Kathleen L. Wood, Esq.
Kate graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in 2000, where she was the first female ice hockey player on the all men’s club ice hockey team at for which she received the “Alpha Female Award” from her fellow teammates. Following graduation, she worked as the only employee of a veteran solo practitioner in the Princeton area whose practice was devoted to family law. This experience in family law prompted Kate to pursue law school and ultimately attend Seton Hall University School of Law in 2001 and obtain her Juris Doctorate in May of 2004.
Throughout law school, Kate continued to work for the solo practitioner in Princeton, gaining invaluable practical experience in family law. In the Summer of 2003, Kate completed an internship with and acted as the Judicial Assistant to the Honorable Madeline Cox-Arleo, U.S. Magistrate, United States District Court, District of New Jersey. There, she honed her research and critical writing skills while participating in the review and determination of several federal cases ranging from criminal to administrative law cases.
Upon graduation from law school, Kate successfully passed the Bar Examination in both New Jersey and New York and is currently licensed to practice law in both states.
Following law school, Kate participated in nearly every aspect of the litigation process in the field of medical malpractice defense. Kate researched, reviewed and analyzed a multitude of legal, financial and medical documents in preparation for trial. Kate conducted and defended numerous depositions at the party, witness and expert level, and filed and defended motions in the Superior Court of New Jersey that ranged from non-dispositive discovery issues to dispositive motions for summary judgment. In several cases, Kate successfully concluded medical malpractice cases via summary judgment and motions to dismiss.
Kate returned to her legal “roots” in the field of family law in 2006 and has been committed to the practice of family law for the past fifteen years. Over the course of her career, Kate has handled countless numbers of complex contested and uncontested divorce cases and has handled every aspect of litigation. Kate has also negotiated marital settlement agreements in all types of cases from simple to complex, high conflict, high net worth divorces. She has extensive experience litigating family law issues including, but not limited to, matrimonial trials, custody and parenting time disputes, modifications of alimony or child support, enforcement of Judgments and Orders, cohabitation, removal cases and domestic violence trials. Notwithstanding her experience as a litigator, Kate believes strongly in the process of mediation and encourages her clients to explore Alternate Dispute Resolutions when appropriate. However, not all cases are suited for mediation, and in those instances Kate is devoted to vigorously and compassionately representing her clients via litigation.
Kate is a member of the Somerset County Bar Association, Mercer County Bar Association and New Jersey Bar Association, Family Law Sections. Kate regularly serves as an Early Settlement Panelist in both Somerset and Mercer counties. She has also served as a Co-Chair for the Somerset County Young Lawyer’s Division. Kate currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Somerset Family Practice Committee and has done so for over ten years. Kate was named by New Jersey Family Magazine as one of “New Jersey’s Best Lawyers for Families” in 2019.