Personable yet aggressive when he needs to be, Tom Snyder is emerging as one of the best-known young attorneys in Northern New Jersey. After nearly eight years at the Denville firm Einhorn Harris Ascher Barbarito Frost & Ironson - itself with one of the leading matrimonial practices in the state - Snyder is recognized for his skillful case management and a pragmatic, solid-under-pressure work style. The 40-year-old New Jersey native worked on Wall Street's Commodities Exchange for two years, but "I didn't feel I was making a difference," and headed to Seton Hall Law. There he participated in the Family Law Clinic, getting his first feel of the many hats worn by divorce attorneys. "It was one of the best things I did in law school." Still, Snyder plunged first into a general practice, recruited by a small Hunterdon County firm, taking on a handful of divorce cases. When he joined Einhorn Harris in 1995 - "I was in the right place in the right time; sometimes life is luck" -- he committed to matrimonial law, largely because of the opportunities EinhornHarris offered. "Here I was working with some of the best attorneys in the field. And after doing some general practice litigation, I found that in matrimonial I was having a real impact on people's everyday lives." Snyder seized the chance, taking on a broad variety of cases, from complex equitable distribution cases to bitter custody disputes. He may be best known in the matrimonial bar for a 2001 recorded case in which a Nigerian couple battled over custody which ultimately led to the husband being incarcerated for nearly four years for refusing to return the couple's children from Nigeria. The case was heard by the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court and the New Jersey Supreme Court. The case drew national attention and reiterated the standards in "civil contempt" rulings. Among his other notable cases: A case now pending before the Supreme Court of New Jersey focusing on equitable distribution of business entities and the interrelationship between business values and alimony awards. In January Snyder was named a partner at Einhorn Harris, where 13 of the firm's 20 attorneys practice matrimonial law exclusively. "There's a great structure and support system here," says Snyder. "It makes us all better attorneys." Snyder, who grew up in New Jersey, still lives in his hometown with his family and is a popular member of the community there. Trim and athletic ("I try to get to the gym as often as possible"), Snyder projects a youthful and energetic style that's given him a solid client following.