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FREE SEMINAR ON DIVORCE, CUSTODY AND GRANDPARENTS' RIGHTS AT LAW CENTER

                Family law attorneys will explain divorce law and related issues in a public seminar, "What Everyone Should Know About Divorce, Child Custody and Grandparents' Rights," on Thursday, April 22, 7-9 p.m. at the New Jersey Law Center, One Constitution Square off Ryders Lane in New Brunswick. The program is sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and is open to everyone. Admission is free but advance registration is required.

                Attorneys Jeralyn L. Lawrence and Thomas J. Snyder will discuss divorce-related procedures and issues such as mediation and arbitration, alimony, equitable distribution and the Early Settlement Panel, a lawyer-led attempt to avoid trial by working out financial matters between the divorcing parties. Active in the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Family Law Section, the experienced family law attorneys will also address the various subtopics of divorce including custody arrangements, working with a custody expert, relocation outside the state, how to maximize child support within the guidelines and grandparents' visitation rights.

                Ms. Lawrence has been certified as a matrimonial attorney and a family/divorce mediator by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A member of the Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus law firm of Bridgewater, she frequently serves as a speaker and panelist at divorce and family law programs and seminars. She has been admitted to the rosters of Mediators for Economic Aspects of Family Law Cases and of Custody and Parenting Time Cases for Somerset County.  Selected as the 2009 Kean University Distinguished Alumna, the preeminent award for alumni given by the Kean University Alumni Association, she was named by her peers as one of the state's top ten matrimonial attorneys under the age of 40. Ms. Lawrence was honored as an Outstanding Woman in Somerset County for 2008 by the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women. In 2007, she received the Young Lawyers Division's Professional Achievement Award and the Annual Legislative Recognition Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is also a graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and a member and barrister of the Central New Jersey Inns of Court. While in law school, she was awarded the New Jersey Chapter of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers' Award, in addition to serving as Student Director of the Family Law Clinic.  Recently, she was granted Fellowship to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the pre-eminent family law association in America. Ms. Lawrence also volunteers her legal expertise at the Somerset County Resource Center for Women and Their Families. A graduate of Kean College, she received her law degree summa cum laude from Seton Hall University School of Law.

            Mr. Snyder concentrates his practice on all areas of family law including alimony, child support, custody, parenting time, grandparents' visitation, equitable distribution and domestic violence cases.  A partner in the law firm of Einhorn, Harris, Ascher, Barbarito & Frost, PC, and a member of the Morris County and Union County Bar Associations, he has litigated international custody cases, most notably the case of Anyanwu v. Anyanwu involving the return of a child from Nigeria, and complicated financial cases .  He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and an officer of the Family Law Executive Committee, serving in the capacity of Chair-Elect of the Section and the former Legislative Chair of the Section.  As a member of the State Bar, he has contributed to the New Jersey State Bar Association's amicus curiae brief, submitted in the matter of Lewis v. Harris in 2006, a landmark New Jersey case addressing the issue of same sex couples' right to a legally recognized marriage.  As former Legislative Chair, he has testified on behalf of the New Jersey State Bar Association before state legislative sub-committees on hearings involving open adoption legislation.  He has participated in the Central Jersey Family Law Inns of Court and was the recipient of the New Jersey State Bar Association's Annual Distinguished Legislative Service Award for 2007.  He has been interviewed on radio and television regarding emerging New Jersey family law issues, including appearing on NJN TV's Due Process as well as providing debate and commentary on New York radio talk shows on WNYC and WWRL. A graduate of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy program, he was recognized by Digital Press international as one of the leading divorce attorneys, age 45 and under, of Northern New Jersey for 2004-2005. He received his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and served as a law clerk for the Hon. Peter B. Cooper of Essex County.

                To register, visit the New Jersey State Bar Foundation online at www.njsbf.org or call 1-800-FREE-LAW. The Foundation's seminar series is made possible by funding from the IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey.      

                 Founded in 1958, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation is the educational and philanthropic arm of the New Jersey State Bar Association. The Bar Foundation's mission is to promote public understanding of the law through a free, comprehensive public education program. Among its activities, the Foundation conducts seminars and conflict resolution training, publishes materials, operates a videotape loan library and speakers bureau, and coordinates elementary, middle and high school mock trial competitions. For more information about the Foundation's programs and publications, visit online at www.njsbf.org or call 1-800-FREE-LAW.

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Directions: From the NJ Turnpike take Exit 9 to Route 18 North. Follow signs for Route 1 South to Ryders Lane-New Brunswick. The Law Center is the first right turn off Ryders Lane. From Princeton take Route 1 North to the second Ryders Lane exit (Ryders Lane-New Brunswick). The Law Center is the first right turn.