Pennsylvania. He obtained his law degree from IIT-Kent College of Law. Married with one son, Michael is an active member of his church and was a youth group leader. Michael is a member of the American Bar Association, International Association of Korean Lawyers, Northwest Suburban Bar Association, and the Dupage County Bar Association.
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