Jody Meyer Yazici, Author of 'The Illinois Practice of Family Law,' Joins Merel Family Law as Partner

Jody Meyer Yazici, author of 'The Illinois Practice of Family Law,' has joined Merel Family Law as a partner. With more than 30 years of practice in Illinois and authorship of the definitive treatise on family law in the state, Meyer Yazici brings a depth of experience few attorneys can match.

Meyer Yazici is the author of 'The Illinois Practice of Family Law,' the reference that Illinois judges and practitioners turn to daily and that many attorneys first encounter in law school. Known across the field as the 'Red Book,' it covers the full scope of state and federal law affecting family law practice. She has written every one of its 25 editions since the first was published in 1995, the most recent in March 2026, continuing a project she began as a law student alongside the late Muller Davis. The treatise is part of Thomson Reuters' Illinois Practice Series.

Meyer Yazici built her practice on the most financially complex matters in the field, working from her earliest years with accountants, business valuators and other financial experts. That grounding shaped an approach she has carried ever since. She applies the same standards to every case regardless of size, and she sees the treatise not as a side project but as part of a larger purpose she shares with the firm's leadership: elevating the practice of family law.

'Once you get beyond the very superficial level of almost any case, even simple cases have complex issues that need to be addressed,' Meyer Yazici said. 'It's important that lawyers see this field as something deserving of that attention and level of professionalism.'

That conviction is what drew her to Merel Family Law, a firm she describes as forward looking and aligned with her own commitment to raising the standard of the practice.

'Jody has shaped how family law is practiced and understood in Illinois,' said Jonathan Merel, founder of Merel Family Law. 'For more than 30 years she has written the reference that judges and attorneys across the state rely on, and she has done it while holding every case to an exacting standard. Raising the level of this field is exactly what we set out to do when we built this firm, and we are proud to welcome her as a partner.'

Beyond the treatise, Meyer Yazici has been published in the Illinois Bar Journal and the ISBA Family Law Section Newsletter, contributed to 'Strategies for Family Law in Illinois,' and assisted in the prepublication review of 'The Lawyer's Guide to the Cost of Capital' by Shannon Pratt and Roger Grabowski. She has been named repeatedly to the Leading Lawyers Network and served for many years on the Chicago Council of Lawyers' judicial evaluation committee. She earned her law degree from Cornell Law School and her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University. She has practiced in all aspects of family law since her admission to the Illinois bar in 1994.