ATD: All Things Divorce
Join Founder of Merel Family Law Jonathan Merel and his guests as they talk through everything from divorce, relationships, legal miscues and pop culture on ATD: All Things Divorce.
ATD: All Things Divorce
Beyond Legal Jargon: A Fresh Take on All Things Divorce
Breaking the mold of traditional legal content, the All Things Divorce Podcast launches with host Jonathan Merel and special guest Melissa Caballero Dunn sharing the remarkable journey of building Merel Family Law from the ground up. What began as a Jerry Maguire-style leap of faith during the 2009 financial crisis has flourished into one of Illinois' premier family law practices with over 20 attorneys and 30 team members.
This introduction offers listeners a glimpse behind the scenes of a truly modern law firm—complete with an in-house studio, Peloton room, lounge area, and children's rooms within their expansive 25,000 square foot office. While competitors retreated to remote work during the pandemic, Merel Family Law doubled down on creating a vibrant workspace where people genuinely want to be. This commitment to culture and quality talent has become their secret weapon in an industry often perceived as stuffy and outdated.
Looking ahead, the ATD podcast promises to deliver content that's anything but boring legal lectures. Future episodes will feature relationship experts, therapists, financial advisors, and entertaining segments on celebrity divorces. Whether you're navigating a divorce, contemplating your relationship, or simply curious about family dynamics, this podcast delivers practical insights wrapped in engaging conversation. Subscribe now for a fresh, honest take on all things divorce from professionals who've transformed how family law is practiced.
Welcome to ATD, the All Things Divorce Podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Merel. Welcome to the All Things Divorce podcast, also known as ATD, not to be confused with ADD, which most people probably think I have. That's a whole other story. I'm Jonathan Merel, your host. This is episode one of our podcast series. Very excited to be here in our home studio with my work wife, my partner in crime, Melissa Caballero-Dunn. Welcome to the studio.
Jonathan Merel:We are in our amazing studio, in our amazing new office. We have to be one of the only family law firms with an in-house studio, not to mention all the other bells and whistles in this place, like our Peloton room, our chill-out room, our kids' room, our ping-pong table, our lounge, our bar, our offices, our conference rooms. We have it all here and we'll show that off and talk about it as the series progresses, but this is really an introductory episode. I want to introduce myself, Melissa, as our first guest, really just talking about what we do here at Merel Family Law. I'm Jonathan Merel. I'm the founder of the firm.
Jonathan Merel:I started this practice almost 16 years ago now, which is crazy. Started off as just me and Melissa as my law clerk. She was kind of one of those Jerry Maguire who's coming with me moments at this old firm I was working at. She came with me. I don't know why, but she did. She's now the managing partner here. We have over 20 lawyers, over 30 employees. We're doing great.
Jonathan Merel:We just moved into this brand new office last year which we've been working on for years. It's kind of been an idea that I've had in my head just turning a space into the modern law firm. The modern law office, not the stuffy, frotchety old office that people think of when they go into a law firm. It's modern, it's industrial looking, it's big and is really fitting for not just our clients but, of course, our employees, to making this a place where they want to come into work. But anyways, started this firm 16 years ago. We've grown. We're one of the top family law firms in Illinois I'd like to think, the country. We have an amazing team top to bottom. But we're not here to promote ourselves. We're here to talk about cool topics Today again more of an introductory episode, to kind of tell you about what lies ahead on the podcast. But, melissa, why don't you tell us a little bit about your background first?
Melissa Caballero Dunn:So, like you mentioned, I with Jonathan, you know started this firm 16 years ago. I was just a law student with you know, not a whole lot to offer.
Jonathan Merel:She did have a business card, though. If you find a law student that has their own business card, just because they're a law student, even though they don't have a job, hire them. They'll probably become the managing partner of your firm one day.
Melissa Caballero Dunn:Well, and if you're a law student looking for a job, you should get some business cards, and that's advice Number one law students get your business cards.
Jonathan Merel:That could only mean success down the road. Once get your business cards, that could only mean success down the road.
Melissa Caballero Dunn:Yep, but yeah, I mean I interviewed with you right before the start of my, or maybe at the beginning of my 2L year and, of course, doing that then you know, all I wanted was a job for the semester. I could not have imagined that it would end up being my career for the rest of my life, in the same place, with, well, maybe not the same physical location at this point, but with the same people, with the same boss. But, yeah, I mean, started working for you you were an associate at at another firm that no longer exists and rest in peace rest in peace.
Melissa Caballero Dunn:And after a few months you let me in on your plan to do your own thing and you've been the only person there that had mentored me and worked with me and taught me all the things that I had. You know that I learned up until that point and I obviously I mean I know you say you don't know why I came, but I couldn't imagine doing anything differently, and obviously it's. It's paid off amazingly Well, I'm glad you came, me too.
Jonathan Merel:And now you run the show here, we run the show here, but you're running the day-to-day show when it comes to management of all the attorneys, and I'm not sure what our trajectories would have been if you had not come with me to the new firm, which you very easily could have stayed.
Jonathan Merel:I was starting my own firm. It was 2009. It was the middle of like financial crisis. I had a second kid coming. I had no idea how I was going to even pay for anything or do anything, but we had a good base of clients and I did have a plan and thankfully, you came with. Before we know it, you passed the bar. You were the first associate and we've continued to grow since.
Melissa Caballero Dunn:So I'm glad that happened.
Melissa Caballero Dunn:The growth has been crazy and I think that that's something that a lot of people talked to me about. When I am talking to other attorneys in our division, um, they always comment on our growth and how amazing it seems to have been and it really has been, but I think it's. We found kind of the sweet spot. We, I don't think, exploded at a rate that was untenable for the firm or that didn't make sense, but we've prioritized adding good talent along the way, and when we came across somebody who had a lot to offer, I think we've been very good about making it a priority to find a place for them within the firm, even if maybe we weren't technically hiring at that time. And I think that's what's made the growth so solid for us, because you can add people but they're not the right people, it doesn't mean anything.
Jonathan Merel:That's such a good point because you're only as good as the people that you have and we are fortunate enough to work with, I think, the best lawyers in town, and not just great attorneys that advocate for our clients, but good people. And that kind of brings me to the culture we've created here, which is creating a work environment where we have people that like being around each other. We've created a place where people like to come in, while all of our competitors were saying everyone worked from home, nobody come into the office. During COVID, you know, we held strong and making sure we wanted our people here, and that was further supported by the fact that they wanted to be here. You know a lot of people in our industry. They took that first opportunity they could to not come into the office anymore. Work from home.
Melissa Caballero Dunn:Eliminate their space.
Jonathan Merel:Eliminate their space, downsize their space, whatever it was. We did the opposite. You know, we doubled down on being in the office. We built this 25,000 square foot office that furthers our culture, that makes people want to be here, that kind of furthers the idea and mindset that we have here for building what it became and building it in the future. So all these things have kind of worked together and coincided to create what we have and to continue growing it, to be in a space where we can continue to grow and get the best people, which is all we want to do. Yeah, so I give you a ton of credit for that. I could not be here without you, this firm would not be here without you, and that's kind of the background of us in the firm.
Jonathan Merel:We're going to talk a little bit about this podcast, Like why should you even care? If you've listened this far, I appreciate it because that means I guess we haven't been that bad. But this is not going to be a boring podcast about, you know, teaching you the law, and you know we could put in a few things here and there educating people about divorce law, family law, those kind of topics. But we need to keep it interesting. I mean, if you wanted to be lectured about the law, you'd probably go to law school or watch some stupid YouTube video. We're trying to keep things interesting. We're going to have interesting guests. We're going to bring up controversial topics. We're going to keep you intrigued, interested and wanting more. I hope what those topics are obviously will be forthcoming on the next episodes, what guests we have.
Jonathan Merel:But we're going to use this studio that we built and we're going to use it well and bring you good guests, whether they be in person or via Zoom. It's not going to just be a bunch of lawyers talking. We're going to have relationship experts, therapists, financial advisors. We're going to give you information that you could use in your relationship. We're also going to have segments about celebrity divorces in the news, hot topics when it comes to pop culture, divorce, ATD all things divorce right here. Don't miss it. But again, this is where our studio is. This is where the podcast is going to take place. We're going to have great topics. You're going to see Melissa coming in once in a while. You're going to see other lawyers from the firm popping in once in a while. But we think you're going to love the podcast and we hope you join us for season one.
.jpg)
