Patricia Smits | Lebanon Divorce & Family Law Lawyer | New Jersey

Patricia Garity Smits is the firm’s founder and managing member. She has earned the designation as a Certified Matrimonial Trial Attorney from the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Board on Trial Attorney Certification. After serving as the Judicial Law Clerk in the Superior Court of New Jersey under the Honorable Donald G. Collester, Jr., she has been specializing in family law since her admission to the bar in 1978.

For nearly twenty years, Ms. Smits has served on some of the most important Supreme Court and Bar Association committees, both in New Jersey and on the national level with the American Bar Association, helping to shape the ever evolving field of family law and better its practice. These committees include the New Jersey Supreme Court Family Part Practice committee where she is the first attorney to serve as Vice Chair; the New Jersey State Bar Association Family Law Executive Committee; the New Jersey Supreme Court Complementary Dispute Resolution Committee where she was Co-Chair of the Family Subcommittee; the American Bar Association Family Law Section where she was elected to the governing council; the American Bar Association Scope Committee, to name a few.

Ms. Smits is a frequent lecturer on Family Law related topics. She has lectured for the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education, the American Bar Association Family Law Section, the New Jersey Judicial College and other groups. She also served as a Senior Editor on the New Jersey Family Lawyer Editorial Board. Ms. Smits has also been the New Jersey reporter for the American Bar Association yearly update on family law known as Law in the Fifty States for many years.

Ms. Smits has served as a Master and group leader in the Family Law Inns of Court. She is a former member of the District X Ethics Committee, as well. She is also a member of the American Trial Lawyers of America - New Jersey (Family Law Section), the New Jersey Bar Association, the Morris County Bar Association (where she was a past chair of the Family Law Committee), the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) and the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. In addition, she serves as an Early Settlement Panelist in Morris County and was the former chair of the Early Settlement Panel Program.

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Rutgers School of Law—Camden, Rutgers University	J.D.	Law School	N/A
Northern Illinois University	M.S.	n/a	n/a
University of Wisconsin-Madison	B.S.	n/a	n/a

State / Court	Date
NJ	1978
Florida	1980

• · American Bar Association,
          Family Law Section
          Law Practice Management Section
  · New Jersey State Bar Association,
          Family Law Section
  · Morris County Bar Association
          Family Law Section
  · Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC)
  · Northern New Jersey Family Law Inns of Court - Master and Group Leader (1992-2001)
  · American Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA)-New Jersey
            Family Law Section
  · New Jersey Women Lawyer's Association
  · The Florida Bar Association
             Family Law Section

• · "Finance Charges," Hot Tips from the Experts, ABA Section of Family Law, 1988
  · "Family Law in New Jersey," Vol. 1, No. 5, Domestic Relations Reporter 65, April, 1989
  · "Know Your Judge," Vol. 12, No. 4, Family Law Advocate, Spring, 1990
  ·  New Jersey Update, Domestic Relations Reporter, 1988-1989
  · "Overview of Equitable Distribution," New Jersey Family Lawyer, Vol. XV, No. 3
  · "A Message From the Special Editor," Vol. XVI, No. 6, New Jersey Family Lawyer, 1996
  ·  Law in the Fifty States (New Jersey reporter) Lectures/Presentations:
  · "New Jersey Family Law," Judicial College
  · "Family Law," Symposium, NJ ICLE
  · ABA Section of Family Law, Fall, Spring and Annual Meetings, 1989-2002

• Learn More About Ms. Smits