Denville-based law firm Einhorn, Harris, Ascher, Barbarito & Frost, P.C., is pleased to announce that Partner Matheu D. Nunn, a resident and the Deputy Mayor of Morris Township, has been selected for the second year in a row as one of three finalists for the New Jersey Law Journal’s 2018 “Attorney of the Year Award.”

“To understand the magnitude of Mat’s back-to-back nominations as Attorney of the Year, you have to bear in mind that there are over 41,000 active attorneys in New Jersey according to the American Bar Association,” says Patricia M. Barbarito, Esq., Managing Partner of Einhorn Harris.

According to the New Jersey Law Journal, its editorial staff along with the help of an outside panel of distinguished practitioners select three attorneys from the state who made “his or her mark on the profession, and in the law, with an achievement that goes beyond service to the client.” Nunn’s 2018 selection (for contributions to the law in 2017), makes Nunn the first two-time nomination for this award in New Jersey.

In 2017, the New Jersey Law Journal selected Nunn as one of its finalists for the “Attorney of the Year Award” (for contributions to the law in 2016). His selection stemmed from his role in two New Jersey Supreme Court cases, Quinn v. Quinn, 225 N.J. 34 (2016) (a case involving termination of alimony based on cohabitation); In re Adoption of a Child by J.E.V., 226 N.J. 90 (2016) (a contested adoption case of first impression); and an appellate level decision in Bisbing v. Bisbing, 445 N.J. Super. 207 (App. Div. 2016) (a case involving relocation of children from New Jersey following a divorce).

“Considering Mat’s contributions to the law in 2016, it would be difficult to imagine him contributing something even greater in 2017, but that is exactly what Mat did,” says Barbarito.

On August 8, 2017, the Supreme Court of New Jersey issued its opinion in Bisbing v. Bisbing, 230 N.J. 309 (2017). In Bisbing, Nunn represented a father who opposed his ex-wife’s relocation of their twin daughters to Utah. Nunn prevailed on behalf of his client at the Supreme Court; but, “winning and losing does not tell the entire story,” says Barbarito. The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bisbingreversed sixteen yearsof Supreme Court jurisprudence in an area of law – the relocation of children from New Jersey – that Barbarito says “can only be described as hotly-contested and emotionally-charged.” As a result of Nunn’s winning argument, judges in New Jersey deciding relocation disputes must focus only on the best interests of the child, without any deference or preference being given to either of the parents.

“As a matrimonial attorney who has handled difficult relocation cases for over 30 years, I can tell you that matrimonial attorneys have been trying for nearly two decades to get the result Mat obtained in Bisbing. Although attorneys within the matrimonial bar are surprised it took this long, I am unsurprised Mat is the one who finally convinced the Supreme Court to change course,” says Barbarito.

Barbarito says that Nunn, who co-chairs the Firm’s Appellate Practice Group and handles divorce and adoption litigation, derives his success from “his thoughtful, dedicated approach and expansive view of the law. Here at the firm he is a leader with enormous creativity.”

At 36, Nunn has been selected for inclusion on the New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars List in appellate practice, family law, and criminal law. He has also received an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell (the highest possible rating). In 2015 the New Jersey Law Journalnamed Nunn as one its New Leaders of the Bar (formerly the “Top 40 Under 40”).

Nunn and his fellow nominees will be honored at the Professional Excellence Awards Dinner on Thursday, June 21, at the Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park. The winner will be announced during the evening’s events.

ABOUT EINHORN HARRIS

Established in 1961, Einhorn Harris, based in Denville, New Jersey, is a comprehensive, full-service law firm devoted to serving a broad range of legal needs. In its more than 50 years in business, Einhorn Harris and its attorneys have earned a reputation for dedication to the community. The firm represents a diverse base of clients from individuals and families to public and private companies, entrepreneurs and long-standing institutions. The multi-disciplinary team of attorneys leverages experience in areas of concentration including employment law, commercial litigation, personal injury and workers’ compensation, matrimonial matters, zoning issues, estate planning, criminal law and tax law. The firm also provides counsel to small- to medium-size businesses on an as-needed, on-demand basis through On-Call for Business. For more information, please visit http://www.einhornharris.com.