Hot Tips in Family Law

Presenters

Hon. Dina M. Mikulka, Esq.

Hon. Marcia Silva

Silva & Stahl, LLC, East Brunswick

Hon. Raquel Vallejo

Superior Court of NJ

Rita Ann M. Aquilio, Esq.

FIRST Vice President, Somerset County Bar Association
Lawrence Law, Watchung

Jodi A. Argentino, Esq.

Offit Kurman, PA, Hackensack

Robin C. Bogan, Esq.

Pallarino & Bogan LLP, Morristown

Daniel Burton, Esq.

Lawrence Law, Watchung

Alix Claps, Esq.

Heymann & Fletcher, Mount Freedom

Melissa Cohen, Esq.

Seiden Family Law, Cranford

Vito Colasurdo, Jr., Esq.

Mandelbaum Barrett, P.C., Edison

Cheryl E. Connors, Esq.

Tonneman & Connors, LLC, Eatontown

is a Partner in Tonneman & Connors, LLC with offices in Eatontown and East Brunswick, New Jersey. She concentrates her practice in family law, with an emphasis in issues of divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, equitable distribution, palimony, adoption, paternity, domestic violence, prenuptial agreements and collaborative divorce. In 2016 she appeared before the New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of the New Jersey State Bar Association in the matter of In re Adoption of a Child by J.E.V.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Ms. Connors is Vice Chair of the Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association, a member of the NJSBA’s Solo and Small-Firm Section, has served on the New Jersey Supreme Court Family Practice Committee for the 2017-2019 and 2019-2021 terms, and is serving on the Committee for the 2021-2023 term. She is also a member of the Middlesex County and Monmouth Bar Associations, and the Collaborative Divorce Professionals of New Jersey. She serves as a Matrimonial Early Settlement panelist in Middlesex County and as an Intensive Settlement Panelist in Monmouth County.

An Associate Managing Editor of the New Jersey Family Lawyer, Ms. Connors has authored and co-authored numerous articles which have appeared in the New Jersey Family Lawyer and has been published in Divorce Magazine’s Frequently Asked Questions feature. She was the 2013 recipient of the Martin S. Goldin Family Law Award from the Middlesex County Bar Association and frequently lectures on family law topics.

Ms. Connors received her B.A., with distinction, from Cornell University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she was a senior member of the Seton Hall Law Review and received the Raymond del Tufo, Jr. Award. She served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Barry T. Albin, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
(8/23)

Carolyn N. Daly, Esq.

American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, NJSBA
Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman, PC, Newark

Savvy Theresa Darragh, Esq.

The Ziegler Law Group, Livingston

Thomas Decataldo

MELD Law, MONTCLAIR

Carmen M. Diaz, Esq.

Chair, Family Law Department
Goodgold, West & Bennett, LLC, Millburn

Jhanice V. Domingo, Esq.

Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, P.C., Hackensack

Candice L. Drisgula, Esq

TREASURER, Passaic County Bar Association
Drisgula Divorce & Family Law, Wayne

Robert A. Epstein, Esq.

FAMILY LAW SECTION, NJSBA
Manzi Epstein Lomurro & Decataldo, Montclair

Dennis F. Feeney, Esq.

Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP, Roseland

Christine Fitzgerald, Esq.

FIRST Vice President, Hudson County Bar Association
Seiden Family Law, Cranford

Diana N. Fredericks, Esq.

Past Trustee, NJSBA
Gebhardt & Kiefer, PC, Annandale

Derek M. Freed, Esq.

Ulrichsen Rosen & Freed LLC, Pennington

is the Managing Partner of Ulrichsen Rosen & Freed LLC in Pennington, New Jersey. He concentrates his practice in matrimonial and family law.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey, Mr. Freed is Past Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association Family Law Section and was a co-author of the Association’s amicus curiae brief to the New Jersey Supreme Court on the matters of Gnall v. Gnall and Bisbing v Bisbing. He is a Matrimonial Early Settlement Panelist in Mercer and Somerset Counties.

The recipient of the New Jersey State Bar Association Distinguished Legislative Service Award in 2023, Mr. Freed serves as an Associate Managing Editor of the New Jersey Family Lawyer and his articles have appeared in the magazine. He has lectured on family law matters for ICLE, the New Jersey State and Mercer County Bar Associations, and the New Jersey Association for Justice.

Mr. Freed received his B.A. from the College of William and Mary and his J.D., with honors, from Rutgers School of Law-Camden.

Beatrice E. Kandell, Esq.

Skoloff & Wolfe PC, Clifton

Aislinn M. Koch, Esq.

Manzi Epstein Lomurro & Decataldo, Montclair

Kaitlyn A. Lapi, Esq.

Hagan, Klein & Weisberg, LLC, Morristown

Jeralyn L. Lawrence, Esq.

FIRST Vice President, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, NJSBA
Lawrence Law, LLC, Watchung

Certified as a Matrimonial Law Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, is the Managing Member and founder of Lawrence Law in Watchung, New Jersey. She practices in all areas of matrimonial and family law including divorce litigation, mediation and arbitration, custody and parenting time issues, alimony and child support, separation and property settlement agreements, adoption and guardianship advice, domestic partnership matters under the Domestic Partnership Act, domestic violence and sexual abuse, and palimony. She is also a trained collaborative lawyer and divorce mediator, and has argued before the New Jersey Supreme Court on behalf of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the New Jersey chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

A Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), Ms. Lawrence is President of the Academy’s New Jersey Chapter and has been certified by the AAML as a Family Law Arbitrator. She is also a volunteer attorney with the New Jersey State Bar Military Legal Assistance Program, which provides pro bono legal assistance to New Jersey residents who have served overseas or in active duty of the armed forces after September 11, 2001. Past President of the New Jersey State Bar Association, she is Past Chair of the NJSBA Family Law Section, has served as a Trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and is Past President of the Somerset County Bar Association. Ms. Lawrence has served on the District XIII Attorney Ethics Committee and has been a member of the New Jersey Association for Justice, the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, the New Jersey Collaborative Law Group, the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators (NJAPM) and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. A Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, she was appointed to the Somerset County Domestic Violence Working Group as a Representative of the Somerset County Family Law Section and has also been a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and the American Bar Association. She serves on the Matrimonial Certification Committee that oversees the statewide matrimonial attorney certification process and has been an attorney volunteer at Safe+Sound Somerset.

Ms. Lawrence is a frequent lecturer at divorce and family law programs and has been a senior editor of the New Jersey Family Lawyer. She is a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) and a member and Barrister of the Central New Jersey American Inns of Court. Ms. Lawrence is a recipient of the Young Lawyers Division Professional Achievement Award, the Carol Murphy Award bestowed by the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey, and is a 3-time recipient of the Annual Legislative Recognition Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is also the recipient of the 2008 Outstanding Woman in Somerset County from the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women, the 2009 Kean University Distinguished Alumna award and the Saul Tischler Award from the NJSBA Family Law Section in 2023.

Ms. Lawrence received her B.A. from Kean University and her J.D., summa cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law. While in law school, she was awarded the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers’ Award in addition to serving as the Student Director of the Family Law Clinic.

Ronald Lieberman, Esq.

Ronald Lieberman, Esq., Cherry Hill

Linda A. Mainenti Walsh, Esq.

Linda Mainenti Walsh LLC, Morristown

Linda A. Mainenti Walsh, Esq.
Chair, NJSBA Women in the Profession Section
Co-chair, NJSBA Lawyer Well-Being Committee
Treasurer, Morris County Bar Association
Linda Mainenti Walsh LLC, Morristown

Ashley Vallillo Manzi, Esq.

Manzi Epstein Lomurro & DeCataldo, Montclair

Timothy F. McGoughran, Esq.

Law Office of Timothy F. McGoughran LLC, Ocean

is the founding Partner of the Law Office of Timothy F. McGoughran, LLC in Ocean, New Jersey. He concentrates his practice exclusively in family law and handles matters related to divorce, custody, alimony, domestic violence, adoption, prenuptial agreements, parenting rights, same-sex marriage and other issues. He has also served as a Municipal Court Judge in Ocean Township and is a former Municipal Prosecutor for the Township.

Mr. McGoughran is admitted to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the United States Supreme Court. A member of the New Jersey State, Pennsylvania, Ocean County and Monmouth Bar Associations, he is President of the New Jersey State Bar Association, Past Chair of the NJSBA Family Law Section Executive Committee, serves on the Executive Committee of the Association’s Military and Veterans Affairs Section and is a member of the Legal Education Committee. Mr. McGoughran is also Past President of the Monmouth Bar Association and Past Co-Chair of the Monmouth Bar Association’s Family Law Committee. He has been a Trustee for Monmouth County on the NJSBA’s Board of Trustees and has co-chaired the Legislation and Meeting Arrangements and Program Committees.

In 2010 and 2013 Mr. McGoughran was the recipient of the Distinguished Legislative Service Award bestowed by the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the Monmouth Bar Association Family Law Committee presented him with the Family Lawyer of the Year Award in 2012. He is a regular lecturer on law and ethics topics.

Mr. McGoughran received his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and his J.D. from Seton Hall Law School. He was a law clerk to the Honorable Robert W. O’Hagan, JSC.

Lauren A. Miceli, Esq.

Arndt, Sutak & Miceli, LLC, Edison

is a Partner in Arndt, Sutak & Miceli, LLC in East Brunswick, New Jersey, where she concentrates her practice in divorce and family law matters, including divorce litigation, equitable distribution, alimony, child support, child custody and post-judgment modification and enforcement issues.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York, Ms. Miceli is a member of the New Jersey State, Middlesex County and New Brunswick Bar Associations. She is a Trustee of the Middlesex County Bar Association and a member of the Middlesex County Early Settlement Panel and the NJSBA Family Law Section and Young Lawyers Division. She formerly worked with a Middlesex County-based family law firm and as a Special Education attorney, where she represented families in disputes involving New Jersey public school districts.

Ms. Miceli is co-founder, Secretary and an Associate Member of the Aldona E. Appleton Family Law Inns of Court, dedicated to advancing the knowledge, collegiality and professionalism of family law attorneys in Middlesex County. She was awarded the Martin S. Goldin Award by the Middlesex County Bar Association for her dedication to the practice of divorce and family law.

Ms. Miceli received her B.A., cum laude, from Douglass College, Rutgers University, and her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law-Camden. For the 2013-2014 term, Ms. Miceli served as judicial clerk for the Honorable Lisa M. Vignuolo, J.S.C., Middlesex County Courthouse.
(8/23)

Amy L. Miller, Esq.

Amy L. Miller, Esq., Fort Lee

Megan S. Murray, Esq.

The Family Law Offices of Megan S. Murray, Holmdel

Jeyanthi C. Rajaraman, Esq.

Jeyanthi C Rajaraman, Esq., Hoboken

Thomas A. Roberto, Esq.

Adinolfi, Roberto, Burick & Molotsky, PA, Mount Laurel

Taylor Ruggieri

Cohn Lifland, Saddle Brook

Sheryl J. Seiden, Esq.

Seiden Family Law, LLC, Cranford

is the founding Partner of Seiden Family Law, LLC in Cranford, New Jersey. She is a seasoned matrimonial lawyer, having practiced family law exclusively since January 2000. Prior to forming Seiden Family Law, Ms. Seiden was a Partner at a boutique law firm in Summit, where she practiced family law for thirteen years.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York, Ms. Seiden is Past Chair of the Family Law Section Executive Committee (“FLEC”) of the New Jersey State Bar Association and a Trustee of the Association. She is a past Co-Chair of the Young Lawyer Family Law Subcommittee for FLEC, and has been a member of FLEC since 2008. An officer and Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers– New Jersey Chapter (“AAML-NJ”), Ms. Seiden has served on the Board of Managers for several years and is slated to be sworn in as the President of AAML-NJ in June 2024. She is also a member of the Union and Essex County Bar Associations. In November 2014 Ms. Seiden argued as amicus curiae for AAML in Gnall v Gnall before the Supreme Court of New Jersey. She has been an Early Settlement Panelist for the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Union County, and has been asked to serve as a blue-ribbon panelist on several occasions by the Early Settlement Panel for the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Essex County.

Ms. Seiden has moderated and spoken on many panels for the Family Law Symposium on topics involving creative support awards, child support, emancipation and special needs trusts, alimony issues, legislative issues affecting family law, and reexamining relocation laws. She has also been a speaker at the Friday night program for the Family Law Symposium on several occasions. Ms. Seiden is co-author of Marriage, Divorce and Dissolution (Gann Publishing, 2019, now in its 3rd Edition). She often lectures and educates junior lawyers and paralegals on how to prepare Case Information Statements, and has also lectured on the relocation laws in New Jersey as well as parental alienation.

Ms. Seiden received her B.A., cum laude, from American University and is a magna cum laude graduate of New York Law School, where she served as the Managing Editor of the New York Law School Law Review.

Jessica Ragno Sprague, Esq.

Jardim Meisner & Susser, PC, Florham Park

Amanda S. Trigg, Esq.

Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf LLP, Saddle Brook

Albertina Webb, Esq.

Sarno DaCosta Daniello & Maceri, Lanoka Harbor

is an attorney at Hill Wallack, LLP in Red Bank, New Jersey. She concentrates her practice in family law issues including divorce, custody, support, domestic violence, dissolution of domestic partnerships, enforcement or modification of marital agreements, enforcement and/or modification of alimony and child support, emancipation applications, equitable distribution and post-judgment enforcement and modification.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York, and before the United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, Ms. Webb has been a member of the Family Law Sections/Committees of the New Jersey State, New York State, Middlesex County and Ocean County Bar Associations. President of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, she has served on the Family Law Executive Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association and several subcommittees, as well as the Monmouth Bar Association’s Family Law and Judicial Selection Committees. Ms. Webb has served as a Matrimonial Early Settlement Panelist in Middlesex and Ocean Counties and as an Intensive Settlement Panelist in Monmouth County. She has been a member of the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ) Matrimonial Committee and has served on the Statewide Domestic Violence Working Group Committee.

The creator of and contributor to the Monmouth and Ocean Family Lawyers blog, Ms. Webb has a regular column in the HBA’s quarterly newsletter entitled "Querida Abby – Dear Abby." She has been published in Divorce Magazine's Frequently Asked Questions feature and has lectured for ICLE and NJAJ.

Ms. Webb received her J.D. from New York Law School, where she was the Section Editor of the Journal of Human Rights.
(8/23)

Michelle A. Wortmann, Esq.

Sarno Da Costa D'Aniello Maceri LLC., Roseland