Brian E. Shea
Partner
Brian E. Shea
Partner
Brian’s personal life-long experience with the disabled has become a passion for protecting our most vulnerable citizens. He is also a seasoned litigator who represents private clients in guardianship and estate litigation. Brian is frequently appointed by chancery judges across Northern New Jersey when the court needs a trusted professional.
Contact
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (201) 287-2498
Fax: (201) 489-0495
25 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
Practice Groups
Bar Admission
New Jersey
New York
Brian E. Shea is a partner in Rivkin Radler’s Elder Law and Trusts & Estates Practice Groups.
He practices in the areas of guardianship litigation, chancery litigation, and estate and trust administration and litigation.
Brian often performs services as court appointed counsel for allegedly incapacitated individuals in guardianship matters and as trustee/administrator in relation to contested chancery matters. He has been appointed numerous times as Guardian ad Litem, for both children and adults, in guardianship litigations, estate and trust litigations, and other matters. Brian has had the honor to serve as court appointed prosecutor pursuant to R. 1:10-2. He is also a court approved mediator and has also been selected to serve in the role of arbitrator.
Brian is a co-author of Volume 45 on “Elder Law – Guardianships and Conservatorships” and Volume 45A on “Elder Law – New Jersey Medicaid Laws and Regulations” for West Group’s New Jersey Practice treatise.
Brian is the creator of New Jersey’s first ever Guardianship Mentor Program. This program was conducted in cooperation with the Bergen County Bar Association and the Bergen County Surrogate to help serve our most vulnerable citizens and aid the court in resolving guardianship matters which have seen their highest number of filings for all years in which statistics have been recorded.
Brian received his undergraduate degree from St. Joseph’s University and his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law. Prior to engaging in private practice, from September 2005 through August 2006, Brian served a one-year judicial clerkship in the Superior Court of New Jersey for the Honorable James B. Convery, J.S.C., Lead Dissolution Judge, Chancery Division, Family Part, Essex Vicinage.
Brian is a graduate of the American Bar Association Section of Family Law National Institute for Trial Advocacy, an intensive professional training program in the art of trial skills.
Court Admissions
United States District Court of the District of New Jersey
Supreme Court of the United States of America
Bar Affiliations
New Jersey State Bar Association
Bergen County Bar Association
Education
Seton Hall University Law School, J.D.
St. Joseph University, B.S.
News & Publications
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Shea Reappointed as BCBA Trustee
April 24 | 2026 -
Leading Trusts & Estates Litigator Joins Rivkin Radler
April 7 | 2026
Brian is a member of the New Jersey State Supreme Court Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law.
He is a Trustee of the Bergen County Bar Association and currently co-chairs its Probate Litigation & Guardianship Committee and Estate Planning & Administration Committee. He is currently the chair of the association’s Elder Law Committee.
Brian is a member of the Board of Trustees for the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, New Jersey Chapter, and is the current legislative coordinator of the New Jersey State Bar Association Elder Law Section.
He is also a past District Chairman of the Bergen County District II-B Fee Arbitration Committee and a former member of the Juvenile Conference Committee in Passaic County.
Brian was selected to the 2026 New Jersey Super Lawyers list. Super Lawyers recognizes no more than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers in each state from more than 70 practice areas, who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. A description of the selection methodology can be found at https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process_detail.html.
