Gebhardt & Kiefer Welcomes Two New Attorneys

Gebhardt & Kiefer Law Offices is pleased to welcome two new attorneys to the firm:  Partner Jessica S. Swenson and Of Counsel attorney Kimberly L. Forino.

Jessica Swenson has over 16 years of experience in all aspects of family and matrimonial law, including divorce litigation, mediation and arbitration, custody and parenting time issues, alimony and child support, separation and property settlement agreements, prenuptial agreements, and domestic violence.  She has extensive family court litigation experience, and she is also trained as a mediator and trained in collaborative divorce. 

Prior to joining Gebhardt & Kiefer, Swenson was a Partner and Chair of the Family Law Department at an Essex County law firm. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, and her B.A. degree in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University.  After receiving her law degree, Swenson served as a clerk to Honorable Michael K. Diamond and Honorable George E. Sabbath in the Superior Court of New Jersey. 

Swenson is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association. She serves as a volunteer panelist for the Early Settlement Panel Program in Bergen County and Morris County, and she was appointed by the NJ Supreme Court to the District VC Ethics Committee.  She also serves as a board member of the West Essex Business Partnership, and as a volunteer for the Battered Women’s Legal Advocacy Project, a joint program with the Morris County Bar Association and the New Jersey Battered Women’s Service.

Kimberly Forino’s practice, spanning more than 15 years, includes business and transactional law, insurance defense, municipal law, land use, employment law, and general litigation.  She has successfully briefed and argued matters before the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, and the U.S. District Court for the District of NJ.  She is also a trained mediator.

Prior to joining Gebhardt & Kiefer, Forino ran a solo law practice advising small businesses on contractual, employment and regulatory matters.  She also served as General Counsel and Director of Corporate Compliance for an expansive NJ based health services organization.  And as an attorney for a NJ law firm, Forino successfully litigated and settled premises liability cases on behalf of a Fortune 100 retailer. 

Forino received her Juris Doctor degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, and her B.A. from Hofstra University, where she studied Philosophy and Business Law. During law school, Forino interned for a United States Magistrate Judge and worked in the Commercial Real Estate Department of an international law firm.  After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Roger W. Daley, J.S.C. in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Division. 

Forino is a current resident of Hunterdon County and a member of the Hunterdon County Bar Association.  She is a former resident of Bridgewater Township and was an appointed member of the Bridgewater Township Planning Board, serving as the Planning Board Liaison to the Bridgewater Township Environmental Commission.

Founded in 1884, Gebhardt & Kiefer has provided a broad range of legal services to individuals and businesses in Central and Northwestern NJ for 140 years.  The firm, currently comprising sixteen attorneys, has a strong reputation in matrimonial/family law, employment law, estate planning & administration, business law, real estate & land use, personal injury, municipal law, workers’ compensation, and general litigation.