Price Meese Shulman & D’Arminio, P.C. is proud to recognize the achievements of Aaron Cohen, Esq., Chair of our Family Law Practice Group. Mr. Cohen, together with a fellow family law attorney, co-founded a settlement program to address the backlog of cases, known as FD cases, in the Bergen County Family Division. FD Cases involve parties with at least one child in common but who were never married. This is a first for the County. No settlement program existed for this Docket before he co-developed this program. It is being called the FD Consent Conference Program.
There are currently approximately 100 FD Cases that are considered “aging,” which are typically those that have been pending for 365 days or more. The goals of the program are to: (1) reduce the backlog of FD cases, which was created by the pandemic and exacerbated by the shortage of judges in Bergen County; and (2) to assist litigants in obtaining an amicable resolution and finality of their disputes.
The first day of Consent Conferences occurred on February 6, 2024 – and it was a huge success! Mr. Cohen and his colleague ultimately recruited over 20 attorneys to serve as volunteers on the settlement panel. The attorneys were separated into groups of 2 or 3 and assisted numerous litigants with settling their disputes.
The feedback that they received about the program has been outstanding. The inaugural day of Consent Conferences was an overwhelming success.
Mr. Cohen extends his enthusiastic gratitude to all the volunteers who set aside their entire day to assist the Judiciary and the litigants to resolve their disputes. He also thanks the Court staff for helping make this program possible.
To that end, Mr. Cohen is actively recruiting additional volunteers. The more attorneys who volunteer their time and services, the more frequently Consent Conferences can be scheduled. This will allow us – as family law practitioners – to proactively work towards reducing the backlog of FD cases, thereby improving the Judiciary’s ability to address our clients’ needs in the future. If you, or anyone you know, are interested in volunteering, please contact Aaron at acohen@pricemeese.com.
