On Demand
Audio
The Nuts & Bolts Guide to New Jersey Divorce Law Practice - from Complaint to Judgment (Update)
Produced on August 12, 2019
Course Information
Course Description
Navigating a divorce case from complaint to judgment is difficult. There are hazards at every stage of the proceedings which can derail your case at any time. This Divorce Law Guide, presented by retired Superior Court Judge Michael R. Casale, will help you safely avoid these pitfalls so that you can get your client what they want – a divorce judgment. This course serves as a basic guide of the various stages of a divorce case in New Jersey. The statutory and procedural hurdles are discussed in plain English so that even the new practitioner and the client can understand the lengthy and costly divorce practice.
Part of this course will focus on the latest “do’s and don’ts” of divorce practice. You have enough adversaries in these cases – opposing counsel, the soon to be ex-spouse, and sometimes your client. It helps when you follow the Court Rules and the court procedures, and the Judge appreciates it. Don’t make the trial judge your adversary too!
Join Judge Casale, presently Of Counsel at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis, LLP, in Roseland, New Jersey, as he provides strategic options, legal pitfalls, and practical tips in New Jersey divorce law.
Learning Objectives:
- Review the basics of your initial pleadings
- Develop the strategy of your case at the Initial Case Management Conference
- Discuss how to use the various settlement events to help resolve your case at an early stage
- Examine how to effectively retain expert witnesses
- Prepare effectively for trial
Credit Information
Faculty
Michael Casale
Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP
HONORABLE MICHAEL R. CASALE, J.S.C. (ret.), was a Superior Court Judge for 20 1/2 years, having been appointed on January 2, 1996, and serving until his retirement on June 1, 2016. Judge Casale served in all three divisions of the Essex Vicinage.
During Judge Casale’s tenure in the Criminal Division, he was appointed an Executive Judge in 1998, and was appointed Acting Presiding Judge in 2005. He earned acclaim as a trial Judge in numerous homicide cases, including State v. Rahien Williams (which led to the overhaul of DYFS) and State v. Omar Tindall.
During his tenure in the Civil Division, Judge Casale presided over negligence cases, malpractice lawsuits, employment discrimination, commercial litigation and product liability matters. The New York Times did a feature article in May, 2009, praising Judge Casale’s expeditious and fair handling of the high volume caseload in the Essex County Special Civil Part docket.
Judge Casale served with distinction in the Family Division during the last five years of his judicial career. He was appointed lead FM (Matrimonial) Judge and presided over matrimonial cases involving alimony, child support, equitable distribution, child custody and relocation and domestic violence. He also served as Acting Presiding Judge in the Family Division during his tenure there.
In the New Jersey Law Journal Judicial surveys of 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014, New Jersey attorneys consistently rated Judge Casale as one of the top Judges in the Essex Vicinage. He is a member of The Executive Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association and is a member of The Barry Croland and Brennan/Vanderbilt Inns of Court.
Judge Casale received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law (cum laude). He is a past recipient of Seton Hall Law’s The Peter J. Rodino Society Award. He is also a former councilman for the Township of Bloomfield, having served for six years.