Criminal Defense
If you have been arrested or charged in Illinois, the case moves on the court's schedule and not on yours. We explain what you are facing, what happens at each hearing, and what you can do before the next court date.
Who you will work with
Nejla Kassandra Keyfli Lane
Attorney at Law
Admitted to the bar in Illinois, Michigan and Texas. Criminal defense, immigration, family and civil matters, handled in English, German or Turkish. Separately licensed in Illinois as a private detective.
Speaks English German Turkish
Bar Admissions
- Illinois 2006
- Michigan 2005
- Texas 2015
Background
Nejla Kassandra Keyfli Lane practices in Chicago. Her work is criminal defense, immigration, and the family and civil matters that decide how ordinary life carries on: divorce, parenting, wills, injury claims and disputes between landlords and tenants. She is also licensed in Illinois as a private detective, and takes investigative work that is separate from the legal practice.
Admitted in three states
She was admitted to the bar in Michigan in 2005, in Illinois in 2006 and in Texas in 2015. A lawyer may appear in a state court only in a state where they are admitted, so the list is not decoration: it says where a case can actually be taken.
Federal immigration matters work differently. Immigration court and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services are federal, and a lawyer admitted in any one state may act in them wherever the case is filed. That is why an immigration case does not require a lawyer in your own state, and why families spread across several states can be handled from one office.
Education
She took her law degree at Michigan State University College of Law, graduating in 2004, and her bachelor's degree at Texas State University-San Marcos in 1998. Before that she attended the Friedrich-List-Schule in Ulm, Germany.
Three languages
She speaks English, German and Turkish. A consultation, the documents in the file and the questions that come after can all be handled in any of the three. Court proceedings themselves are conducted in English and the court provides its own interpreter; what changes is everything around them — the first conversation, the reading of a notice, the question someone was afraid to ask because they could not find the words for it.
The two landing pages for Turkish- and German-speaking clients say more about what that does and does not mean.
Investigative work is not legal work
The Illinois private detective license covers serving papers, background research and locating and interviewing witnesses. That work is not the practice of law, and hiring her for it does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship. Where someone wants both, the two are agreed separately and in writing, so it is always clear which one is being provided.
How a first conversation goes
Bring what already exists on paper: a ticket, a charge sheet, a notice from an immigration court, a summons, a lease, a letter from an insurer. Bring the dates printed on them. Most of what a lawyer can tell you at a first meeting depends on those dates, and a photograph of a document on a phone is enough to start with.
This page is general information about the practice, not advice about your case.
Credentials
Education
- Michigan State University College of Law J.D. · 2004
- Texas State University-San Marcos B.A. · 1998
- Friedrich-List-Schule, Ulm, Germany
Other Licenses
- Private detective license, Illinois
What we do
Practice areas
-
-
Immigration
Immigration cases are decided by federal agencies and immigration courts, each with its own forms, deadlines and standards. We explain which process applies to your situation, what it asks of you, and what usually goes wrong.
-
Family and Civil Law
Divorce, parenting, wills, injury claims and disputes between landlords and tenants are very different cases with one thing in common: they decide how ordinary life carries on afterwards. All of them are heard in the Illinois state courts.
-
Investigations
Nejla Lane holds an Illinois private detective license as well as a law license, so this office can serve court papers, research public records and take witness statements. This is investigative work and not legal advice, and the difference matters.
Plain answers
Articles by this attorney
-
Your landlord wants you out: what they may and may not do
In Illinois an eviction is a court case with a sheriff at the end of it. A landlord who changes the locks, removes your belongings or shuts off the heat is not evicting you — they are breaking the law.
-
If you are not a citizen, a criminal case is also an immigration case
A plea that ends a criminal case quickly can end a green card too. Why immigration law counts convictions differently from Illinois law, and why this has to be said out loud before anything is signed.
-
Does becoming a US citizen mean giving up the citizenship you have?
The oath of allegiance contains words about renouncing, and they frighten people out of applying. What the United States actually requires, what it does not, and why the real answer comes from your other country.
-
A Notice to Appear arrived. What it is and what to do first
A Notice to Appear is the document that opens a removal case in immigration court. It is not a deportation order. What it says, what the first hearing is for, and the obligation almost everybody misses.
-
The ninety days after a K-1 visa
A K-1 visa is permission to enter in order to marry, and the clock is ninety days long. What has to happen inside it, what happens after the wedding, and the two mistakes that cost people the most.
-
A DUI arrest in Illinois starts two cases, not one
One is the criminal case in the courtroom. The other is an administrative suspension of your license that begins on its own schedule, whatever the court does. Missing the second one is the common mistake.
-
Divorce in Illinois when one spouse lives abroad
You can file here even if your spouse is in another country. The difficult part is not the divorce, it is proving they were properly notified — and doing it in a way a judge here will accept.
-
When someone avoids being served with papers
Hiding does not stop a case. What service is for, what a court expects to see before it allows another route, and why a sloppy affidavit can undo a judgment years later.
Next step
Talk to us about your case
A first consultation lasts about forty-five minutes and it is a conversation, not a commitment. Come with your questions.
Book a consultation Call 773-888-7808
The information on this page is general and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts.