Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein

Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein stands as one of New York City's largest and most accomplished matrimonial law firms, with particular expertise in high net worth divorces and complex family law matters. With offices in Manhattan, Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey, the firm serves clients throughout the New York metropolitan region and beyond. The firm concentrates its practice exclusively in the area of family law, allowing it to develop the specialized expertise that sophisticated clients require.

Jacqueline Newman is the firm's managing partner and a recognized leader in family law practice throughout New York. Newman earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware and pursued legal education at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, one of New York's premier law schools. Beyond her law degree, Newman has invested in professional development through Harvard Business School Online, earning a Certificate in Negotiation Mastery. This commitment to continuing education and specialized training in negotiation reflects her dedication to providing clients the most sophisticated legal and negotiation services.

Jacqueline Newman has achieved remarkable professional recognition. Since 2013, she has been selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters New York-Metro Super Lawyers Top 50 Women Attorneys—an honor recognizing only the most accomplished female attorneys in the region. In 2022, Newman was chosen by Super Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in New York City, a distinction recognizing only the most elite attorneys in the nation's largest legal market. These honors reflect sustained professional excellence over an extended period.

Barkman Bottger Newman & Schein itself has achieved significant recognition. In 2025, twenty-two attorneys from the firm were selected for inclusion in the Super Lawyers list, and additional attorneys were selected as Rising Stars. These selections reflect a rigorous process where only the top percentage of attorneys in each practice area and geographic region are honored. For a single firm to have twenty-two attorneys selected to Super Lawyers represents extraordinary collective achievement.

The firm is recognized by Chambers as handling High Net Worth matters, an acknowledgment of the firm's expertise in complex financial cases where divorcing spouses have substantial assets, complex business interests, and sophisticated estate plans requiring careful handling.

What distinguishes Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein is its size, resources, expertise, and particular focus on high net worth divorces. As one of the largest matrimonial law firms in New York, the firm maintains the resources to handle the most complex cases. The firm has been involved in precedent-setting and groundbreaking matrimonial matters—cases that have shaped family law jurisprudence and expanded what family law can accomplish.

The firm offers clients three different approaches to divorce: litigation, where cases are resolved by trial before judges; collaborative law, where both spouses' attorneys work cooperatively with other professionals to resolve disputes without litigation; and mediation, where a neutral third party helps spouses negotiate their own settlement. This range of options allows clients to choose the approach best suited to their circumstances.

The litigation team at Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein has extensive courtroom and trial experience. The attorneys have represented clients in complex, high-stakes matrimonial trials before judges in New York's family courts and appellate courts. This trial experience is particularly valuable for clients in contested cases with significant assets or complex custody disputes.

The firm has significant expertise handling high net worth cases. These cases involve particular challenges: complex financial portfolios with diverse assets including stocks, real estate holdings, business interests, and international assets; substantial spousal maintenance obligations; complex child support calculations; equitable distribution of sophisticated property; and questions about prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. The firm's attorneys have extensive experience with all these issues.

The firm's attorneys have drafted practice guides for matrimonial law, indicating their recognized expertise and contribution to the field beyond simply representing individual clients. They have taught Continuing Legal Education classes on divorce law, sharing their expertise with other attorneys. Several have served as adjunct professors at New York law schools, teaching matrimonial and family law to the next generation of lawyers.

The firm handles prenuptial and postnuptial agreements with sophistication. These agreements require careful drafting to be enforceable under New York law while protecting the interests of both spouses. The firm's expertise in high net worth cases translates into particular skill in drafting such agreements for clients with substantial assets.

The firm's commitment to client protection is evident in its focus on property protection and ensuring that clients' assets are properly identified, valued, and handled in divorce proceedings. For high net worth clients, this protection of assets is often as important as winning custody disputes or maximizing support obligations.

Clients of Berkman Bottger Newman & Schein benefit from one of New York's largest matrimonial law firms with extraordinary expertise in high net worth divorces. The firm's twenty-two Super Lawyers selections, Jacqueline Newman's Top 100 NYC recognition, and involvement in precedent-setting cases demonstrate the firm's standing as a leader in matrimonial law. Whether facing a high-stakes matrimonial dispute involving substantial assets, complex custody matters, or any of the complex issues that characterize sophisticated divorces, clients can rely on attorneys with remarkable professional achievement and demonstrated excellence in family law practice.