ATTORNEY HOWARD DUFF
HDuff@NDLawOffices.com
Litigation Percentage Practice Devoted to Family Law
100% of
Certified Legal Specialties
Certified Matrimonial Lawyer, New Jersey Supreme Court, 2005 – Present
Bar Admissions
New Jersey, 1983
Education
University of North Carolina School of Law, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
J.D. – 1983
Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania
M.A. – 2016
Systematic Theology
St. John’s University, Jamaica, New York
M.A. – 1984
Major: Modern European Diplomatic History
State University of New York at Oneonta, Oneonta, New York
B.A. summa cum laude – 1978
Major: American History
Leadership, Membership & Honors
Honors and Awards
New Jersey Monthly Magazine Top Matrimonial Lawyers 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020
Professional Associations and Memberships
New Jersey Bar Association
Middlesex County Bar Association
Pro Bono Activities
District VIII Ethics Committee, 2003 – 2019
Chairman, District VIII Ethics Committee, 2007-2008, 2017-2019
Early Settlement Program (ESP) Middlesex County, 1995 – Present
Early Settlement Program (ESP) Union County, 2001 – Present
Central Jersey Legal Services Volunteer Attorney Program, 1987 – Present
Howard Duff is a seasoned matrimonial lawyer who more than thirty five years of courtroom and trial experience. He has the experience that can only develop over the course of many years of practice. He has been certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Matrimonial Lawyer since 2005, and he has served on the Early Settlement Panels in both Middlesex and Union Counties. Since being admitted to the New Jersey bar 1983, Howard has represented well over a thousand people in Family Court matters. Before limiting his practice to matrimonial matters in the mid-1990s, he tried a variety of civil and criminal matters including claims for personal injury and wrongful death. He tried criminal cases running the gamut from simple assault to robbery and attempted murder. He has the experience that can only develop over the course of many years of practice. Since being admitted to the New Jersey bar 1983, Howard has represented well over a thousand people in Family Court matters. Before limiting his practice to matrimonial matters in the mid-1990s, he tried a variety of civil and criminal matters including claims for personal injury and wrongful death. He tried criminal cases running the gamut from simple assault to robbery and attempted murder.
During the course of his thirty-seven years as a lawyer, Howard has been appointed by the court to serve as Mediator, Arbitrator, Guardian Ad Litem, Parenting Coordinator, Law Guardian, Special Master, and Blue Ribbon Panelist. he is routinely selected by other lawyers to serve as a mediator in their cases. He has been appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to serve on the District VIII Ethics Committee, and has twice served as the Chair of the Committee. He has lectured both the bench and bar on Family Court and Ethics Matters.
Howard’s goal is to work with you in order to craft a fair and equitable settlement that protects your interests, protects the privacy of you and your children, and meets the particular needs of you and your family. He is dedicated to protecting your emotional and financial interests, and believes that by providing guidance and properly explaining outcomes, he can work with you toward making decisions that lead to the most appropriate solution of your case. With careful strategic planning he seeks to helps you navigate the often daunting experiences of Family Court.
While a settlement is the preferable way to resolve any Family Court matter, in the event that such a settlement is not possible because your spouse of the other parent of your child has taken an unreasonable position, he has the knowledge, expertise, and skill set to take the matter to trial and present your case in the best light possible. In addition to Family Law trials, he has tried cases in the Chancery Division, Law Division, and Criminal Division, including more than twenty five jury trials and well over one hundred bench trials. He is one of the few lawyers in our state who has tried a Tevis case to conclusion before a jury. He has tried numerous cases in municipal courts, Worker’s Compensation Court and before Administrative Law Judges. He has argued nine cases before the New Jersey Appellate Division and three cases before the New Jersey Disciplinary Review Board.
Howard can be reached by phone of by email at HDuff@NDLawOffices.com