Bethany A. Abele is a Partner in Riker Danzig’s Commercial Litigation Group, focusing her practice on banking and title insurance litigation.

She has represented title insurance companies and their insureds in a wide variety of actions, including coverage investigations, disputes between the insurance company and insured, and serving as retained counsel in matters concerning allegations of forgery, mortgage fraud schemes, priority disputes, boundary line disputes, and actions arising from alleged title defects. Bethany also handles foreclosure matters, including numerous complex commercial foreclosure actions.

Bethany has also been instrumental in contributing to the Firm’s collegial culture and charitable efforts. When beginning her legal career at Riker Danzig, she helped spearhead a toy drive for children during the holidays, something that she had also done in law school. Bethany now leads the initiative, collecting hundreds of toys and other gifts each year for donation to local charities to help brighten the holidays for families in need.

Bethany is co-host for the Firm’s title insurance podcast, “Title Nerds.” Each episode draws on insights from other members of the Firm on issues that impact those in the title insurance arena, such as real estate, governmental affairs, banking, and bankruptcy, discussing trends, pending legislation, and new laws that affect title insurers. Bethany has also presented at a number of seminars and webinars.

Bethany earned her bachelor’s degree from Lafayette College, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and earned her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, cum laude. While studying at Fordham University School of Law, Bethany was a staff member of the Fordham Urban Law Journal, President of the Catholic Law Students Association, and a member of the Board of Student Advisors.

Bethany was selected as a “Woman Attorney of the Year” by the New Jersey Law Journal for 2024.  This award recognizes attorneys who made an impact in the profession in the past two years.

Bethany is the President of the Morris County Bar Association and a past President of the Morris County Bar Foundation. She is a member of the MCBA’s Women Lawyers Committee, Civil Practice Committee, Chancery Committee, and Financial Services Committee. She served as the Co-Chair of the Morris County Bar Association Women Lawyers Committee from 2015 to 2018.

Bethany is a member of the Board of Directors of Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House, which provides services and resources to strengthen the community by helping people build better lives. Bethany is also a member of the Lafayette College Alumni Interfraternity and Sorority Board, and she is an Alumni Admissions Representative for the College.

New Jersey

New York

United States District Court, District of New Jersey

Fordham University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2006

Lafayette College, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 2003

Member, New Jersey Women Lawyers Association

President, Morris County Bar Association

Former Member, Leadership Council for the Young Professionals Group of Morristown Medical Center (2015-2017)

Member, Lafayette College Alumni Interfraternity and Sorority Board

Lafayette College Alumni Admissions Representative

Member, Commercial Real Estate Women of New Jersey (CREW NJ)

Past President, Morris County Bar Foundation

Board Member, Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House

Since 2020, Bethany has been included in The Best Lawyers in America®, a peer review of U.S. lawyers, in the Commercial Litigation field.

Bethany has been named by NJBIZ as a 2024 “Leaders in Law” Award Honoree. This annual program honors legal professionals, including both in-house attorneys and attorneys in private practice, whose dedication to their occupation and to their communities is outstanding. The honorees were selected by a panel of independent judges with experience in the justice system following a rigorous nomination process.

Bethany was selected as a “Woman Attorney of the Year” by the New Jersey Law Journal for 2024.  The award recognizes attorneys who made an impact in the profession in the past two years, based on their accomplishments in their legal practices, and leadership in the Firm and community. The award honors those attorneys who are leaving their mark on the New Jersey legal landscape.

Bethany was named one of the NJBIZ Forty Under 40 recipients for 2017. The Forty Under 40 awards program celebrates the state’s most accomplished young businesspeople who have been making headlines in their field and who share a commitment to business growth, professional excellence, and the community.

Bethany was also named a “New Leader of the Bar” in 2016 by the New Jersey Law Journal. The Law Journal selects for this recognition attorneys in their second decade of practice whose achievements in the workplace and public service involvement distinguish them from their peers.

Thomson Reuters has included Bethany on New Jersey’s “Super Lawyers” list for Business Litigation since 2022. Prior to that, Bethany received recognition from Thomson Reuters on its “Rising Stars” list for Business Litigation in 2010, and 2017-2021.

See Awards and Honors Methodology.

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