Barbara J. Strauss, Attorney, Goshen NY
Tel: 845.294.2616
Fax: 845.294.3861
Email Barbara J. Strauss
Attorney Barbara Strauss has maintained a private practice for over twenty-five years dedicated to advocating for men and women coping with divorce, family law disputes or criminal charges. She represents clients in Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties.
In her thirty plus years as a lawyer Barbara J. Strauss has gained a well-earned reputation as a smart, conscientious and vigorous litigator with trial skills gained as a criminal prosecutor along with an in-depth knowledge of the law that comes from extensive appellate practice.
Barbara J. Strauss is a former president of the Orange County Bar Association, former president of the Women’s Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan Counties and has been a lawyer for children since 1990. She also is a well-respected lecturer on topics such as trial practice, complex equitable distribution issues and numerous family court topics.
Areas of Practice
Divorce Litigation
Family Law
Child Support
Custody & Visitation
Child Neglect
Criminal Law
Appeals
Divorce and Family Law
Ms. Strauss seeks to resolve family law issues and divorce with dignity. She utilizes the collaborative law approach or negotiation whenever possible. When court proceedings are necessary, she approaches litigation with a thorough, and civilized style while at the same time zealously representing the interests of her client.
Ms. Strauss has developed a reputation for her in-depth knowledge of some of the more complicated issues facing a Family Law practitioner. She has litigated complex cases involving valuation of family-owned corporations, interaction of divorce and bankruptcy, division of pension benefits and survival rights, distribution of stock options, tax consequences of divorce, and interstate custody and support issues.
Barbara Strauss is also a court-appointed law guardian representing children’s interests in divorce, custody and child abuse matters. For over ten years, she has co-taught the Parents Apart teaching parents in the midst of custody disputes about the impact of litigation on children.
Criminal Law
Barbara Strauss was a Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Orange County District Attorney’s office for eight years. She was in charge of the prosecution of child sex abuse cases and supervised the appellate litigation. As a prosecutor and defense attorney Ms. Strauss has tried the gamut of criminal cases ranging from straightforward driving while intoxicated matters, to A-1 felony drug prosecutions, child abuse, white collar fraud, rape, criminally negligent homicide and murder. She has also handled parole revocation hearings and probation violation proceedings.
Appeals
This law firm is one of the few local matrimonial and criminal practices which has significant expertise in appellate litigation in addition to the trial level advocacy. Barbara Strauss has personally drafted and filed over one hundred and fifty appellate briefs and has argued cases in the Appellate Division, Second Department and Third Department and Court of Appeals as well as in Federal Court.
CV of Barbara Strauss
Bar Admissions
New York, 1980, U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1993
U.S. Supreme Court, 1993
Education
New York University School of Law, New York, New York, 1979, J.D.
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, 1976, B.A.
Honors: Cum Laude
Major: Psychology
Classes/Seminars Taught:
• NBI Family Law CLE: Family Law from A-Z
• A Practical Approach to Valuation Issues in Divorce Negotiation and Litigation:
Valuation of Enhanced Earnings and Small Businesses
• NBI Advanced Family Law CLE: Changing Families and Children in the Courtroom
• Cardozo Law School Intensive Trial Advocacy Program: Trial Practice
• DRC, Parents Apart Class: Legal Issues for Parents Going Through Custody Litigation
Honors and Awards:
AVVO Top 1%
Super Lawyers
Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Legal Services – NYS Unified Court System 2013
Pro Bono Award for Outstanding Contribution, Orange County Bar Association, 1994
Special Recognition Award for Pro Bono Activities, Field of Family Law, American Bar Association, 1994
Women of Achievement of Orange County Award, presented by the Sarah Wells Girl Scout Council and the YWCA of Orange County, 2004
Professional Associations and Memberships:
Orange County Bar Association Judicial Screening Committee 2015
Appellate Division, Lawyer for Children Panel 1990-Present
Appellate Division, Grievance Committee 2006-2014
Orange County Bar Association President 2010-2011
Orange County Bar Association, Board of Directors 2003-2010
Women’s Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan County, 1993 – 1994, President
Women’s Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan County, 1983 – 1984, Treasurer
Appellate Division Law Guardian Panel, Law Guardian
Appellate Division, 2nd Dept, 9th and 10th Judicial District, Member, Grievance Committee
Past Employment Positions:
United States Department of Health & Human Services, New York Office, Assistant Regional Attorney, 1980 – 1982
Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Senior Assistant District Attorney, 1982 – 1989
Community Activities:
“A Friend’s House” Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelter Advisory Committee
Board Member, YWCA of Orange County
Orange County Safe Homes
Orange County Dispute Resolution Center
Leadership Orange
Goshen Central School District
Former Member, Board of Directors, Goshen Chamber of Commerce and the Mental Health Association of Orange County
Volunteer Mediator, Orange County Dispute Resolution Center, Parents Apart Program
