Michael E. Spinato is a partner in Harwood Lloyd’s recently established Family Law Department. Mr. Spinato has practiced in all phases of family law, including but not limited to, divorce, custody, parenting time, alimony, child support, domestic violence and equitable distribution of property for the past 35 years. He is a member of both the New Jersey State and Bergen County Bar Associations.
Mr. Spinato graduated from Fordham University in 1976 with a B.A. in Economics. He was then admitted to Seton Hall University Law Center where he graduated in 1979 with a Juris Doctor degree. He was admitted to the New Jersey State Bar in December, 1979. In September, 1979 through August, 1980 he served as law clerk to the Honorable Arthur Minuskin, Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County.
After leaving his clerkship, Mr. Spinato formed a partnership in his hometown of Elmwood Park (East Paterson), New Jersey. He has since been a partner in a number of other firms throughout his career. In 2008, he formed Michael E. Spinato, P.C. in Glen Rock, New Jersey where he has practiced until joining Harwood Lloyd.
During his 35 years of practice, Mr. Spinato has engaged in various legal and civic activities. He has served as Public Defender for the Borough of Fort Lee, New Jersey (1979-1981), and Attorney for FMBA Local #47, Ridgewood Firefighters and Fire Officers Association. He has participated in American Inns of Court and he remains a member of the State of New Jersey and Bergen County Family Law Sections. He now serves as a Panel Chair of the Superior Court of New Jersey Mandatory Early Settlement Program, Family Part, Bergen County, and past as Chair of the District IIA – Fee Arbitration Committee. He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees, Pascack Mental Health Center. He was a Charter Member of the Ridgewood Education Foundation. He served as Chair of the Board of Adjustment, Village of Ridgewood for 10 years and he was on the Board of Trustees, Village of Ridgewood Baseball Association. He also served as Coach for the Village of Ridgewood Baseball Association and the Village of Ridgewood Girls Softball Association. He was an Instructor for the Paralegal School, Wayne, New Jersey, and served on the Board of Trustees, Gregory M. Hirsch Heart Foundation.
Mr. Spinato has been named by New Jersey Super Lawyers® magazine as one of the top attorneys in New Jersey for 2019. The selections for this list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters, Legal division based in Egan, MN. Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers undertakes a multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check. The decisions made by Super Lawyers have not been approved by the New Jersey Supreme Court.
In addition, he is a proud member of the Elmwood Park Athletic Hall of Fame having been inducted in 2009.
