To best serve our range of clients, whose diverse problems often call for unique approaches, the Illinois court system addresses family law matters with a flexibility designed to promote equity, a preeminent consideration in our field. Domestic relations courts, known as “courts of equity,” allocate marital property to achieve “equitable division.” But what is the practical application of this emphasis for people living in an increasingly multicultural society? In an era of historic shifts in demography, mobility, work/life balance, economics and moral norms?

Fortunately, the structure of family law permits it to adapt to real-world shifts with unusual agility. From issues such as co-parenting, relocation, spousal and child support, and division of assets, the law is equipped to yield results consistent with the tenor of the time. In our practices, we have seen remarkable shifts in accepted norms on all of those issues and more. As culture and circumstances continue to evolve, these new norms will be subject to additional shifts, and the law should evolve accordingly.

Certainly, the law, the legislature and the judicial system are not perfect. As with most human endeavors, they derive from a complex mix of compromise, tradition and aspiration. Then they are mediated by individual legislators and judges subject to the commitments and biases endemic to humankind. Significant inequities persist and require additional calibration.

But on a day of commemoration such as Law Day, we can look back at where we have been to survey where we are, and then look forward to where we want to go. The trajectory we chart will not be free of controversy or conflict. But under the rubric of the Constitution, we have a robust system of law by which to resolve, procedurally and substantively, family law issues in the interest of fairness, equality and equity—ideals that hold particular significance in the practice of family law.