Sharon Johnson knew she wanted to become an attorney when, as a young girl, she watched her father help community members in his law practice. After she graduated college with an English degree, she followed in his footsteps and went to law school. She worked in his general practice firm while she was studying in the early 1990s, and said she handled the cases that “no one else wanted.” The “supermarket slips” were all hers.

When a divorce file came across her desk, a career was born.

“I found my niche,” she said. “I love helping people in their divorce cases, and am eager to teach them about the alternate dispute resolutions (ADR) that are available to them as opposed to seeing them battle it out in a courtroom.”

“Litigation is not the answer,” she says.

She says that traditionally, approximately one percent of divorce cases go to trial, and that it is even less since the pandemic hit because of the difficulty of getting into a courtroom.

With ADR–like a Collaborative divorce, she says, the family has the opportunity to remain civil.

“I’m a huge proponent of people being in charge of their own destiny,” she says, “and a Collaborative divorce is their best bet in maintaining control over the process.” This, she says, is because in a Collaborative divorce, “you don’t have a stranger making decisions for you.” There is no judge. “A Collaborative divorce affords creativity in these situations that a judge just doesn’t have the authority to make happen,” she says

“You decide, not a judge,” she says. “It’s self-determination at its best–you control the process and define the dynamics.”

Sharon went through a divorce herself, is now part of a blended family, and is the parent of a child with chronic medical needs, so she is keenly qualified to advise parents in these areas.

She works with a lot of custody cases, and is a fan of creative solutions for the children. She works hard to manage expectations of her clients.

Her mantra: Collaborate Law provides each client with a variety of options to settle his/her case amicably, without the economic and emotional toll of litigation.

Sharon has over 25 years experience litigating, negotiating, and mediating divorces and other family-related matters. She is a court-approved mediator, frequently appointed guardian ad litem, a parent coordinator, and Collaboratively-trained family law attorney.

Sharon has been in practice with her father for over 25 years in the law firm they founded, Johnson & Johnson, Attorneys At Law. They work together to provide a variety of legal services to the residents of Morris County and the surrounding areas in New Jersey. Their determination and dedication are what has made their law firm a leader in the area. Before that, she worked in the law office of John M. Johnson, Esq., as an associate, from 1995 to 1998; and for the Rutgers Urban Legal Clinic, as an intern in 1995.

She concentrates her practice in the area of matrimonial/family law and related matters including divorce litigation, divorce mediation,  alimony, equitable distribution, child custody, child support, prenuptial agreements, domestic violence, grandparents’ visitation, guardianships, relocation, and private adoptions.

An experienced divorce litigator, she has been certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as an approved family mediator. Sharon handles numerous high conflict cases, highly complex financial cases, and custody matters on a regular basis.

The Details

• Undergraduate degree, University of Notre Dame 

• Juris Doctorate, Rutgers School of Law in Newark, New Jersey

• Served for more than 15 years as a panelist for the Family Law Early Settlement Panel in Morris County, and now serves as a Blue Ribbon Panelist.

• Court-approved family mediator and serves as a Court-appointed mediator

• Handles private mediation for clients who seek alternative dispute resolution

• Volunteer for “Welcome Home Vets,” an organization providing family law assistance for United States Military veterans