Hot Tips in Family Law: Are the Kids Alright?

Presenters

Hon. Terry P. Bottinelli, JSC (Ret.)

DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin, LLP, Paramus

Hon. Lisa F. Chrystal, PJFP (Ret.)

Brach Eichler LLC, Roseland

is counsel to Brach Eichler, LLC in Roseland, New Jersey, where she concentrates her practice in alternative dispute resolution, mediation and arbitration, and discovery management. She is a former Presiding Judge, Family Division, Union County, and sat in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Appointed to the bench in 2000 by Governor Christine Todd Whitman, she also sat in the Civil Division.
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nPrior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Chrystal maintained a solo litigation practice in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. She also served as Assistant Union County Counsel and was a civil litigator for two law firms before opening her own office. Judge Chrystal served on the Supreme Court Model Jury Charge Committee and is a former Co-Chair of the Union County Minority Concerns Committee. A former Trustee of the Union County Bar Association, she is a member of the Supreme Court Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement, and the Supreme Court Family Practice Committee, where she serves on the FM/FD Subcommittee. Judge Chrystal is a member of the New Jersey State and Union County Bar Associations, and serves on the Executive Committee of the NJSBA Family Law Section. She has also served on the Family Subcommittee on Mentoring of New Judges.
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nA former Master of the Richard J. Hughes American Inn of Court, Judge Chrystal is a member of the Barry I. Croland American Inn of Court and The Justice Virginia Long Hudson County American Inn of Court. She has trained newly-appointed judges and those transferring to the Family Division in the Comprehensive Judicial Orientation Program (C.J.O.P.) and co-authored the judges’ “Dissolution Manual.” Judge Chrystal has taught CLE classes for the Union County Bar Association and Ethics for Trial Attorneys for ICLE, and was an Adjunct Legal Writing Instructor at Seton Hall Law School. In 2022 she was the recipient of the prestigious William J. McCloud Award bestowed by the Union County Bar Association, which recognizes significant contributions to the administration of justice in the Family Part.
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nJudge Chrystal is a graduate of Syracuse University and a cum laude graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law.

Hon. Katherine R. Dupuis, (Ret.)

Lindabury,McCormick,Estabrook & Cooper, Westfield

Hon. Marcia Silva

Silva & Stahl, LLC, East Brunswick

Rita Ann M. Aquilio, Esq.

FIRST Vice President, Somerset County Bar Association
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

LaDonna M. Cousins, Esq.

Williams Law Group, LLC, Short Hills

Carolyn N. Daly, Esq.

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

Thomas DeCataldo, Jr., Esq.

Manzi Epstein Lomurro & DeCataldo, LLC, Montclair

Carmen M. Diaz, Esq.

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

Robert A. Epstein, Esq.

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

Jeffrey Fiorello, Esq.

Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf LLP, Saddle Brook

Christine Fitzgerald, Esq.

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

Michael J. Fleres, Esq.

Schultz & Associates LLC, Hackensack

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

Debra E. Guston, Esq.

Guston & Guston, LLP, Glen Rock

is a Partner in Guston & Guston, L.L.P. in Glen Rock, New Jersey. She concentrates her practice in family formation through adoption and assisted reproduction, and family protection through estate planning, estate litigation administration and guardianship for elders and special needs children. She also represents non-profit organizations in formation and governance issues.
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nA Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys, Ms. Guston is Past President of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, serves as the Academy’s Adoption Director, and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Family Law Executive Committee, for which she has served as Chair of the Adoption and Reproductive Rights Subcommittee. She has served as President of the Board of Trustees of ACLU-NJ, where she has been Chair of the Nominating Committee, and has been a member of the Legal Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Ms. Guston is Past President of the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Greater New York, a former Regional Board member and Board Secretary of the National Gay and Lesbian Bar Association, and has been a member of the National LGBT Association’s Family Law Institute. Past Chair of the NJSBA LGBT Rights Section, she has also been a member of the American, Bergen County and Passaic County Bar Associations and Women Lawyers in Bergen County. Ms. Guston has served as New Jersey local counsel for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and worked on legislative issues involving the New Jersey Gestational Carrier Act, which was signed into law in 2018. She is a member of the Legal Professional Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and a volunteer advocate for RESOLVE, the National Fertility Association. She has been appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to the Family Practice Committee, which evaluates rule changes and other issues for referral to the high court, and has also been appointed to the Advisory Committee on Access and Fairness, and Judiciary Working Group on Pro Bono Assignments.
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nA lecturer at Rutgers School of Law, Ms. Guston is a contributing editor to West Group’s Sexual Orientation and the Law and author of a portion of the Family Court Rules in LexisNexis’s New Jersey Court Rules Annotated 2008-2009. She is a frequent lecturer for community and professional groups, and has been an Associate Managing Editor of the New Jersey Lawyer. A CCAI Angel in Adoption recipient in 2017, she is the recipient of several other honors, including ICLE’s Distinguished Service Award, the E. Nathaniel Gates Award from the Cardozo School of Law, the Leading Practitioner Award bestowed by the National LGBT Bar Association and the Saul Tischler Award, the highest honor bestowed by the NJSBA Family Law Section for her work on behalf of families and service to the Bar.
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nMs. Guston received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Mount Holyoke College, her M.A. from Emerson College and her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

Marisa Lepore Hovanec, Esq.

Hovanec & Divito, LLC, Westfield

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.
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nA 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.
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nMs. 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.
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nMs. 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 G. Lieberman, Esq.

American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, NJSBA
Rigden Lieberman, Moorestown

Timothy F. McGoughran, Esq.

President, NJSBA
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.
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nMr. 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.
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nIn 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.
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nMr. 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.
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nAdmitted 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.
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nMs. 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.
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nMs. 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.
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Amy L. Miller, Esq.

Singleton LLC, Parsippany

Victoria D. Miranda, Esq.

Seiden Family Law, Cranford

Cassie Murphy, Esq.

Paone Zaleski & Murphy, Red Bank

Megan S. Murray, Esq.

The Family Law Offices of Megan S. Murray, Holmdel

Matheu D. Nunn, Esq.

Einhorn Barbarito Frost & Botwinick PC, Denville

Victoria Paone Rosa, Esq.

Paone Zaleski & Murphy, Red Bank

Jey Rajaraman

Director of Litigation, Children in the Law, American Bar Association

Thomas A. Roberto, Esq.

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

William J. Rudnik, Esq.

Gebhardt & Kiefer PC, Annandale

Angela M. Scafuri, Esq.

Women in the Profession Section, NJSBA
Townsend Tomaio & Newmark LLC, Whippany

Lauren Sharp, Esq.

Haber Silver Russoniello & Dunn

Jessica Ragno Sprague, Esq.

Jardim Meisner & Susser, PC, Florham Park

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.
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nAdmitted 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.
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nThe 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.
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nMs. Webb received her J.D. from New York Law School, where she was the Section Editor of the Journal of Human Rights.
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Michelle A. Wortmann, Esq.

Sarno Da Costa D'Aniello Maceri LLC., Roseland

Amanda M. Yu, Esq.

Drisgula Divorce & Family Law, Wayne