Thomas R. Lahey is an Associate in Schenck Price’s Elder and Special Needs Law, Estate and Trust Litigation and Estate, Gift & Charitable Planning Practice Groups.
Thomas focuses his practice in the area of civil and probate litigation in both state and federal courts, specializing in representing both fiduciaries and beneficiaries in contested Will and Trust matters, accounting actions, applications to remove or substitute fiduciaries, guardianship litigation (including special medical guardianships and guardianships for minors), and actions to reform, modify or terminate Wills and Trusts. In addition to probate litigation, Thomas also represents clients in general equity litigation matters, including shareholder oppression and derivate disputes, actions to partition or quiet title to real property, actions to enforce trade secrets and unfair competition agreements, and other business partnership disputes.
In addition to his litigation specialty, Thomas regularly advises individuals and families on the development of comprehensive estate plans tailored to meet their unique financial and personal goals. His work includes sophisticated estate and trust tax planning, estate and trust administration, special needs planning, and elder law strategies.
He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), both nationally and in the New Jersey chapter, the Greater New Jersey Estate Planning Council, and the Trusts & Estates and Elder Law sections of both the New Jersey and New York State Bar Associations. Thomas is also active in the Bergen County and Morris County Bar Associations and is currently serving as a pupil in the Morris Pashman Inn of Court for the 2024–2026 term.
Before joining Schenck Price, Thomas practiced in the trusts and estates department of a prominent New York-area law firm. He previously served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable James J. DeLuca, J.S.C. (Ret.) and completed internships with the Honorable Menelaos W. Toskos, P.J.Ch. (Ret.) and the Honorable Vincent F. Papalia, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge.
While in law school, Thomas served as Editor-in-Chief of the Rutgers University Business Law Review and was a Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics during the 2019–2020 academic year.
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Selected to the 2026 & 2027 New Jersey Rising Stars® * list, published by Thomson Reuters
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Author, "Recent Changes to New Jersey Court Rules Regarding Probate and Guardianship Procedures," October 2, 2026
Author, "Appellate Divison Reaffirms Principles of Constitutional Due Process in Contested Guardianship Proceedings," June 5, 2026
Author, "New Jersey Legislature Adopts Uniform Partition of Heirs Act and Requires Trial Courts to Appoint Special Adjudicators to Value, Sell, and Dispose of Real Property," June 3, 2026
Author, "Federal Judge Rules that Communications between a Litigant and Public Artificial Intelligence Platform are Not Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege or Work-Product Doctrine," April 9, 2026
Author, "New Jersey Supreme Court Clarifies Attorney Duties to Non-Clients in Estate Planning and Adminstration Engagements," April 2, 2026
Author, "New Jersey Reforms its Guardianship Statute to Allow Parents of Minors with Developmental Disabilities to File for Guardianship Before the Minor's 18th Birthday," February 18, 2026
Author, "New Jersey Legislature Advances Bill Addressing Crucial Gap in the Law for Guardianship of Young Adults to Governor," November 4, 2025
Justice Morris Pashman Inns of Court, 2024-26 Term, Associate
New Jersey State Bar Association - Elder & Disability Law and Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Sections
Bergen County Bar Association - Elder & Disability Law and Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Sections
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys - National and New Jersey Chapters
The Catholic University of America,
B.A., International Politics, European Studies; Philosophy, Phi Sigma Alpha, National Political Science Honor Society, 2012
Admissions
New Jersey, 2020 District of Columbia, 2021 New York, 2022 United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 2026 United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2026 United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 2021