Matrimonial & Family Law
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Phillips Nizer LLP Ranked by Best Law Firms® in 202611/10/2025
Phillips Nizer LLP has been recognized in the 2026 edition of Best Law Firms®, a testament to its unwavering commitment to legal excellence. Ranked by Best Law Firms in 7 practice areas and regionally in 8 practice areas, Phillips Nizer has distinguished itself in the legal industry, earning this prestigious accolade. Phillips Nizer previously announced the inclusion of eight attorneys in the 2026 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
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Phillips Nizer is pleased to announce that nine lawyers have been selected to the 2025 New York Super Lawyers list and two lawyers named to the 2025 New York Metro Rising Stars10/30/2025
Phillips Nizer is pleased to announce that nine lawyers have been selected to the 2025 New York Super Lawyers list and two lawyers named to the 2025 New York Metro Rising Stars. No more than five percent of the lawyers in New York are selected by Super Lawyers.
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Phillips Nizer LLP Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Edition of Best Lawyers in America® and Ones to Watch®08/22/2025
Phillips Nizer LLP is pleased to announce that seven attorneys have been recognized in the 2026 Edition of Best Lawyers in America® and one attorney in 2026 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, which highlight excellence in the legal profession across the United States.
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Jan Bernstein Featured in Bergen Magazine’s “Women in Law” Special Section05/28/2025
Phillips Nizer LLP is proud to announce that Jan Bernstein, Chair of the firm’s Matrimonial & Family Law Practice, is featured in the June edition of Bergen Magazine as part of its special section honoring “Women in Law.”
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Jan Bernstein, Selected to the 2025 Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by National Academy of Family Law Attorneys04/28/2025
Jan L. Bernstein, Partner and Chair of the Matrimonial and Family Law Practice, was selected as Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by National Academy of Family Law Attorneys.
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Michael Galligan Recipient of the 2025 New York State Bar Associations International Section's Annual Award for Distinction in International Law and Affairs Award01/22/2025
Michael Galligan, co-chair of the Trusts & Estates Department, received the 2025 International Section's Annual Award for distinction in International Law and Affairs Award by The New York State Bar, in recognition of his many professional achievements and many years of dedication to the International Section.
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Phillips Nizer LLP Ranked by Best Law Firms® in 202511/07/2024
New York, NY, August 17, 2024 -- Phillips Nizer LLP has been recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms®, a testament to its unwavering commitment to legal excellence. Ranked by Best Law Firms in 7 practice areas and regionally in 8 practice areas, Phillips Nizer LLP has distinguished itself in the legal industry, earning this prestigious accolade. Phillips Nizer previously announced the inclusion of eight attorneys in the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Read full announcement.
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Elizabeth Adinolfi Featured in Spring 2024 NYSBA Journal04/30/2024
Elizabeth A. Adinolfi, Partner in Phillips Nizer's Matrimonial and Litigation Practices, specializing in Elder Law, was published in Spring 2024 New York State Bar Association's Journal, for the article, "Chaos in the Courts: A Procedural Solution to Rein in Contested Article 81 Cases", Spring, 2024. The article provides an in-depth review of guardianship procedure and the difficulties those bringing Article 81 guardianship proceedings face.
Click here to read full article. -
Jan Bernstein, Selected as Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by National Academy of Family Law Attorneys04/29/2024
Jan L. Bernstein, Partner and Chair of the Matrimonial and Family Law Practice, was selected as Top 10 Family Law Attorneys in New Jersey by National Academy of Family Law Attorneys.
According to the website, The National Academy of Family Law Attorneys is an organization devoted to recognizing the top family law attorneys in the nation. With over a million attorneys in the United States, choosing the best lawyer is difficult. However, through a stringent selection process, the NAFLA awards the best family law attorneys in each state with our most prestigious honor of being named "TOP 10". The very few attorneys (less than 1%) that are good enough to make our list have demonstrated an extraordinary amount of knowledge, skill, experience, expertise and success in their practice of family law.
For more information click here.
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Elliot Wiener Featured in ABA Family Advocate Publication’s Winter Issue02/06/2024
Elliot Wiener, Chair, Phillips Nizer's New York Matrimonial and Family Law practice, was featured in the Winter Issue of the American Bar Association’s publication, Family Advocate, with the article, "Sexual Addiction and Custody Disputes”.
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Phillips Nizer LLP Ranked by Best Law Firms® in 202411/06/2023
Phillips Nizer LLP has been recognized in the 2024 Edition of Best Law Firms®, ranked by Best Lawyers®, nationally in 8 practice areas and regionally in 9 practice areas.
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Twelve Attorneys From Phillips Nizer Selected to the 2023 New York Super Lawyers List09/24/2023
Phillips Nizer LLP is pleased to announce that 12 lawyers have been selected to the 2023 New York Super Lawyers list. No more than five percent of the lawyers in New York are selected by Super Lawyers.
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Jan L. Bernstein Named Best Lawyers® 2024 Family Law Arbitration "Lawyer of the Year" in Hackensack08/17/2023
Phillips Nizer LLP New Jersey Matrimonial and Family Law Practice Chair, Jan L. Bernstein, was recently recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2024 "Lawyer of the Year" for Family Law Arbitration.
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Nine Phillips Nizer Attorneys Recognized in the 2024 Edition of the Best Lawyers in America©, including “Lawyer of the Year”, Jan L. Bernstein08/17/2023
Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, Regina E. Faul, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Donald P. Perry, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener.
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Eleven Phillips Nizer Attorneys Recognized in the 2023 Edition of the Best Lawyers in America©02/21/2023
Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Jan L. Bernstein, Regina E. Faul, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Marc A. Landis, Donald P. Perry, Jeffrey Q. Smith, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener.
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U.S. News - BestLawyers® Recognized Phillips Nizer LLP as One of the Nation's "Best Law Firms" for 202302/10/2023
U.S. News - BestLawyers® recognized Phillips Nizer LLP as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms" for 2023. The annual rankings are presented in three tiers. A total of eleven areas of the firm's practice were recognized nationally, and in the New York City and New Jersey areas. The rankings were announced on November, 2022.
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Elizabeth Adinolfi Participated as a Panelist at the Aspen Institute’s 2022 Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum’s Discussion on Guardianship and Conservatorships06/01/2022
Elizabeth Adinolfi participated as a panelist at the Aspen Institute’s 2022 Artist-Endowed Foundation Leadership Forum’s session, Closed Door Conversation: AEFs and Artists Diagnosed With Dementia: Ask the Experts Addressing Issues Relating to Guardianship and Conservatorships.
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Phillips Nizer Family Law Alert: New York’s New Law on Pet Custody in Divorce Proceedings: Who Gets the Family Pet?11/01/2021
On October 25, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a new statute, requiring that the “best interest” of a divorcing couple’s pet or companion animal be considered when awarding custody to a spouse, and applying many of the same factors considered in determining child custody.
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New Jersey Lawyer: Title IX and The Continuing Fight for Gender Equity in Athletics02/22/2021
This article was originally published in the February 2021 issue of New Jersey Lawyer, a publication of the New Jersey Bar Association, and is reprinted with permission.
The right of every girl to have an equal opportunity to participate in sports—one of the many guarantees of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—remains unfulfilled even as we enter 2021. The fight for this right has been taken up over the past decades by numerous brave individuals and social justice organizations. Yet the law’s promise of equality remains out of reach for far too many talented and deserving girls, especially girls of color, including in New Jersey. -
U.S. News-Best Lawyers® (2021)11/05/2020
U.S. News - BestLawyers® recognized Phillips Nizer LLP as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms" for 2021. The annual rankings are presented in three tiers. A total of eleven areas of the firm's practice were recognized nationally and in the New York City metropolitan area. The rankings were announced on November 5, 2020.
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Navigating a Divorce in New Jersey During a Pandemic: Insights From Wealth Advisors and Family Law Attorneys06/15/2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting families and relationships across the country, now more than ever, working through the realities of divorce can be incredibly challenging. In addition to the multitude of difficult decisions to be made, families are forced to determine how best to proceed when economic and social norms have been turned upside down.
Due to the challenges facing us in these unprecedented times, individuals considering or going through a divorce should keep in mind several factors. In this article, various topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic will be explored from the different perspectives of New Jersey family law attorneys from Phillips Nizer and wealth advisors from Mariner Wealth Adivsors. -
NJ Family Law Coronavirus Series: Love and Domestic Violence in the Age of Coronavirus: Online Dating Relationships05/29/2020
Now, more than ever, dating relationships are formed by electronic communications. A new dating “app” appears every other day and there are seemingly infinite amounts of online dating websites. In the current climate, with the national stay-at-home directives caused by the Coronavirus Crisis, people are even more reliant on technology and electronic communications to form dating relationships. Unfortunately, while methods of communication may have changed, domestic violence has not. This is the Fourth Article in our continuing series of Family Law Issues and the Coronavirus Crisis.
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U.S. News-Best Lawyers® (2019)11/01/2018 | U.S. News - BestLawyers® (2019)
U.S. News - BestLawyers® recognized Phillips Nizer LLP as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms" for 2019. The annual rankings are presented in three tiers. A total of ten areas of the firm's practice were recognized nationally and in the New York City metropolitan area. The rankings were announced on November 1, 2018.
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Super Lawyers® (2018)09/13/2018
Seventeen Phillips Nizer attorneys were announced on September 13, 2018 as selected for inclusion on the 2018 New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Attorneys represented a cross-section of several practice areas and industry teams.
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U.S. News - BestLawyers® (2019)08/15/2018
Best Lawyers® recognized Alan Behr, Helene M. Freeman, Michael W. Galligan, Donald P. Perry, Evan J. Spelfogel, Martin B. Wasser and Elliot J. Wiener.
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Financially Ever After (Podcast) - "Journeying Through a Gray Divorce" (July 31, 2018)07/31/2018
Richard provides insight into the legal aspects of how to deal with an unexpected broken marriage and specifically when adult children are involved.
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U.S. News - BestLawyers® (2018)11/01/2017
U.S. News-Best Lawyers® announced on November 1, 2017, Phillips Nizer's recognition as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms" for 2018. The listing is presented in ranking tiers from 1 - 3. We ranked highly, Tier 1, nationally in Copyright Law, Trademark Law and Trusts & Estates Law. We were also ranked in the New York City Metropolitan listings.
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Super Lawyers® (2017)09/20/2017
It was announced on September 20, 2017, that sixteen Phillips Nizer attorneys were selected for inclusion on the 2017 Super Lawyers list. Alternative Dispute Resolution, Banking, Business Litigation, Entertainment, Intellectual Property, and Trusts & Estates practices were represented.
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Super Lawyers® (2016)10/21/2016
On September 21, 2016 it was announced by Super Lawyers® that twenty-three Phillips Nizer attorney were selected for inclusion on the 2016 Super Lawyers and 'Rising Stars' lists. This is the second consecutive year the firm has had twenty-three lawyers recognized.
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U.S. News-BestLawyers® (2016)08/17/2015
In an announcement on November 2nd by U.S. News-Best Lawyers®, Phillips Nizer was recognized as one of the 2016 "Best Law Firms" in the nation ranking highly nationally in Trusts & Estates Law, Copyright Law and Trademark Law. The firm was also ranked in the New York City Metropolitan area in Trusts & Estates Law, Copyright Law, Family Law, Intellectual Property Litigation and Trademark Law.
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U.S. News-Best Lawyers® (2015)11/03/2014
2015 was another successful year for Phillips Nizer having been named as one of the “Best Law Firms” in the nation. As in previous years, the firm achieved high rankings in Trusts & Estates Law, Copyright and Trademark Law and Family Law, receiving a “Tier 1” ranking in Trusts and Estates Law and “Tier 2” and “Tier 3” rankings in Copyright and Trademark Law and Family Law, respectively.
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U.S News-Best Lawyers® (2014)10/01/2014
The Firm was recognized as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms" for 2014 achieving First Tier National rankings in Trusts & Estates Law and Trademark Law, and a National Second Tier ranking in Copyright Law. In addition, the Firm received Metropolitan — New York City rankings in the First, Second and Third tiers.
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Super Lawyers® (2015)10/01/2014
Phillips Nizer was honored to announce that twenty-three of its attorneys were recognized as 2015 Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars. Attorneys who were recognized represented over a dozen practice areas. The annual Super Lawyers® lists are a result of confidential peer review and independent research.
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Super Lawyers® (2014)10/01/2014
In an announcement on September 23, 2014, twenty-six Phillips Nizer attorneys were recognized on the Metro New York 2014 Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars lists. Twenty-two partners, senior counsel and counsel were selected as Super Lawyers. Four counsel and associates were selected as Rising Stars. The 2014 selections crossed all major practice groups. The annual Super Lawyers® lists are a result of confidential peer review and independent research.
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Super Lawyers® (2013)10/01/2013
Nineteen Phillips Nizer attorneys were selected by Super Lawyers® and recognized in the 2013 New York Super Lawyers - Metro Edition publication. As was the case in 2012, attorneys selected represented several practice areas. The Firm achieved a significant increase in the number of honorees, including one recognized as a "Rising Star". Each year, attorneys are nominated across various legal practices and vetted through a process of confidential peer review. Independent research by the publisher is an important component before one can be selected as a "Super Lawyer".
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U.S. News-Best Lawyers® (2013)10/01/2013
For the second consecutive year, Phillips Nizer was honored as one of the nation's "Best Law Firms". The Firm received high ranks the areas of Trusts & Estates Law, Trademark Law, Copyright Law and Family Law.
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Super Lawyers® (2012)09/21/2012
Phillips Nizer was honored with the selection of twelve of its attorneys for the 2012 New York Super Lawyers – Metro edition. The attorneys were recognized across seven practice areas — Alternative Dispute Resolution, Entertainment Law, Environmental Law, Estate Planning & Probate Law, Family Law, General Litigation, and Real Estate Law.
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U.S News-Best Lawyers® (2012)11/01/2011
Phillips Nizer was recognized as a "Tier 2" law firm in the City of New York in Family Law and Trusts & Estates Law. Law firms ranked on this list are presented in tiers and showcase firms nationwide in major legal practice areas.
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Super Lawyers® (2011)09/26/2011
Thirteen Phillips Nizer attorneys represented across seven distinct areas were recognized as 2011 "Super Lawyers". Super Lawyers®, a publication of Thomson Reuters, reviews nominations of attorneys across various legal practice areas. Those ultimately selected as "Super Lawyers" were vetted through a process involving peer review and independent research by the publisher.