Edward Nusbaum is an accomplished attorney who has practiced law in Westport for 49 years, with 42 of those years devoted to practicing family law exclusively. His firm, the Law Offices of Edward Nusbaum, deals with all manner of family law, including child support, alimony, asset distribution, life insurance and relocation.
Nusbaum”™s career began in 1973 with the Westport firm Nevas, Nevas & Rubin, and in 1976, Nusbaum went to work for another Westport-based law firm, Berkowitz & Balbirer, where his career began to shift toward family law.
“I then decided I would go out and start my own partnership with another lawyer in town,” Nusbaum recalled. However, “referrals were coming from former divorce clients. So as things progressed, I pretty much became known as an expert in family law.”
Nusbaum”™s work over the decades has received recognition from colleagues and publications, with “The Best Lawyers in America,” which utilizes a peer-reviewed methodology and voting process, recently recognizing his accomplishments for 2023. Nusbaum has also received accolades from other publications such as Connecticut Magazine, which recognized him as one of the “Top 50 Lawyers in the State,” and the Wall Street Journal, which recognized the Westport attorney as one of the “Best Lawyers in New England.”
Nusbaum who resides in Weston, is joined in his law firm by Harold W. Haldeman, a former JAG judge who has worked with him since 1999. At the firm, Haldeman”™s roles involve financial affidavits and discovery, and he also helps prepare Nusbaum for hearings and court cases.
“I would say 99% of the time spent in court is me,” Nusbaum said. Haldeman “gets all the paperwork done and makes sure that there”™s not one piece missing.”
The Law Offices of Edward Nusbaum have dealt with cases that resulted in changes within the law, most notably Bucy v. Bucy in 1980, which revolved around the question of whether treatment provided by a psychologist to a person with an eating disorder is considered a medical expense ”” which was found to be the case upon the trial”™s conclusion.
Maintaining good client relations and an always-available line of communication is an important goal of the Westport firm, with Nusbaum always striving to answer or at least acknowledge being in receipt of inquiries the very day clients send them.
“I give them my cell phone (number), even on vacation,” Nusbaum said. “I tell my clients I”™d rather they have a two-minute conversation with me nine o”™clock at night, than wring their hands all night and stay up worrying about something which probably was not worth two seconds of their time.”
Nusbaum”™s interactions vary depending on the client”™s disposition. He has found that some clients prefer to have a strictly professional, all-business relationship while others prefer a more light-hearted approach, being receptive to displays of some humor to what is an otherwise highly stressful subject like divorce.
“People who come into my office, I guarantee you one thing: they will walk out of here, no matter how great a job I do, with less than they walked in with,” Nusbaum stated.
While the firm will fight for its clients, it is above over-aggressive or exploitative strategies, according to Nusbaum.
“The Law Offices of Edward Nusbaum will never throw the first punch,” he said.
“We would prefer to keep things civil, provided that the other side doesn”™t throw the first punch. Hopefully, everybody plays nice in the sandbox, and the result is less acrimony and a more expeditious resolution, with less legal fees incurred.”
The firm has also made a point of not taking advantage of logistical issues that may arise due to the pandemic.
“We have elected not to weaponize the pandemic,” Nusbaum said, elaborating that if “someone needs access to the court, and I know they can”™t get it, I don”™t punish them by saying, ”˜I”™m not going to tell my client to pay a certain amount of alimony or make some sort of contribution because I know you can”™t get to court.”™”
Despite the many accolades and his pride in his work through the years, Nusbaum discouraged aspiring lawyers from pursuing a career in family law in today”™s legal landscape.
“I don”™t know what the future holds vis-Ã -vis the pandemic, and whether or not we ever get back to the way it was, but even the way it was, it was flawed,” he said. “Don”™t do it. Things have changed too measurably.”
