When it comes to types of law, Attorney Jamie Von Ellen has not been a dabbler. Almost from the outset, she was certain that she wanted to work exclusively in Family Law and has had a Family Law practice for 34 years.

Her practice areas include alimony/spousal support; child support; collaborative divorce; custody and parenting time; division of assets/equitable distribution; divorce and dissolution of civil unions; domestic violence; mediation and arbitration; modification of orders or agreements; and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.

Jamie focuses her practice on alternative methods of dispute resolution including mediation, arbitration, and Collaborative Divorce.

“I am all about weighing realistic options. My goal in assisting clients is to ensure that long-term financial and non-financial needs and interests are met in the best feasible ways based on  individual circumstances,” she said.

Jamie hails from Buffalo, NY, and met her husband while attending SUNY Albany. After they married, his job relocated them to NJ, which they planned to leave after five years.

“New Jersey has been good to us—we stayed,” she says.

While completing her undergraduate studies, not knowing her career path, one of Jamie’s professors suggested that she take the Albany County Probation Department civil service exam and she spent a year as a liaison to the Albany municipal courts. This piqued her interest in law, as she worked with many attorneys.

“If they can do this, so can I,” she said, and did surprisingly well on the LSAT. After law school, she joined a small firm and became close friends with a family law mentor at the firm who inspired her.

Jamie was fortunate to have initially learned several areas of law. After four years of practice, in 1990, while pregnant with her daughter, she decided to devote 100 percent of her practice to family law.

Her Mantra:  Divorce ends marriages but it does not and should not end families.

The Details

• BA, State University of New York, University of Albany, cum laude

• JD, Union University, Albany Law School

• Mediation – New Jersey Institute for Dispute Resolution at Seton Hall University, 1996

• Arbitration – American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 2010

• Collaborative Divorce – New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 2014

• She has been regularly appointed by the courts in Essex, Middlesex, and Union Counties as an arbitrator, mediator, guardian ad litem, parent coordinator, and/or law guardian in family law matters.

• She is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney and is a trained court-approved Family Law Mediator included on the roster of Mediators for Economic Aspects of Family Law Cases in multiple counties.

Jamie says that she likes cases that challenge her and allow her to use problem-solving abilities. An area of particular expertise is division of executive compensation and retirement benefits.

Dividing the benefits of highly compensated executives in a divorce, she says, is a challenging job, but one that she enjoys. Jamie also does her own “QDROs” and counsels other lawyers on this area of property division. Qualified Domestic Relations Orders are detailed, specific judicial orders entered as part of  property division in a divorce that split a retirement plan to ensure the non-owner spouse receives his or her share on a tax deferred basis.

“I believe all divorce cases deserve an appropriate amount of attention, whether they are for high- or low-income earners.  I am happy to help all.” she said.

Jamie has two adult children. When she is not practicing law, she enjoys her friends and family, golf, travel, reading, and music.

Associations & Awards

• NJ Monthly Magazine, Top 50 Women Attorneys in New Jersey (2009, 2017, 2018 and 2020)

• New Jersey Super Lawyer (2005-2020)

• Best Lawyers in America (2016-2020)

• National Academy of Family Law Attorneys, Top 10 Family Lawyers in New Jersey (2014)

• Member, New Jersey State Bar Association, Family Law Section Executive Committee

• Member, Union County Bar Association, Family Lawyers Committee

• Member, Middlesex County Bar Association, Family Law Section

• New Jersey Divorce Arbitrators Association

• Family Focused Divorce Group of New Jersey (Collaborative Practice Group)

• Lifetime Member, Worldwide Registry

• Former Chair, Professionalism Committee, New Jersey State Bar Association, Family Law Section, 2013-2014

• Former Middlesex County Assignment Judge’s Family Lawyers’ Committee

• Panelist, Early Settlement Program, Matrimonial Division (Union and Middlesex Counties)

• Former Member, District XII (Union County) Ethics Committee