New Jersey Early Settlement Panel

New Jersey Early Settlement Panel and Family Law Lawyers

At Goldstein & Bachman, our attorneys are well versed in the specific issues related to family law. We strive to help clients understand their cases and how the Early Settlement Panel (ESP) applies in their case. This panel is designed to attempt to resolve your family law case as fairly and equitably as possible without the need for a trial.

The ESP is comprised of two attorneys appointed by the court to arbitrate divorce cases on a volunteer basis. They hear facts of the case, listen to the attorneys for the litigants advocate their positions, and then, after deliberation, render their opinions to the litigants. At Goldstein & Bachman, our attorneys are so highly respected by the New Jersey legal establishment that three of them are currently working as Early Settlement Panelists on a regular basis. This can only occur because the court holds these attorneys out as extremely proficient in the field of matrimonial law. At Goldstein & Bachman, our attorneys know the law.

At your ESP, you and your lawyer will appear before the Panel. Your spouse and his or her lawyer will also appear at the same time. Each party has an opportunity to put his/her position forth, in an uninterrupted fashion, while the panelists take notes and ask questions. The ESP is only designed to help with financial issues such as alimony, child support, property division, and counsel fees. The Early Settlement Panel will not hear issues of custody or visitation. There are other mediation programs available to help you and your spouse resolve custody and visitation issues.

As a result of hearing both spouses' positions, the Panel will make a recommendation as to what it feels is a fair divorce settlement. If you and your spouse agree to the settlement, you will be able to conclude your divorce at that time. If either you or your spouse do not agree and you are not able to settle the case, then the case will be listed for trial at the next available trial date, which will likely be several months away.

We estimate that 90-95% of all divorce cases in New Jersey are resolved by settlement and we are proud to contribute to that process through our service as Early Settlement Panelists. However, when two parties cannot agree, we are aggressive advocates for our client's interests. In fact, our success rate is so high that one of our recent former clients was a family court judge. We feel it is the ultimate compliment to our skill and integrity that a judge who sees hundreds of lawyers a year would choose our firm to represent him.

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