The Divorce Trial Playbook: Evidence, Witnesses & Winning Arguments

Kathryn H. Mickelson, Partner | Beermann LLP

Kathryn H. Mickelson is an Equity Partner at Beermann LLP, where she represents clients and their complex financial estates in sensitive family law matters with discretion and confidentiality. Her clients range from business owners and professional athletes to some of Chicago’s most influential rainmakers, who come to her for her preparation, responsiveness, and non-nonsense approach to family law. A first chair trial attorney and certified mediator, Katy is the only partner in the firm who rose from law clerk to owner.

• Education & Credentials

Katy earned her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2005, where she became a certified mediator through the Center for Conflict Resolution and participated in the Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution program. She holds an A.B., with honors, from the University of Michigan, and obtained a certificate in European Union, Comparative & International Law through Tulane University at the Siena Institute of European Legal Studies in Italy. She is admitted to the Illinois Bar and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

• Recognition & Leadership

Katy was named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading U.S. Family Lawyers, recognized as one of Salute! Top Women in Law (2022), and listed as a Super Lawyer (2021–present), Best Lawyer (2019–present), and Leading Lawyer (2015–present). She was also named one of Crain’s Most Notable Women Attorneys (2018), Best Lawyers‘ “Women of Influence” (2017), and Law Bulletin Publishing Company’s 40 Under 40 Illinois Attorneys to Watch (2012).

• Professional Involvement

Katy is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), serving on the Board for the Illinois Chapter, and a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. She authored “Breaking Ties: A New Look at Cohabitation’s Impact on Maintenance” (2024), “Building for the Future: The Adoption Process” (2022), and “How We Give 100 Percent” in the ABA Journal (September 2017). She has presented at the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Divorce Bootcamp and for the Illinois State Bar Association.

• Experience

Katy’s practice spans complex divorce, mediation, and sensitive family matters for high-net-worth clients, business owners, and professional athletes. Drawing on extensive courtroom and mediation experience, she crafts strategies that deliver efficient, expeditious resolutions while heading the firm’s Law Clerk and Externship Program and chairing its Marketing Committee.

Matthew W. Edwards, Partner | Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Matthew W. Edwards is a Partner in Matrimonial and Family Law at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, where he focuses on high-stakes matrimonial cases involving complex financial arrangements, family-owned or closely held businesses, and complex custody matters. He represents high-net-worth clients in divorce, custody, and prenuptial agreement disputes, working alongside forensic accountants, valuation experts, and financial planners to deliver favorable resolutions. Matt has prevailed before trial and appellate courts in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

• Education & Credentials

Matt earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he served on the Moot Court Board and worked as a Legal Writing Teaching Assistant. He holds a B.S. from the University of Georgia, where he graduated magna cum laude with high honors as a Charter Scholar and National Merit Scholar. He is admitted to the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia Bars.

• Recognition & Leadership

Matt has been recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as a Top Lawyer for Divorce and Family Law (2025) and listed in Best Lawyers for Family Law from 2021 to present. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, served as Chairman of the D.C. Bar Litigation Community in 2022, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Greater Washington Community Foundation.

• Professional Involvement

Matt teaches business valuation and trial skills as a faculty member of the National Family Law Trial Institute (NFLTI). He authored “Value in the Details: The Equitable Distribution of Partially Vested Interests in Divorce” in the Virginia Family Law Quarterly (Fall 2022) and has presented on Trial Plans 101 and Exhibits in the Zoom & WebEx Era. He also volunteers as a family law mentor for the D.C. Bar Advice & Referral Clinic.

• Experience

Matt’s practice spans high-stakes matrimonial litigation, from complex financial divorce and custody disputes to prenuptial agreement negotiation and enforcement. He consults with co-counsel nationwide on complex divorce issues and represents clients at trial and appellate levels across multiple jurisdictions.

SESSION 1 – Basics of Planning and Presenting Trial Testimony and Evidence | 1:00pm – 1:40pm

Build a trial plan grounded in the elements of the case, opposing arguments, and key case law, while mastering foundational rules of admissibility, authentication, hearsay, best evidence, completeness, and direct and cross-examination fundamentals.

BREAK | 1:40pm – 1:50pm

SESSION 2 – Practical Tips on Selected Evidentiary and Witness Issues | 1:50pm – 2:30pm

Apply targeted strategies for handling expert witnesses under FREs 702 and 703, authenticating texts, emails, photographs, videos, audio, and business records, addressing hearsay, summary exhibits, medical statements, and preserving objections through contemporaneous objection and proffer.

BREAK | 2:30pm – 2:40pm

SESSION 3 – Opening and Closing Statements | 2:40pm – 3:20pm

Craft openings that frame the relief sought and preview the testimony and evidence, then deliver closings that show what the evidence proved, establish credibility, explain legal significance, and clearly request relief.