Flavia Pocari Hayes
Founder, Principal Attorney
Flavia Pocari Hayes is the founder and principal attorney of Hayes Law LLC. Prior to starting Hayes Law, Flavia served as a partner for a Chicago general civil litigation practice where she handled the firm’s family law cases at the trial and appellate level.
Flavia represents individuals in a wide range of family law matters including divorce, parentage, and domestic violence. She negotiates, litigates, and resolves issues related to child support, allocation of parental responsibilities (formerly “custody”), parenting time (formerly “visitation”), complex property division, maintenance (“spousal support/alimony”), orders of protection, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. Flavia also handles post-decree related issues that require enforcements and modifications of judgments.
Flavia achieves favorable outcomes for her clients, in and out of the courtroom, through meticulous preparation, due diligence, and profound analysis of all issues. Flavia is not always the first attorney hired onto a case, but she is often the last.
Flavia understands that family law proceedings can impact the family, finances, career and health of everyone involved. When clients hire Flavia, they soon realize she cares about their case as much as they do. Flavia’s priority is to empower her clients to regain control of their lives and emerge with minimal collateral damage. By connecting with clients and understanding a family’s dynamics, their needs, goals, expectations, and limitations, Flavia is able to develop unique solutions to complex problems. Flavia’s ability to recognize the patterns, motivations, and goals of her opponents gives her an advantage over adversaries, both during negotiations and in litigation.
Flavia obtained her law degree and Certificate in Family Law, from DePaul University, College of Law. While in law school, Flavia focused her education and legal experience primarily in family law. She worked for a domestic relations Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County and represented low-income individual as a 711 Licensed Senior law student for the Chicago Legal Clinic and the Domestic Violence Courthouse. Flavia was awarded the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for her representation of clients in the Family Law Clinic.
Outside of practicing law, Flavia enjoys kickboxing, traveling, and playing chess with her husband.
Affiliations
Bar Admission:
- Illinois
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
Professional Memberships
- Chicago Bar Association
- Illinois Bar Association
- Collaborative Law Illinois Fellow
Education
DePaul University, College of Law, Chicago, Illinois
Juris Doctor, Family Law Certificate
- Dean’s List
- CALI Award-Family Law Clinic
- Benjamin Hooks Distinguished Service Award
- Journal of Women Gender and the Law-Senior Articles Editor
Elmhurst University, Elmhurst, Illinois
Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude
Majors: Psychology and Political Science
- Dean’s List
- Honors Organization and Honors Program Member
- Psychology Department Recognition Award
- Political Science Senior of the Year Award
Trainings
Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
Mediation Skills Training Program
Collaborative Divorce Illinois
Collaborative Practice Training