Education
Columbia University, J.D. (1969)
Duke University, B.A. (1966)
During his years of practice since 1969, Mr. Hopkins has specialized in formulating creative tax plans for clients. Over the decades, he has also had a substantial impact on improvements to laws affecting divorcing spouses, both nationally and in Illinois. From 1980 to 1986, Mr. Hopkins chaired the ABA Tax Section's Domestic Relations Tax Simplification Task Force, which spearheaded the divorce tax reforms to the Internal Revenue Code enacted in the mid-1980s. He also chaired an Illinois inter-bar Task Force that re-wrote the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, as well as chaired a Chicago Bar Association Committee that drafted the 1997 law in Illinois known as "The 'Leveling of the Playing Field' in Divorce Litigation Enactment" and an Illinois State Bar Association Committee that drafted the Illinois Maintenance Guidelines, effective in 2015. He is also a founder (and continues as a Director) of The Weitzman Center, a support and networking organization for victims of upscale domestic violence.
- Best Lawyers in America, Naifeth and Smith (2010-2019)
- Leading Lawyers Network – Leading Lawyer in Family Law (2003-2018)
- Illinois Super Lawyers (2005-2019)
- Recipient of 1992 ISBA Board of Governors Award (for work that led to the re-write of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act)
- Illinois (1969)
- U.S. Tax Court (1971)
- Member, Chicago Bar Association Board of Managers (1992-1994)
- Member, Board of Directors, Chicago Bar Foundation (1998-2000)
- Chairman, American Bar Association, Domestic Relations Tax Simplification Task Force (1980-1984), as well as Chairman of ABA Taxation Section’s Domestic Relations Tax Problems Committee (1982-1984)
- Chairman, Joint ISBA/CBA Task Force on Illinois Domestic Violence Act (1986-1992)
- Member, Illinois State Bar Association’s Family Law Section Council (1984-1990 and 2007-present; Ch., 1989-1990)
- Chicago Bar Association, Chairman, Matrimonial Law Committee (1988-1989)
- Fellow, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (1981-present)
Authorships
- Author, Chapter in IICLE Treatise (“ILLINOIS FAMILY LAW”), entitled Tax Aspects of Dissolution and Separation (Chap. 8 in 2011 Ed.)
- Author, Chapter in ISBA Treatise (“ISBA FAMILY HANDBOOK”), entitled Matrimonial Practice and the Domestic Violence Act (Chap. 24 in 2011 Ed.)
- Presenter at Symposium (“CLINICAL AND LEGAL STRATEGIES FOR RESPONDING TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TACTICS AMONG PEOPLE OF MEANS”), sponsored by The Weitzman Center and DePaul University Law School, April, 2013, presentation entitled The Courtroom as a Venue for Further Domestic Abuse: The Legal Perspective
- Divorce Taxation: Planning Possibilities and Pitfalls and Matrimonial Practice and the Illinois Domestic Violence Act
- Tax Aspects of Dissolution of Marriage, Tax Planning Under Section 71
- Premarital Agreements Under Illinois Law, Income Tax Land Mines' in Divorce and Separation
Mr. Hopkins has served as chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Family Law Section Council and as Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Matrimonial Law Committee, as well as a member of the CBA's Board of Managers and the Chicago Bar Foundation’s Board of Directors. He has been a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers since 1981 and has been selected by peers for inclusion in the 2003-2016 Illinois Leading Lawyers, in the 2005-16 Illinois Super Lawyers, and in “Best Lawyers in America,” Naifeth and Smith (2010-2017).
Mr. Hopkins is a frequent author and speaker, having presented numerous papers in the divorce taxation and domestic violence areas at a wide variety of seminars, symposia, and tax institutes. He is a graduate of Duke University and Columbia University Law School.
Articles and Publications
- David Hopkins was quoted in the article "Domestic Violence" published in West Suburban Living Magazine.
- Newsletter Vol. 8, No. 1 - Winter
- New Spousal Support Guidelines in Illinois
- "Leveling of the Playing Field" In Divorce Litigation Amendments
- Alimony in Lieu of Property
- "Leveling the Playing Field" in Divorce: Questions and Answers About the New Law
