Rita F. Barone, Esq.            

ASSOCIATE
Rita F. Barone received her B.A. degree in History from Rutgers University in 1992, and her J.D. degree, cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1995. At Seton Hall, Ms. Barone served as the Symposium Coordinator for the Constitutional Law Journal.

Following law school, Ms. Barone served as law clerk to the Honorable Joseph C. Messina, J.S.C. in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County. She then joined the firm of Sullivan & Graber, where she practiced civil litigation in the area of insurance fraud defense.

Since joining Purcell, Ries, Shannon, Mulcahy & O'Neill in 1998, Ms. Barone has developed expertise in the area of School Law. She has represented numerous school boards throughout the State in the areas of special education, residency issues, student discipline and personnel matters. She also has significant trial experience in both the defense and prosecution of cases in the areas of employment, personal injury, insurance and disability law.

Ms. Barone has lectured to school district employees in the area of special education law. She is an Adjunct Professor of Legal Research and Writing at Seton Hall University School of Law. She is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and served on the Executive Committee of the Young Lawyer's Division. Ms. Barone is also a member of the New Jersey Association of School Attorneys, the New Jersey Defense Association and the Somerset and Morris County Bar Associations. Her community involvement includes Vice President of the Morris Area League of Women Voters, committee member on the State League of Women Voter’s study on regionalization of school districts and member of the United Way of Morris County Women's Leadership Initiative.

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