About Lisa M.
Lisa M. Giese built her route to law through two Midwestern schools. She earned a B.S. in Political Theory and Social Relations from Michigan State University in 2004. She stayed in the region for law school and graduated from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2008, where she completed a Certificate in Child and Family Law.
Her earliest legal work came before she finished law school. In 2006 she worked as a law clerk and legal secretary at Hanley Flight & Zimmerman, LLC, performing document drafting and case preparation duties that exposed her to litigation process and courtroom procedure. After earning her J.D., she joined Anderson & Associates P.C. as an associate lawyer in 2008, gaining hands-on experience in client counseling and trial preparation. Those early years shaped a practice centered on family law, custody disputes and related civil matters.
Giese moved into firm leadership in 2014 when she served as managing partner of Kollias & Giese, P.C. She handled case strategy and supervised junior attorneys while managing day-to-day firm operations. In 2020 she became a partner at McSwain Nagle & Giese, P.C., a role that broadened her trial responsibilities and her administrative duties. Her bar admissions include Illinois, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and the United States Supreme Court; she is also a member of the Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar.
Her courtroom work is informed by specialized study in child and family law and by steady involvement in professional groups. She maintains memberships in the Kane County Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the DuPage County Bar Association. She has served as a director of the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers and participates in the Family Law Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association.
Colleagues describe Giese as a lawyer who prefers clear strategy over rhetoric. She balances settlement efforts with readiness to try contested matters. Her casework often involves custody and parenting time disputes, allocation of parental responsibilities and other family law issues that present both legal and emotional complexity. She prepares exhibits, examines witnesses and argues hearing-level matters when settlement is not attainable.
Outside the courtroom she has overseen firm administrative tasks and mentored newer attorneys. She has maintained an active practice in state and federal forums. Today she practices at McSwain Nagle & Giese, P.C., where her caseload centers on family law and related civil litigation.
