Paul T. Koontz

Paul Thomas Koontz grew up in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He went on the attend law school at Southern Illinois University, graduating in 2014 with a juris doctor.

During his time in law school, Paul interned with the McHenry County and Hamilton County State’s Attorney’s offices giving him real world experience in high profile criminal prosecutions and both jury and bench trials.

Paul was licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois in 2014 and later in both the Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois and the Southern District in Wisconsin. Early in his career Paul focused primarily on criminal law as a Prosecutor in Winnebago County, Illinois and then as a defense attorney all over northern Illinois. However, once his wife and daughter became a part of his life, it was then he realized that family law is where he could be most effective.

In his practice in criminal law, Paul has developed a tenacity that led to him being named to the Top 10 Criminal Defense Attorneys under 40 in Illinois in both 2024 and 2025. He carries this tenacity into his family law practice.

Having a family of his own, he knows the struggles and the love inherent in every relationship along with the pain that it can cause when that relationship goes under the enormous strain of a divorce, child custody proceedings, maintenance or support issues.

Paul knows the cost of what is at stake. A divorce, whether children are involved or not, is an emotional rollercoaster, it is the end of something deeper than just a relationship, and emotions are meteorically high. He has helped many families in all aspects of a family law case, divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities, spousal and child support issues, emergency motions and hearings, protective orders and dealing with domestic violence issues, and has seen those clients through to the other side.

In addition to criminal and family law, Paul also represents business clients, assisting them with corporate formation and governance, drafting loan documents for private lenders, handling both residential and commercial real estate transactions, represented both residential and commercial landlords, and estate planning.

Paul also represented a client in the Northern District of Illinois in a Civil Rights dispute winning the case on a Motion to Dismiss that was granted with prejudice, meaning the opposing party can never bring the case again. When his opponent filed an appeal, Paul successfully represented the same client in both the First District Appellate Court of Illinois and later in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, winning the appeal and ending a year’s long legal saga between the parties.

Paul has practiced primarily in Cook, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Lake, Winnebago, McHenry and LaSalle Counties in Illinois.

Work History

• Kollias & Conner, P.C., 2026 – Present
• Law Offices of Jenet G. Pequeno, LLC, 2024 – 2026
• Hirsch Law Group, LLC, 2023 – 2024
• Sanford Khan, LLP, 2022 – 2023
• Gardi, Haught, Fischer and Bhosale 2017 – 2019, and late 2020 – Early 2022
• Donahue and Walsh P.C. 2016 – 2017
• Motta and Motta, LLC 2015 – 2016
• Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office 2014 – 2016
• McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, 2011 – 2014
• Hamilton County State’s Attorney’s Office, 2012 – 2014