For more than three decades Cathy Pollak has been one of Bergen County’s leading matrimonial lawyers, building a career as a successful courtroom litigator and later as an expert in out-of-court alternative dispute resolution. After years as both an independent practitioner and leading a family law practice of a large Bergen County firm, in 2021 she teamed with the Hackensack-based practice of veteran family lawyers Paul Lomberg and Francine Del Vescovo. And in mid-2023 she opened an independent office on Route 208 in Fair Lawn, NJ.

Creative and practical, Ms. Pollak is well known and respected by her peers in the courthouses of Northern New Jersey; her 22-year independent practice in family and divorce law made her one of the few high-profile woman-owned firms in the region. In recent years Ms. Pollak has focused on contentious, complex and high-stakes cases. Still, she says, the approach has “always been about the client, what’s best for them, no matter their situation. That’s never changed.”

A North Jersey native, Ms. Pollak graduated at the top of her class from Cedar Crest College, a women’s college in Allentown, Pa. She went directly to law school and ultimately became a partner in a Hudson County firm that specialized in matrimonial law. She launched her own practice in 1993.

Over the years Ms. Pollak’s practice has spanned Bergen County, first in Paramus, then Woodcliff Lake, and today, with Lomberg Del Vescovo & Pollak. Her practice continues primarily with a traditional litigation focus, but she is also co-founder of the North Jersey Collaborative Law Group, now known as the Collaborative Divorce Association of North Jersey. Collaborative law is one of the many alternative methods employed today in divorce law and a reflection of changing demand. She is also an experienced divorce mediator. Most of all though Ms. Pollak is best known for her broad range of clients, as diverse as North Jersey itself. At this point in her career she brings some valuable perspective - “I find myself coaching my clients to see the value in a durable long-term solution.” She adds, “I try to get them to focus on a constructive resolution.”

Her practice increasingly handles post-settlement disputes such as support enforcement actions and so-called “change in circumstance” cases. She also has handled some of the first litigated disputes between same-sex couples.

Away from the office she enjoys reading and travel. She lives in Northern Bergen County, with her husband, a physician; they have two grown daughters.