* Arnold H Rutkin

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A Boutique Family and Matrimonial Law Firm

Serving Fairfield County and beyond in high net worth, high income, and custody cases.

We are a boutique law firm handling only family and matrimonial law cases. For over 35 years, the law firm of Rutkin, Oldham & Needle has been dedicated to providing the highest level of service for high net worth, high income, and custody clients. From our location in an historic home in Westport (with a satellite office in Greenwich), our legal team is prepared to counsel and guide you with experience, compassion, and tenacity through what may prove the most difficult and important time in your life.

The firm's involvement in family law has included: written publications including treatises used by other practitioners and the courts themselves; speaking at and participating in local, national, and international legal seminars and educational events; and precedent-setting litigation in the courtroom. The Wendt v. Wendt case, litigated by the firm in 1997 (when it was known as Rutkin & Oldham, L.L.C.) , essentially redefined how the legal community and the greater population across the nation view marital financial arrangements. Courts now look at the true complexities of family life, which for upscale families can include a detailed look at your finances, the efforts that both men and women contribute to the family constellation and child custody issues. The courts make inquiry into the true nature and value of parental roles, assets, and income.

Whether you believe a spouse is hiding assets or income, or you believe you have significantly contributed to the income and assets of the family or career of your spouse, or your family is involved in a custody or relocation case, you will need highly experienced and understanding counsel to assist you during this trying time. Rutkin, Oldham & Needle, L.L.C., brings you the knowledge, focus, and legal skills needed to handle the complexities of high assets/income or parenting issues. Whether your case requires highly experienced trial attorneys or skilled settlement negotiators, or simply compassion and patience in difficult times – or all the above – we stand ready to help you. Our job is to educate and guide you though the process and help you prepare for life after divorce with competence, sensitivity, and dignity.

Arnold H Rutkin
Rutkin, Oldham & Needle LLC
5 Imperial Ave
Westport CT 06880-4302
Tel: 203 227-7301
Fax: 203 222-9295

* Fellow - American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

Arnold H. Rutkin has a distinguished career in family law and has helped shape how family law is perceived and handled. Since he began practicing law in 1965, he has developed an unprecedented level of experience in dealing with complex legal and sensitive personal and financial situations. He brings that experience, plus a vast knowledge of the law, the courts, and the practical aspects of litigation and negotiation to his handling of domestic relations matters. He grew up in a family business and became familiar with business issues. Among his best known accomplishments is the litigation of Wendt v. Wendt, which made national headlines and set legal precedents regarding the way that courts review financial arrangements in marriage – especially when there are significant assets involved. (Partner Sarah Oldham was co-counsel on the case.)

In addition to being the founder of Rutkin, Oldham and Needle, L.L.C., and an active practitioner, he has been a prolific writer of articles and publications on family law. For more than a decade, Attorney Rutkin was Editor-in-Chief of the Family Advocate, the flagship national publication on family law for the American Bar Association (ABA). He was also founder and executive editor of Connecticut Family Lawyer, the official newsletter of the family law section of the Connecticut Bar Association. Among his best known publications is the three-volume Connecticut Family Law and Practice, published by West Publishing for lawyers and judges dealing with domestic relations matters in Connecticut and which is frequently cited by the Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts. Attorney Rutkin also serves as a special master for family matters in the Connecticut court system.

In 1987, Attorney Rutkin was named by a National Law Journal survey as one of the best matrimonial lawyers in the United States. In 2002, he was named as one of the ten best family law attorneys by Worth magazine. He has also been selected as one of “Ten Leaders in Matrimonial & Divorce Law”; in Connecticut (the selection process is available here). Attorney Rutkin is recognized by his peers as one of the top 50 lawyers in Connecticut in a Connecticut Magazine article (the selection process is available here). He is also AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating possible by this national rating service (the rating process is available here). For the last decade, his fellow attorneys have chosen him for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (the selection process is available here). Because no fee is required to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor by the legal profession. (Please see the firm‘s “Publications” section for these and more articles about/by Attorney Rutkin.)

Attorney Rutkin is admitted to the Connecticut and United States Supreme Court bar. His professional affiliations include the American Bar Association, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Connecticut Bar Association, and the Fairfield County Bar Association. He has served either on the board or in an advisory capacity for many of these professional affiliations. He has been elected as a Fellow of both the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and is a Founding and Life Member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Foundation. In addition, he has been a lecturer for many various bar associations throughout the United States.

Through the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Attorney Rutkin introduced a divorce arbitration statute to authorize binding arbitration in actions for dissolution of marriage that do not involve child custody or support issues, and testified before the Connecticut legislature. The statute was subsequently signed into law and took effect on Oct 1, 2005. As a member of the executive committee of the Connecticut Bar Association, Attorney Rutkin testified at a state public hearing on House Bill 5536: An Act Concerning the Relocation of Parents Having Custody of Minor Children. This bill requires that, in child custody proceedings in which there is a motion by either parent regarding relocation with the child, the relocating parent has the burden of proving that the relocation is in the best interests of the child. This statute passed both chambers of the state General Assembly and was signed into law by the Governor in 2006.

Attorney Rutkin received his B.S. in Economics at Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania in 1961, and his J.D. at Boston University School of Law in 1964. He has three grown children and six grandchildren.