Rita Aquilio, a divorce lawyer with Lawrence Law, attended a 2-day training session on Economic Mediation for matters involving Domestic Violence Final Restraining Orders. This program, sponsored by NJICLE, was held on January 7 and 8 at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Before 2015, Court Rules and the Domestic Violence Procedures Manual barred divorcing parties from participating in economic mediation if there was a FRO in place. If the couple could not settle, they had to try their cases, often at great personal expense. In 2015, the Supreme Court launched a pilot program in six counties, which trained economic mediators on how to handle cases involving domestic violence, so that economic mediation could be an option for these couples. That program has now expanded to all 21 New Jersey counties. Since Aquilio is a R. 1:40 Mediator and Collaborative Divorce Attorney, she may now mediate dissolution cases involving domestic violence.
Lawrence Law, with offices in Watchung and Red Bank, New Jersey, is a boutique firm devoted exclusively to the practice of matrimonial and family law.