Julie Clairmont

Julie Clairmont has spent nearly three decades in the legal field, and the through-line of her career has always been the same: making sure the people inside a case — clients, attorneys, court personnel — have what they need, when they need it. A good paralegal is invisible when things are running smoothly, and indispensable the moment they aren't. Julie is both.

Before family law, Julie spent almost twenty years working alongside one of DuPage County's most respected criminal defense attorneys, where she built her foundation as a paralegal and office manager. It was the kind of practice where the stakes were always high and the margins for error were narrow. That experience — learning to anticipate problems, to keep complex calendars airtight, to be the calm voice on the other end of a frantic phone call — shapes how she works to this day.

At O'Brien Family Law, Julie works alongside Joe daily on the operational backbone of the firm: managing discovery, scheduling motions, issuing subpoenas, coordinating with court personnel, and keeping every active matter on its timeline. It's the kind of work clients rarely see, but feel immediately when it's done well — in cases that move forward instead of stalling, in documents filed on time, in deadlines that never become emergencies.

She is also, for most clients, the first voice they hear. Whether on the phone, in person, or over email, Julie is the one greeting them at the start of the process and answering the questions that come up between hearings. She handles both the simple and the genuinely complex with the same approach: returning the call, getting the answer, following up.

"A good paralegal is invisible when things are running smoothly, and indispensable the moment they aren't. Julie is both."

In 2018, Julie joined Joe at Opal O'Brien Law, bringing the discipline and steadiness of her criminal defense background into family law practice. The two areas share more than people might assume: both involve clients in moments of real difficulty, both demand careful preparation, and both reward the kind of paralegal who treats every detail as if the case turns on it. When Joe founded O'Brien Family Law, the partnership simply continued under a new name — same standard of care, same team.

What distinguishes Julie isn't only her experience. It's that she genuinely treats clients as people, not files. She remembers the details of someone's situation. She picks up on what they're not saying. She communicates clearly when there's news, and patiently when there isn't. In a field where so much of the client experience comes down to whether someone calls you back, Julie is the reason ours always do.

With the house quieter these days, Julie and her husband have leaned all the way into the chapter they're in — more time outdoors, more time on the road, more time with the people (and the very good dog) they love most.

Their yellow lab, Buddy, is a near-constant companion on long walks and weekend adventures. And whenever the calendar allows, the suitcases come out.