Candice L. Drisgula
Since beginning her legal career in 1994, Candice L. Drisgula has limited her practice to the area of family law, including matters related to divorce, custody, support, equitable distribution, and domestic violence; both at the Trial and Appellate levels. Prior to founding Drisgula & Thatcher, LLC in 2014, Ms. Drisgula spent nearly two decades litigating high conflict custody matters and financially complex divorces as a named partner in a boutique Bergen County matrimonial law firm. A member in good standing of the New Jersey Bar and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Ms. Drisgula has continued handling all facets of family law and matrimonial litigation and has expanded her practice to incorporate Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) methods such as economic mediation, arbitration, collaborative divorce and parenting coordination.
Ms. Drisgula has earned a state-wide reputation as a knowledgeable, compassionate attorney who zealously advocates on behalf of her clients in order to achieve a fair and sensible result. By providing personalized attention to all of her clients, employing a goal-oriented approach and intently representing each client in order to achieve the best possible outcome, Ms. Drisgula is able to assist her clients in resolving their disputes efficiently, equitably, while striving to minimize the emotional and financial toll on the family.
An advocate of utilizing ADR in family law matters, Ms. Drisgula takes pride in educating prospective clients about the benefits of ADR options such as mediation, arbitration and collaborative divorce. Trained and approved by the court as a family law economic mediator, Ms. Drisgula mediates and arbitrates privately for individuals as well as those parties who are already in the court system and represented by counsel. Ms. Drisgula is also trained in Collaborative Divorce.
Because of her extensive experience working with high conflict families, Ms. Drisgula is frequently selected by her peers and by judges to serve in the role as Parenting Coordinator as well as to serve in the capacity as Guardian ad Litem. In the role of Parenting Coordinator, Ms. Drisgula works with parties in high-conflict situations who require guidance in resolving parenting disputes. She aims at lessening tensions between the parties as well as assisting them to more effectively co-parent their children. A member of both the National and New Jersey State Chapters of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Ms. Drisgula strives to continue to utilize her advocacy skills to emphasize problem-solving, teaching, and counseling parents in high conflict situations.
Ms. Drisgula is an active member of both the Bergen County and Passaic County Bar Associations where she frequently lectures and volunteers her time as an Early Settlement Panelist to assist in the resolution of active divorce cases and post-judgment matters. Ms. Drisgula has lectured for the New Jersey State Bar Association Institute of Continuing Legal Education on family law related topics. Ms. Drisgula is a former member and past Chair of the District IX Fee Arbitration Committee for the Supreme Court of New Jersey, where she arbitrated attorney-client fee disputes. She has also been appointed to serve on the Passaic County Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee and she has previously volunteered her time serving as a mentor for the William Paterson University Pesce Family Mentoring Institute.
Education
- Juris Doctor (1994) University of Denver Sturm School of Law Denver, Colorado
- Certificate in Divorce Mediation NJAPM 40-hour Divorce Mediation Training Monroe Township, New Jersey
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration / Political Science (1991) Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado
Association
- Member of New Jersey State Bar Association – Family Law Section
- Member of Bergen County, NJ Bar Association – Family Law Section
- Member of Passaic County, NJ Bar Association – Family Law Section
- Trustee of the Passaic County Bar Association
- Member of the Family Law Committee of the Passaic County Bar Association
- Member of the Passaic County Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee
- Member of National and New Jersey State Chapters of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
- Member of NJ Association of Professional Mediators
- Member of Collaborative Divorce Association of New Jersey
- Early Settlement Panelist for Bergen County, NJ and Passaic County, NJ
- Former Chair of the District XI Fee Arbitration Committee
- Pupil of Northern New Jersey Family Law Inns of Court (1999–2000)
- Lecturer for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education of New Jersey
- Lecturer for Passaic County Bar Association
Amanda M. Yu