Overview
Jacqueline Harounian is the Managing Partner and sole shareholder of Wisselman Harounian Family Law, P.C. The firm was established in 1976 and is a recognized leader in the field of matrimonial and family law for nearly 50 years. Jackie has been recognized with every major award in the industry including designation as a Trailblazer in Family Law by The National Law Journal.
Jackie began with the firm as a law student and unpaid intern in 1993. Over the next 30 years, she climbed the ranks up to the top spot: Managing Partner. The firm’s current partners (Jackie, Derrick, Lloyd and Jordan) have been working together for more than 20 years as the firm has grown. The firm’s team of 20 attorneys, mediators and paralegals work together each day to create a truly unique law firm that was missing in the marketplace. A firm that focuses on compassionate, proactive strategy and solutions-based advocacy that minimizes stress and conflict while protecting clients’ interests. This approach is holistic to the co-parenting dynamic — in the short term and long term — and leads to faster settlements. It is also notable that the firm’s support staff, most of whom have been with the firm for over a decade if not longer, consistently receive positive feedback from clients, the courts, and referral partners. From the very first call to our office until the end of the case, our support staff is respectful, empathetic and responsive.
Jackie’s educational background includes Columbia College (BA 1991, with honors); Hofstra Law School (JD 1994, with honors) and SUNY (Behavioral Forensic Psychology 2017, with honors). In 2017, she was trained as a counselor for victims of sexual assault by The Safe Center.
Jackie’s unique multidisciplinary and multicultural background, including a graduate degree in Psychology and Family Systems Therapy enables her to adeptly handle complex divorce and custody matters with a holistic and compassionate approach. Although she is highly experienced trial and appellate advocate, she believes that a negotiated settlement is almost always the best strategy, especially if there are minor children and co-parenting is desired. Her commitment to her clients includes compassionate guidance and individual attention, coupled with a results oriented strategy, and is reflected in the referrals the firm receives from former clients, professional colleagues and judges. Jackie’s exceptional acumen, strategic foresight and commitment to community service sets her apart from her peers.
Born to Iranian immigrants, Jackie is fluent in Farsi, and has extensive experience in Eastern and Middle Eastern religious and cultural divorce matters. Her writings on Legal Implications of Religious Divorce have been published in The New York Law Journal as well as many other national publications. She has presented topics to lawyers and judges regarding the Islamic Mahr, and Jewish Gett at state and national conventions. In 2022, she was consulted by the Internal Revenue Service in connection with a high profile federal lawsuit involving estate and matrimonial issues and religious divorce.
In 2013, Jackie was admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court in Washington DC. In 2013 and again in 2016, Jackie had the opportunity to meet and have lunch with her greatest role model, the late Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Justice of the Supreme Court.
As a leading advocate for victims of domestic violence, Jackie has performed extensive pro bono work for victims’ services agencies. Since 2021, she has served as co- Chair of the Matrimonial and Family Law Committee of the New York Women’s Bar Association. She is serves on the Executive Board of Mondays Cancer Care Foundation, and as an Executive Officer of the Brandeis Bar Association.
Jackie is honored to be recognized as AV Preeminent 2024 (more than ten years consecutively) by Martindale Hubbell, the highest possible rating for ethics and professionalism. Her firm’s lawyers were recognized as 2024 “Best Lawyers” by US News and World Report, and as a 2024 Tier One Law Firm. Jackie is recognized as a 2024 Top Woman Lawyer by New York Magazine and New York Law Journal, and was repeatedly chosen to the Super Lawyers most prestigious list – “Top 50 Women Lawyers” in New York.
Jackie and her husband Maurice have four adult children and reside in Nassau County, New York. Jackie enjoys tennis and sailing on Long Island Sound, and spending her treasured down time with her family, including the Honorable Ziggy Harounian, a bernadoodle puppy that rules the house.
Awards & Recognitions
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- 2010-2024 AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell®
- 2019-2024 Best Law Firms, US News & World Report
- 2024 Super Lawyers New York
- Twice Selected Top 50 Women Super Lawyer in New York
- 2020 Trailblazer Award by The National Law Journal
- 2020 Long Island Herald “Premier Business Women Awards
- 2019 Power Women in Business
- 2019 Nominated Top 10 Attorney – AIOFLA
- 2018 UJA Humanitarian of the Year
- 2017 Access to Justice Champion / Pro Bono
- 2016 Outstanding Woman in Law by Hofstra Law
- 2016 Corporate Citizen Award, Long Island Business News
- 2014 Top Titan Divorce Lawyer (https://nycdivorcelawyer.com/the-titans-divorce-saloon-presents-the-top-10-male-and-female-divorce-attorneys-in-new-york-city/)
- 2014 HIA-LI Those Who Make A Difference Honoree
- 2013 May W. Newburger, Roll of Honor
Jackie is a published author: Divorce Reality Check, published in 2016, bestseller Networked (2021), both available on Amazon (print and Kindle) and other major booksellers.
Practice Areas
Community Involvement
- Current Ambassador and Corporate Sponsor – Sunrise Day Camp for Children with Cancer
- Current Chair – WBASNY State Bar Association Matrimonial Committee
- Current Executive Board – Mondays Cancer Care Foundation
- Current Executive Board – Brandeis Bar Association
- Current Board of Directors – JALBCA (Judges and Lawyers Breast Cancer Alert)
- Legal Counsel – Bad Moms of Long Island
- Past Board of Directors, Nassau Women’s Bar Matrimonial Law Committee, Nassau Women’s Bar Association
- Past Co-Chair, Domestic Violence Committee, Nassau County Women’s Bar Association
- Appointed, Nassau Legal Marijuana Task Force
- Past Chair, UJA Federation LI Professional Council
- SAFER Rape Crisis Counselor, The Safe Center
- Past Board of Trustees, Long Island Crisis Center
- Yashar Hadassah Lawyers and Judges (Former President.)