Divorcing couples and their counsel will no longer have to wait for the overburdened New York State court system to schedule a trial on financial issues related to their divorce.
Eric Wrubel, a matrimonial attorney with a 25-year career practicing in New York, envisioned and has founded NYC Private Justice (NYCPJ) which provides a platform for litigants in a divorce or family law action to have financial issues heard by an experienced, neutral third party who will render a binding decision following the presentation of admissible evidence.
This innovative concept is the first of its kind in New York and will revolutionize how contested divorces and related financial hearings can be handled.
NYCPJ is also a novel option for individuals who want the financial aspects of the dissolution of their marriage handled with complete privacy, as well as expeditiously.
NYCPJ hearings will be adjudicated by highly qualified and respected former New York State matrimonial judges and special referees, either virtually or in-person, using state-of-the-art technology to ensure privacy. NYCPJ will provide an experience that is nearly identical to a trial held in a New York State courthouse, with the advantage that NYCPJ trials will proceed without interruptions from motion practice, conferences, or telephone calls, and these trials will be scheduled without being listed on a publicly-available docket.
“By selecting an alternative dispute resolution to the bottle-necked New York State court system, divorcing couples and their attorneys now have the ability to schedule their trials and resolve outstanding issues, far sooner than if they remained in the system, and with complete privacy,” Mr. Wrubel said. “Rather than waiting months or even years to have their cases heard and decided, NYC Private Justice provides litigants and their counsel the ability to schedule a trial in front of an experienced jurist virtually within weeks of the initial contact.”
“This is a novel idea which addresses a growing need in our matrimonial court system. NYC Private Justice gives couples a forum in which to have their cases heard in much the same way as they would have a trial handled in a New York State courthouse, but more efficiently, and with absolute privacy,” Hon. Jacqueline W. Silbermann said.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York State court system is unable to expeditiously schedule the significant backlog of trials and hearings which accrued with the shutdown of the state courts. In addition, significant proposed cuts to the budget of the New York State Office of Court Administration will result in fewer judges sitting on the bench, as well as the inevitable elimination of judicial hearing officers and special referees.
