New Jersey

Annmarie Simeone, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., will be a co-presenter discussing “All About Ethics Complaints: What Lawyers Need to Know” for the Middlesex County Bar Association (MCBA).  The seminar, approved for 1.5 hours of Ethics/Professionalism CLE credit, will be held at 12:15 PM on Friday, December 14, at the MCBA office in New Brunswick.

The seminar, Simeone will cover a variety of topics related to understanding the attorney ethics grievance process, including the procedures followed in that process, defending yourself once the grievance is filed, possible outcomes, the appeals process, and avoiding situations that commonly trigger ethics complaints. For more information and to register, visit the MCBA website.

Simeone concentrates her practice on labor and employment counseling and litigation.  She primarily defends management in claims made by employees under state and federal employment laws, including whistleblower claims and claims alleging harassment and discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin, and disability.  Simeone’s work includes the defense of corporations, as well as individual officers, directors, and employees, addressing issues unique to small businesses, and challenges faced by larger companies.  She also provides advice and counseling to human resource professionals and in-house counsel on employment issues including employee leaves of absence, workplace investigations, employee discipline, and layoff and termination issues, including the negotiation and design of severance agreements.  Simeone drafts employee handbooks and employment-related policies and procedures and has significant experience protecting businesses from liability by conducting training for supervisors and employees.

Simeone, Immediate Past President of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (NJWLA), received her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1993, and her B.A., summa cum laude, from St. John’s University in 1990.  In 2013, she was named Outstanding Woman in Somerset County in the area of Law by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women; in 2016, she received the Professional Lawyer of the Year Award from the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law on behalf of the NJWLA; and in 2018, she received the Presidential Leadership Award from the NJWLA.

Posted in: Annmarie Simeone, News | Tags: Annmarie Simeone, attorney, CLE, CLE credit, ethics, lawyer, MCBA, Middlesex County Bar Association, New Jersey, New Jersey Attorney, New Jersey Law, New Jersey lawyer

The law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., is pleased to welcome Doris Cheung as an Associate.  She joins the firm’s Litigation Practice Group, concentrating in the area of complex insurance fraud and healthcare litigation with an emphasis on Anti-Kickback Laws, Anti-Money Laundering, and Improper Licensing Regulations.

Cheung has experience drafting pleadings, motions, petitions, interrogatories, and trial materials for cases defending private and public entities in employment law and education matters in state and federal court, including employment discrimination, retaliation, School Ethics Commission matters, and special education cases before the Office of Administrative Law.

Cheung has extensive experience in drafting pleadings, discovery motions, dispositive motions, and appellate briefs, and conducting depositions of key defendants and fact witnesses.  She is adept in effective case management through the use of specialized legal technology.

Prior to joining Norris McLaughlin, Cheung was a litigation associate for a firm specializing in plaintiffs’ work on behalf of a Fortune 100 insurance company.  She was a member of a trial litigation team that recovered $10 million in damages in favor of their client in a bench trial.  Cheung was instrumental in preventing her adversary from dissipating $3 million in assets during litigation through the pursuit of a Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act claim.  Doris has also written summary judgement motions that resulted in a $3 million settlement in favor of her client.

Cheung earned her J.D. in 2011 from Rutgers University School of Law—Newark and her B.S. from Cornell University.  During law school, Doris served as a clinical student in the Child Advocacy Clinic and the Urban Legal Clinic, where she represented, counseled, and provided post-dispositional representation for juvenile clients. She also served as a law clerk at Legal Services of New Jersey, assisting counsel in legal research and community outreach for low-income residents of the state.  After graduating, she clerked for the Honorable Judge Kathryn A. Brock, J.S.C., of the Union County Superior Court in the Family Division.

Posted in: Doris Cheung, Litigation, News | Tags: Doris Cheung, Litigation, litigation associate, Litigation Lawyer, New Jersey, New Jersey Attorney, New Jersey Law, New Jersey lawyer

Raymond G. Lahoud, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A.,  and Chair of its Immigration Practice Group, will present “The (Hidden) Lucrative Intersections of Immigration Law and the Real Estate Industry” at the Triple Play REALTOR® Convention & Trade Expo on Wednesday, December 5, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, NJ.

Lahoud will cover the intersections of immigration with residential and commercial real estate transactions, including those involving documented and undocumented immigrants, temporary foreign employees, and international students; foreign corporations seeking to open a location in the United States or considering a complete relocation of company and employees; and residential and commercial property developers seeking alternative, low-cost project financing. Richard B. Somach, also a Member Norris McLaughlin, P.A., will be Master of Ceremonies for this presentation.

Triple Play is a tri-state convention with 8,000 realtors attending over a three-day period, December 3-6. Triple Play attracts thousands of realtors, brokers, appraisers, and other real estate professionals to the largest real estate convention and trade show of its kind in the U.S. Participants travel from coast-to-coast to learn about the newest and most exciting developments in real estate products and services.

Lahoud focuses his practice exclusively on immigration law and deportation defense for individuals, families, small to large domestic and multinational businesses and corporations, employers, international employees, investors, students, professors, researchers, skilled professionals, athletes, and entertainers, in every type of immigration or deportation defense matter—whether domestic or foreign. His immigration practice is broad, ranging from areas of corporate and employment immigration and related compliance to immigration litigation before agencies and courts across the United States, for corporations and individuals alike.  His experience includes immigrant and non-immigrant visas, visa overstays, immigrants who entered without inspection or authorization, EB-5 investor visas (serving investors, regional centers, and project developers), citizenship and naturalization claims, deportation and removal litigation at the immigration court and all appellate levels, E Visas, E-3 Visas, H-1B Visas, H-2B Visas, L Visas, O Visas, P Visas, Q Visas, R Visas, TN Visas, Exceptional Ability Immigrant Visas, Extraordinary Ability Immigrant Visas, Physician and Nursing Visas, K-1 Visas, K-3 Visas, Multinational Manager/Executive Immigrant Visas, Outstanding Professor/Researcher Immigrant Visas, PERM Labor Certification, Family Petitions, Adjustment of Status, Marriage Petitions, Asylum, VAWA applications, and Immigration Waivers, such as the Visa Waiver Program, National Interest Waivers, Hardship Waivers, and J Waivers. Lahoud received his B.A., English, summa cum laude from Lehigh University in 2006 and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2009

Somach focuses his practice on real estate, commercial law, and creditors’ remedies, representing real estate development companies, shopping centers, and local banks. He has represented real estate owners, developers, and investors in a broad range of real estate transactions, including zoning matters, residential subdivisions, and shopping center development. As a licensed title insurance agent, Somach is President of the title insurance and settlement company ABE Settlement Services. He currently serves as legal counsel to the Lehigh Valley Association of REALTORS®. He also serves as Assistant Lehigh County Solicitor, advising the Sheriff’s Office, the Tax Assessment Office, and the Tax Claim Bureau, and frequently writes and lectures on real estate matters, sheriff’s sales, and real estate tax sales. He has presented two lectures on mortgage foreclosures at the annual Real Estate Institute Program, “Issues in Commercial Mortgage Foreclosure” and “Issues in Residential Mortgage Foreclosure.” He received his B.A., with honors, in 1971 from Lehigh University and his J.D. in 1974 from Hofstra University Law School.

Posted in: Immigration, News, Raymond G. Lahoud, Real Estate & Finance, Richard B. Somach | Tags: Atlantic City, commercial, EB-5, Immigration, New Jersey, Ray Lahoud, real estate, residential, Rich Somach, Triple Play, Triple Play Realtor Convention & Trade Expo

Jeralyn L. Lawrence, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., member of its Management Committee, and Chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice Group, will speak on alimony at the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education’s Fall CLEfest on Monday, November 19, at the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin.  The full-day event offers a total of 7.2 CLE credits through morning and afternoon sessions within the civil trial, family law, labor and employment, and tax and estate planning tracks.

As part of the family law track, Lawrence will discuss the new alimony law and if it overrules earlier case law; the new standard; the statute’s comparability language; and how the law affects leisure time, savings, pensions, asset distribution, tax consequences, and enhanced alimony awards. Also participating will be Hon. Marie Lihotz, PJAD (Ret.), Lawrence R. Jones, Frank A. Louis, Esq., Michael A. Weinberg, Esq., and R. Joseph Gunteski, CPA, CFF.  For more information and to register, visit www.njicle.com.

Lawrence is Treasurer of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and is expected to become its President in 2022.  She is a Past Chair of the Family Law Section of the NJSBA, a Past President of the Somerset County Bar Association, and is a Senior Editor of New Jersey Family Lawyer, the official publication of the NJSBA Family Law Section.  She works with the State Bar’s Military Legal Assistance Program, providing pro bono legal assistance to New Jersey residents who have served overseas or on active duty in the armed forces after September 11, 2001.  Lawrence was appointed to the Somerset County Domestic Violence Working Group as a representative of the Somerset County Family Law Section.  She is Treasurer of the New Jersey Chapter of the AAML and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the nation’s leading research institute for interdisciplinary empirical study of law.

A resident of Watchung, Lawrence devotes her practice to matrimonial, divorce and family law, and collaborative law.  She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney.  She is a trained Family/Divorce Mediator, admitted to the rosters of Mediators for Economic Aspects of Family Law Cases and of Custody and Parenting Time Cases for Somerset County; is certified by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), the preeminent family law association in America, as a Family Law Arbitrator; and is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.  She has worked with clients in every area of matrimonial and family law, including divorce litigation and mediation, custody and parenting time, alimony and child support, separation and property settlement agreements, adoption and guardianship, domestic partnership matters under the Domestic Partnership Act, domestic violence and sexual abuse, and palimony.  She has also handled high profile matters including celebrities and professional athletes.  She takes immense pride and care in helping her clients through these difficult personal matters.

Lawrence is a member of the New Jersey Association of Justice, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators, New Jersey Collaborative Law Group, Matrimonial Lawyers Alliance, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Central New Jersey Inns of Court, and the Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Women’s Forum Steering Committee.  She serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court Matrimonial Certification Committee, which oversees the statewide matrimonial attorney certification process, and is a former member of The New Jersey Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics, District XIII Attorney Ethics Committee.

Lawrence has been selected by the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey to receive their Carol Murphy Award, presented to a woman with a successful career demonstrating leadership, advancing policies in support of women and families, and helping to pave the way for women of the next generation.  She was honored with the 2013 NJSBA Distinguished Legislative Service Award for her cumulative and diligent efforts on alimony reform, open adoption records, and electronic monitoring on domestic violence.  In 2007, she received this annual award for the first time for her efforts to incorporate “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for divorce under New Jersey law.  Lawrence was also selected as a 2015 Attorney of The Year Finalist by the New Jersey Law Journal for her work with New Jersey alimony reform.  She has also received an award from the NJSBA for her amicus curiae work on behalf of the bar.

Lawrence has been honored by NJBiz as one of New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business for her dedication and contributions to New Jersey business and the community.  She was selected by the Kean University Alumni Association as a Kean University Distinguished Alumna, their highest award for alumni.  She was also honored as an Outstanding Woman in Somerset County by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women.  The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named her one of the “10 Best” Attorneys for the State of New Jersey.  She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Family Law, Family Law Arbitration, and Family Law Mediation sections, and was named the Best Lawyers 2018 Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” and the 2016 Family Law Mediation “Lawyer of the Year” in the Woodbridge, New Jersey, Metro Area.  New Jersey Family has also named her as one of “New Jersey’s Best Lawyers for Families”.  Lawrence has been selected as one of the TOP 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys.  In 2007, she received the Young Lawyers Division’s Professional Achievement Award from the NJSBA.  She has also been selected by her peers as one of New Jersey’s Top Ten matrimonial lawyers under the age of 40 and recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of 40 accomplished and promising attorneys in the State of New Jersey under the age of 40.

To complement her practice, Lawrence involves herself in professional engagements outside the firm.  She frequently serves as a speaker and panelist at divorce and family law programs and seminars.  She serves as an attorney volunteer at the Resource Center for Women and Their Families in Somerset County.

Lawrence earned her bachelor’s degree from Kean College and her law degree from Seton Hall, where she graduated second in her class.

Posted in: Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, Matrimonial & Family Law, News | Tags: alimony, CLE, Continuing Legal Education, family law, Family Lawyer, Jeralyn L. Lawrence, Jeralyn Lawrence, Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, Matrimonial and Family Law, Matrimonial Law, Matrimonial Lawyer, New Jersey, New Jersey Attorney, New Jersey Law, New Jersey lawyer, NJICLE

Jeralyn L. Lawrence, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., member of its Management Committee, and Chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice Group, will speak at the Meadowlands Seminar 2018, hosted by the New Jersey Association for Justice Educational Foundation, Inc. (NJAJ), November 14 – November 16, at Hilton Meadowlands Hotel in East Rutherford.  Lawrence will present “Handling a Relocation Trial After Bisbing,” 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., on Thursday, November 15.

The Meadowlands Seminar 2018, compromising of 19 separate seminars, has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 7.8 hours of total CLE credit.  Of these, 1.2 hours qualify as credit for ethics/professionalism, and 6.6 hours qualify as credit toward certification in matrimonial trial law.

Founded in the late 1940s and incorporated in 1976, the NJAJ is a statewide association of over 2,400 members in private practice and public service, paralegals, law clerks, law students, and law school graduates not yet admitted to the bar.  NJAJ is dedicated to protecting New Jersey’s families by working to preserve and strengthen the laws for safer products and workplaces, a cleaner environment, and quality health care.  The NJAJ Educational Foundation, Inc., incorporated in 1990, provides ongoing legal education to attorneys and sponsors Lexicon, a public education program that includes the NJAJ Speakers Bureau and other programs designed to educate consumers about their rights under the law.

A resident of Watchung, Lawrence devotes her practice to matrimonial, divorce and family law, and collaborative law.  She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney.  She is a trained Family/Divorce Mediator, admitted to the rosters of Mediators for Economic Aspects of Family Law Cases and of Custody and Parenting Time Cases for Somerset County; is certified by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), the preeminent family law association in America, as a Family Law Arbitrator; and is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.  She has worked with clients in every area of matrimonial and family law, including divorce litigation and mediation, custody and parenting time, alimony and child support, separation and property settlement agreements, adoption and guardianship, domestic partnership matters under the Domestic Partnership Act, domestic violence and sexual abuse, and palimony.  She has also handled high profile matters including celebrities and professional athletes.  She takes immense pride and care in helping her clients through these difficult personal matters.

Lawrence is Treasurer of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and is expected to become its President in 2022.  She is a Past Chair of the Family Law Section of the NJSBA, a Past President of the Somerset County Bar Association, and is a Senior Editor of New Jersey Family Lawyer, the official publication of the NJSBA Family Law Section.  She works with the State Bar’s Military Legal Assistance Program, providing pro bono legal assistance to New Jersey residents who have served overseas or on active duty in the armed forces after September 11, 2001.  Lawrence was appointed to the Somerset County Domestic Violence Working Group as a representative of the Somerset County Family Law Section.  She is Treasurer of the New Jersey Chapter of the AAML and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the nation’s leading research institute for interdisciplinary empirical study of law.

Lawrence is a member of the New Jersey Association of Justice, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators, New Jersey Collaborative Law Group, Matrimonial Lawyers Alliance, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Central New Jersey Inns of Court, and the Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Women’s Forum Steering Committee.  She serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court Matrimonial Certification Committee, which oversees the statewide matrimonial attorney certification process, and is a former member of The New Jersey Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics, District XIII Attorney Ethics Committee.

Lawrence has been selected by the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey to receive their Carol Murphy Award, presented to a woman with a successful career demonstrating leadership, advancing policies in support of women and families, and helping to pave the way for women of the next generation.  She was honored with the 2013 NJSBA Distinguished Legislative Service Award for her cumulative and diligent efforts on alimony reform, open adoption records, and electronic monitoring on domestic violence.  In 2007, she received this annual award for the first time for her efforts to incorporate “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for divorce under New Jersey law.  Lawrence was also selected as a 2015 Attorney of The Year Finalist by the New Jersey Law Journal for her work with New Jersey alimony reform.  She has also received an award from the NJSBA for her amicus curiae work on behalf of the bar.

Lawrence has been honored by NJBiz as one of New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business for her dedication and contributions to New Jersey business and the community.  She was selected by the Kean University Alumni Association as a Kean University Distinguished Alumna, their highest award for alumni.  She was also honored as an Outstanding Woman in Somerset County by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women.  The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named her one of the “10 Best” Attorneys for the State of New Jersey.  She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Family Law, Family Law Arbitration, and Family Law Mediation sections, and was named the Best Lawyers 2018 Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” and the 2016 Family Law Mediation “Lawyer of the Year” in the Woodbridge, New Jersey, Metro Area.  New Jersey Family has also named her as one of “New Jersey’s Best Lawyers for Families”.  Lawrence has been selected as one of the TOP 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys.  In 2007, she received the Young Lawyers Division’s Professional Achievement Award from the NJSBA.  She has also been selected by her peers as one of New Jersey’s Top Ten matrimonial lawyers under the age of 40 and recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of 40 accomplished and promising attorneys in the State of New Jersey under the age of 40.

To complement her practice, Lawrence involves herself in professional engagements outside the firm.  She frequently serves as a speaker and panelist at divorce and family law programs and seminars.  She serves as an attorney volunteer at the Resource Center for Women and Their Families in Somerset County.

Lawrence earned her bachelor’s degree from Kean College and her law degree from Seton Hall, where she graduated second in her class.

Posted in: Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, Matrimonial & Family Law, News | Tags: Bisbing, Education, family law, Family Lawyer, Jeralyn L. Lawrence, Jeralyn Lawrence, Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, Matrimonial and Family Law, Matrimonial Law, Matrimonial Lawyer, New Jersey, New Jersey Association for Justice, New Jersey Association for Justice Educational Foundation, New Jersey Attorney, New Jersey Law, New Jersey lawyer, NJAJ, Relocation

Rita M. Aquilio, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., will speak at Hot Tips in Family Law, the annual program sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Family Law Section in association with the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.  This year’s program, focusing on the statutory components of alimony, equitable distribution, and custody, will be held Monday, November 12, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick.  Aquilio will discuss the tax treatment and consequences to both parties of any alimony award, including the designation of all or a portion of the payment as a non-taxable payment.

Hot Tips in Family Law brings together the state’s leading matrimonial attorneys, who will share their insights into the most familiar cases to provide fresh perspectives and new takeaways about those opinions.  The program is being offered for CLE credit for New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Matrimonial Law Certification.  To register or for more information, visit www.njicle.com or call (732) 214-8500.

Aquilio practices in the areas of divorce, child support, custody, and post-judgment issues. She represents clients in all types of matrimonial actions, from basic matters to complex asset valuation cases.  She is a trained Collaborative Divorce Attorney and a member of the Executive Committee of the Somerset County Family Practice Committee.  Aquilio has also been trained by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers as a Family Law Arbitrator.  She is a member of the Editorial Board of the New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, the professional journal of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Recognized by the New Jersey Superior Court as a R.1:40 Qualified Family Law Mediator, Aquilio is a panelist for the Superior Court Early Settlement Panel in Somerset County.  She is also a Trustee for the Somerset County Bar Association, with a three-year term commencing in September 2018.

Aquilio was recognized as Outstanding Subcommittee Chair for her 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 terms as Co-Chair of the ABA Section of Litigation’s Family Law Litigation Committee and continues in that role as Co-Chair for the 2018-2019 year.  She frequently lectures for the NJSBA Institute of Continuing Legal Education at its Hot Tips seminars, serves on the Board of Editors for the ABA Section of Litigation’s Appellate Practice Journal, and has served as Editor of the ABA Family Law Litigation Subcommittee’s E-Newsletter.

Aquilio earned her J.D. from Western New England College School of Law, and her B.A., cum laude, from Drew University.

Posted in: Matrimonial & Family Law, News, Rita M. Aquilio | Tags: CLE, CLE credit, Continuing Legal Education, family law, Family Lawyer, Matrimonial and Family Law, Matrimonial Law, Matrimonial Lawyer, New Jersey, New Jersey Attorney, New Jersey Law, New Jersey lawyer, New Jersey State Bar, New Jersey State Bar Association, NJICLE, NJSBA, rita aquilio

Jeralyn L. Lawrence, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., member of its Management Committee, and Chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice Group, will speak at Hot Tips in Family Law, the annual program sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Family Law Section in association with the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education.  This year’s program, focusing on the statutory components of alimony, equitable distribution, and custody, will be held Monday, November 12, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick.

Hot Tips in Family Law brings together the state’s leading matrimonial attorneys, who will share their insights into the most familiar cases to provide fresh perspectives and new takeaways about those opinions.  The program is being offered for CLE credit for New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Matrimonial Law Certification.  To register or for more information, visit www.njicle.com or call (732) 214-8500.

Lawrence is Treasurer of the NJSBA and is expected to become its President in 2022.  She is a Past Chair of the Family Law Section of the NJSBA, a Past President of the Somerset County Bar Association, and is a Senior Editor of New Jersey Family Lawyer, the official publication of the NJSBA Family Law Section.  She works with the State Bar’s Military Legal Assistance Program, providing pro bono legal assistance to New Jersey residents who have served overseas or on active duty in the armed forces after September 11, 2001.  Lawrence was appointed to the Somerset County Domestic Violence Working Group as a representative of the Somerset County Family Law Section.  She is Second Vice President of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the nation’s leading research institute for the interdisciplinary empirical study of law.

A resident of Watchung, Lawrence devotes her practice to matrimonial, divorce and family law, and collaborative law.  She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney.  She is a trained Family/Divorce Mediator, admitted to the rosters of Mediators for Economic Aspects of Family Law Cases and of Custody and Parenting Time Cases for Somerset County; is certified by the AAML, the preeminent family law association in America, as a Family Law Arbitrator; and is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.  She has worked with clients in every area of matrimonial and family law, including divorce litigation and mediation, custody and parenting time, alimony and child support, separation and property settlement agreements, adoption and guardianship, domestic partnership matters under the Domestic Partnership Act, domestic violence and sexual abuse, and palimony.  She has also handled high profile matters including celebrities and professional athletes.  She takes immense pride and care in helping her clients through these difficult personal matters.

Lawrence is a member of the New Jersey Association of Justice, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators, New Jersey Collaborative Law Group, Matrimonial Lawyers Alliance, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Central New Jersey Inns of Court, and the Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Women’s Forum Steering Committee.  She serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court Matrimonial Certification Committee, which oversees the statewide matrimonial attorney certification process, and is a former member of The New Jersey Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics, District XIII Attorney Ethics Committee.

Lawrence has been selected by the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey to receive their Carol Murphy Award, presented to a woman with a successful career demonstrating leadership, advancing policies in support of women and families, and helping to pave the way for women of the next generation.  She was honored with the 2013 NJSBA Distinguished Legislative Service Award for her cumulative and diligent efforts on alimony reform, open adoption records, and electronic monitoring on domestic violence.  In 2007, she received this annual award for the first time for her efforts to incorporate “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for divorce under New Jersey law.  Lawrence was also selected as a 2015 Attorney of The Year Finalist by the New Jersey Law Journal for her work with New Jersey alimony reform.  She has also received an award from the NJSBA for her amicus curiae work on behalf of the bar.

Lawrence has been honored by NJBiz as one of New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business for her dedication and contributions to New Jersey business and the community.  She was selected by the Kean University Alumni Association as a Kean University Distinguished Alumna, their highest award for alumni.  She was also honored as an Outstanding Woman in Somerset County by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women.  The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named her one of the “10 Best” Attorneys for the State of New Jersey.  She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Family Law, Family Law Arbitration, and Family Law Mediation sections, and was named the Best Lawyers 2018 Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” and the 2016 Family Law Mediation “Lawyer of the Year” in the Woodbridge, New Jersey, Metro Area.  New Jersey Family has also named her as one of “New Jersey’s Best Lawyers for Families”.  Lawrence has been selected as one of the TOP 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys.  In 2007, she received the Young Lawyers Division’s Professional Achievement Award from the NJSBA.  She has also been selected by her peers as one of New Jersey’s Top Ten matrimonial lawyers under the age of 40 and recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of 40 accomplished and promising attorneys in the State of New Jersey under the age of 40.

To complement her practice, Lawrence involves herself in professional engagements outside the firm.  She frequently serves as a speaker and panelist at divorce and family law programs and seminars.  She serves as an attorney volunteer at the Resource Center for Women and Their Families in Somerset County.

Lawrence earned her bachelor’s degree from Kean College and her law degree from Seton Hall, where she graduated second in her class.

Posted in: Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, Matrimonial & Family Law, News | Tags: CLE, CLE credit, Continuing Legal Education, family law, Family Lawyer, Jeralyn L. Lawrence, Jeralyn Lawrence, Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, matrimonial, Matrimonial and Family Law, Matrimonial Law, Matrimonial Lawyer, New Jersey, New Jersey Attorney, New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, New Jersey Law, New Jersey lawyer, New Jersey State Bar, New Jersey State Bar Association, NJICLE, NJSBA

Jeralyn L. Lawrence, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., member of its Management Committee, and Chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice Group, has been installed as Second Vice President of the New Jersey Chapter for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), the preeminent family law association in America.

The AAML was formed in 1962 by a small group of nationally-known matrimonial lawyers to “encourage the study, improve the practice, elevate the standards and advance the cause of matrimonial law, to the end that the welfare of the family and society be protected.”  Today, the Academy has more than 1,600 Fellows who concentrate their practices in family and matrimonial law, a specialty that involves all aspects of pre-marriage counseling and agreements, legal separation, divorce, annulment, unmarried cohabitation, child custody, property valuation and division, and support.  By demonstrating the highest standards of matrimonial practice, Fellows of the Academy have set the standard for the rest of the matrimonial bar and have helped improve the quality of family law practice throughout this country for attorneys and litigants alike.

Lawrence is Treasurer of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) and is expected to become its President in 2022.  She is a Past Chair of the Family Law Section of the NJSBA, a Past President of the Somerset County Bar Association, and is a Senior Editor of New Jersey Family Lawyer, the official publication of the NJSBA Family Law Section.  She works with the State Bar’s Military Legal Assistance Program, providing pro bono legal assistance to New Jersey residents who have served overseas or on active duty in the armed forces after September 11, 2001.  Lawrence was appointed to the Somerset County Domestic Violence Working Group as a representative of the Somerset County Family Law Section.  She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the nation’s leading research institute for interdisciplinary empirical study of law.

A resident of Watchung, Lawrence devotes her practice to matrimonial, divorce and family law, and collaborative law.  She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney.  She is a trained Family/Divorce Mediator, admitted to the rosters of Mediators for Economic Aspects of Family Law Cases and of Custody and Parenting Time Cases for Somerset County; is certified by the AAML, the preeminent family law association in America, as a Family Law Arbitrator; and is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.  She has worked with clients in every area of matrimonial and family law, including divorce litigation and mediation, custody and parenting time, alimony and child support, separation and property settlement agreements, adoption and guardianship, domestic partnership matters under the Domestic Partnership Act, domestic violence and sexual abuse, and palimony.  She has also handled high profile matters including celebrities and professional athletes.  She takes immense pride and care in helping her clients through these difficult personal matters.

Lawrence is a member of the New Jersey Association of Justice, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators, New Jersey Collaborative Law Group, Matrimonial Lawyers Alliance, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Central New Jersey Inns of Court, and the Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Women’s Forum Steering Committee.  She serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court Matrimonial Certification Committee, which oversees the statewide matrimonial attorney certification process, and is a former member of The New Jersey Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics, District XIII Attorney Ethics Committee.

Lawrence has been selected by the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey to receive their Carol Murphy Award, presented to a woman with a successful career demonstrating leadership, advancing policies in support of women and families, and helping to pave the way for women of the next generation.  She was honored with the 2013 NJSBA Distinguished Legislative Service Award for her cumulative and diligent efforts on alimony reform, open adoption records, and electronic monitoring on domestic violence.  In 2007, she received this annual award for the first time for her efforts to incorporate “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for divorce under New Jersey law.  Lawrence was also selected as a 2015 Attorney of The Year Finalist by the New Jersey Law Journal for her work with New Jersey alimony reform.  She has also received an award from the NJSBA for her amicus curiae work on behalf of the bar.

Lawrence has been honored by NJBiz as one of New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business for her dedication and contributions to New Jersey business and the community.  She was selected by the Kean University Alumni Association as a Kean University Distinguished Alumna, their highest award for alumni.  She was also honored as an Outstanding Woman in Somerset County by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women.  The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named her one of the “10 Best” Attorneys for the State of New Jersey.  She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Family Law, Family Law Arbitration, and Family Law Mediation sections, and was named the Best Lawyers 2018 Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” and the 2016 Family Law Mediation “Lawyer of the Year” in the Woodbridge, New Jersey, Metro Area.  New Jersey Family has also named her as one of “New Jersey’s Best Lawyers for Families”.  Lawrence has been selected as one of the TOP 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys.  In 2007, she received the Young Lawyers Division’s Professional Achievement Award from the NJSBA.  She has also been selected by her peers as one of New Jersey’s Top Ten matrimonial lawyers under the age of 40 and recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of 40 accomplished and promising attorneys in the State of New Jersey under the age of 40.

To complement her practice, Lawrence involves herself in professional engagements outside the firm.  She frequently serves as a speaker and panelist at divorce and family law programs and seminars.  She serves as an attorney volunteer at the Resource Center for Women and Their Families in Somerset County.

Lawrence earned her bachelor’s degree from Kean College and her law degree from Seton Hall, where she graduated second in her class.

Posted in: Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, Matrimonial & Family Law, News | Tags: AAML, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, family law, Family Lawyer, Jeralyn L. Lawrence, Jeralyn Lawrence, Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, matrimonial, Matrimonial and Family Law, Matrimonial Law, Matrimonial Lawyer, New Jersey, New Jersey Attorney, New Jersey Law, New Jersey lawyer

On May 2, 2018, Governor Murphy signed into law the New Jersey Earned Sick and Safe Day Act, more commonly referred to as the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act.  This new law goes into effect on October 29, 2018 and applies to all New Jersey employers, regardless of size.   New Jersey employers need to familiarize themselves with the requirements of the Paid Sick Leave Act and review their paid time off policies to get ahead of this fast approaching deadline.

Norris McLaughlin is pleased to present a one-hour briefing on the Paid Sick Leave Act.  The briefing will provide a complete overview of the law, along with an analysis of the steps employers must take to come into compliance. CLE, HRCI, and SHRM credits are available.

Patrick T. Collins, Norris McLaughlin, P.A.—Pat is Chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group. He practices labor, employment and personnel law on behalf of employers and management personnel. He is experienced in all areas of litigation in both federal and state courts, defending discrimination and sexual harassment claims; wrongful discharge and whistleblower suits; and claims brought under the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the multitude of other civil rights and anti-discrimination laws.

This seminar will take place Monday, October 22, at our office in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

Breakfast Session

Registration & Breakfast 8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Program 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Questions & Answers 10:00 – 10:30 a.m.

To register, please click here.

Posted in: Events, Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits, Labor & Employment, Patrick T. Collins | Tags: employee, employers, Governor Murphy, New Jersey, New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Act, Paid Time Off Policies, Pat Collins, Patrick Collins

Jeralyn L. Lawrence, a Member of law firm Norris McLaughlin, P.A., member of its Management Committee, and Chair of the Matrimonial & Family Law Practice Group, will serve as moderator and speaker for a roundtable discussion based on “Everybody Lies – Big Data, New Data and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are,”  a book by Seth Stephen-Davidowitz, data scientist and New York Times best-selling author.  The program, sponsored by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), will be held 9:00 a.m. – noon on Thursday, September 27, at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick.  It offers a total of 3.3 CLE credits.  For more information and to register, visit www.njicle.com.

A resident of Watchung, Lawrence devotes her practice to matrimonial, divorce and family law, and collaborative law.  She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney.  She is a trained Family/Divorce Mediator, admitted to the rosters of Mediators for Economic Aspects of Family Law Cases and of Custody and Parenting Time Cases for Somerset County; is certified by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), the preeminent family law association in America, as a Family Law Arbitrator; and is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.  She has worked with clients in every area of matrimonial and family law, including divorce litigation and mediation, custody and parenting time, alimony and child support, separation and property settlement agreements, adoption and guardianship, domestic partnership matters under the Domestic Partnership Act, domestic violence and sexual abuse, and palimony.  She has also handled high profile matters including celebrities and professional athletes.  She takes immense pride and care in helping her clients through these difficult personal matters.

Lawrence is Treasurer of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), where she is expected to become its President in 2022.  She is a Past Chair of the Family Law Section of the NJSBA, a Past President of the Somerset County Bar Association, and is a Senior Editor of New Jersey Family Lawyer, the official publication of the NJSBA Family Law Section.  She works with the State Bar’s Military Legal Assistance Program, providing pro bono legal assistance to New Jersey residents who have served overseas or on active duty in the armed forces after September 11, 2001.  Lawrence was appointed to the Somerset County Domestic Violence Working Group as a representative of the Somerset County Family Law Section.  She is Treasurer of the New Jersey Chapter of the AAML and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the nation’s leading research institute for interdisciplinary empirical study of law.

Lawrence is a member of the New Jersey Association of Justice, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators, New Jersey Collaborative Law Group, Matrimonial Lawyers Alliance, International Academy of Collaborative Professionals, Central New Jersey Inns of Court, and the Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Women’s Forum Steering Committee.  She serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court Matrimonial Certification Committee, which oversees the statewide matrimonial attorney certification process, and is a former member of The New Jersey Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics, District XIII Attorney Ethics Committee.

Lawrence has been selected by the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey to receive their Carol Murphy Award, presented to a woman with a successful career demonstrating leadership, advancing policies in support of women and families, and helping to pave the way for women of the next generation.  She was honored with the 2013 NJSBA Distinguished Legislative Service Award for her cumulative and diligent efforts on alimony reform, open adoption records, and electronic monitoring on domestic violence.  In 2007, she received this annual award for the first time for her efforts to incorporate “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for divorce under New Jersey law.  Lawrence was also selected as a 2015 Attorney of The Year Finalist by the New Jersey Law Journal for her work with New Jersey alimony reform.  She has also received an award from the NJSBA for her amicus curiae work on behalf of the bar.

Lawrence has been honored by NJBiz as one of New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business for her dedication and contributions to New Jersey business and the community.  She was selected by the Kean University Alumni Association as a Kean University Distinguished Alumna, their highest award for alumni.  She was also honored as an Outstanding Woman in Somerset County by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women.  The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named her one of the “10 Best” Attorneys for the State of New Jersey.  She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Family Law, Family Law Arbitration, and Family Law Mediation sections, and was named the Best Lawyers 2018 Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” and the 2016 Family Law Mediation “Lawyer of the Year” in the Woodbridge, New Jersey, Metro Area.  New Jersey Family has also named her as one of “New Jersey’s Best Lawyers for Families”.  Lawrence has been selected as one of the TOP 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys.  In 2007, she received the Young Lawyers Division’s Professional Achievement Award from the NJSBA.  She has also been selected by her peers as one of New Jersey’s Top Ten matrimonial lawyers under the age of 40, and recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of 40 accomplished and promising attorneys in the State of New Jersey under the age of 40.

To complement her practice, Lawrence involves herself in professional engagements outside the firm.  She frequently serves as a speaker and panelist at divorce and family law programs and seminars.  She serves as an attorney volunteer at the Resource Center for Women and Their Families in Somerset County.

Lawrence earned her bachelor’s degree from Kean College and her law degree from Seton Hall, where she graduated second in her class.

Posted in: Jeralyn Lisa Lawrence, News | Tags: Continuing Legal Education, Jeralyn Lawrence, New Jersey, NJICLE