Judge Ellen Koblitz (Ret.) Honored with 2021 Serpentelli Award Presented by the Family Law Section of the NJSBA

Pashman Stein Walder Hayden is proud to announce that Hon. Ellen L. Koblitz, P.J.A.D. (Ret.) was presented with the 2021 Eugene D. Serpentelli Award by the Family Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA). The Serpentelli Award is given to an individual in recognition of extraordinary contributions to the development of family law in the State of New Jersey. The award was presented during the NJSBA Annual Meeting on May 21, 2020.

“We are thrilled that Judge Koblitz was honored with this prestigious award,” said Michael S. Stein, Managing Partner at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden. “She is a great role model and mentor to our team and an invaluable resource for our clients.”

Judge Koblitz is special counsel in the Alternative Dispute Resolution practice, Appellate Advocacy practice, and Family Law practice at Pashman Stein Walder Hayden. She focuses her practice on mediation and arbitration of Family, Chancery and Civil matters. In addition, she advises attorneys and clients on appellate matters, including reviewing appellate briefs and conducting moot court appellate arguments. Judge Koblitz is on the consumer panel of arbitrators of the American Arbitration Association and is a qualified NJ Ct. R. 1:40-12 mediator.

Judge Koblitz joined Pashman Stein in 2020 after serving as a judge for 27 years. She served in the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court for 10 years, including two years as Presiding Judge, as well as 10 years as Presiding Judge of Family Part in Bergen County.

Judge Koblitz began her legal career in the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender and rose to the position of deputy public defender in charge of the Hudson and then the Bergen County regional office.

First appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court in 1993, Judge Koblitz served in the Special Civil Part and Criminal Part in Bergen County. She then served as Presiding Judge of the Family Part from 1998 to 2008, when she was tapped to serve as Presiding Judge of the Chancery Division in Bergen County.

While on the bench, Judge Koblitz served on numerous New Jersey Supreme Court Committees, including serving as chair of the Supreme Court Judicial Education Committee, chair of the Conference of Family Division Presiding Judges, chair of the Children in Court Improvement Committee, and vice chair of the Supreme Court Family Practice Committee.