Joel Brandes

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT JOEL BRANDES

Joel R. Brandes, of the New York Bar, concentrates his statewide law practice in matrimonial and family law. He has been recognized by the New York Appellate Division as a \"noted authority and expert on New York family law and divorce.\" He also serves and an adviser and consultant to lawyers in matrimonial and family law appeals as well as complex matrimonial litigation, trials, and international child abduction cases. He writes a regular column in the New York Law Journal titled \"Law and the Family.\" He is the author of the treatise, Law and The Family New York, 2024 Edition (12 Volumes), Law and the Family New York Forms 2024 Edition (five volumes)(both Thomson Reuters) and their earlier editions. He is also the author of The New York Matrimonial Trial Handbook (Bookbaby 2017) and the New York Matrimonial Trial Handbook, 2d Edition (Bookbaby, 2024) Joel Brandes has written and lectured extensively. He has authored more than 600 articles that have appeared in legal journals. He is a former fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Family Lawyers. He co-chaired the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the New York State Bar Association, Family Law Section. In that capacity he moderated and participated in more than 150 seminars. He wrote a quarterly column, entitled Recent Decisions, Trends and Legislation, in the New York State Bar Association, Family Law Review. He writes and publishes Bits and Bytes, ™ a bi-monthly electronic newsletter for the New York divorce and family law bench and bar, a website, New York Divorce and Family Law ( and two blogs, “New York Divorce and Family Law” (https://brandeslaw.blogspot.com/) and “A Child is Missing: The International Child Abduction Blog”( https://joelbrandes.blogspot.com/). Mr. Brandes was counsel in the landmark Court of Appeals cases of Morone v Morone, Tucker v Tucker and McSparron v McSparron, and has more than 120 reported New York trial or appellate decisions. His blog, “A Child is Missing: The International Child Abduction Blog” has been selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in the historic collection of Internet materials related to the Legal Blawgs Web Archive.