Bergen County

Avery & Avery, Esqs. is a Bergen County trial firm. We are headquartered in Ridgefield (ZIP 07657) in southeast Bergen, the home of Robert W. Avery’s fifteen-year tenure as Judge of the Ridgefield Municipal Court (1986-2000) and the firm’s continuous trial practice for more than five decades. We are not a regional marketing operation with an incidental Bergen presence. We are a working Bergen trial firm that appears at the Bergen County Justice Center, 10 Main Street, Hackensack the way most lawyers appear at their own offices.

If you have a Bergen County matter — criminal, DWI, traffic, personal injury, family, landlord-tenant, estate, municipal court — call (201) 943-2445 for a free first consultation.

Bergen County at a Glance

• Seat: Hackensack (population 46,030; ZIP 07601)
• Population: 955,732 (2020 Census) — NJ’s most populous county
• Municipalities: 70 incorporated cities, towns, boroughs, and townships
• Vicinage: Bergen Vicinage 2 — Bergen County Superior Court
• Justice Center: 10 Main Street, Hackensack — (201) 221-0700
• Surrogate: Bergen County Surrogate’s Court, Justice Center Room 211 — (201) 336-6700
• Trauma center: Hackensack University Medical Center (Level II)
• Major arteries: Route 4, Route 17, Route 80, NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, Palisades Interstate Parkway, GW Bridge

Where Bergen Cases Are Heard

Bergen County matters route to one of three principal forums:

Bergen County Superior Court — Hackensack

Indictable criminal matters (first- through fourth-degree crimes), contested civil matters, family-part divorce/custody/support, chancery equity, special civil part landlord-tenant, and the surrogate’s office all sit at the Bergen County Justice Center, 10 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601. The vicinage operates separate courthouse divisions for civil, criminal, family, and chancery work; parking runs along River Street and the Justice Center adjacent garage.

Bergen County Municipal Courts (~70)

Each Bergen municipality maintains its own municipal court (some neighboring small boroughs operate joint courts). Highest-volume courts include Hackensack, Fort Lee, Paramus, Englewood, Teaneck, Bergenfield, Ridgewood, and Mahwah. Each has its own judge rotation and prosecutor’s office; calendars run from weekly to twice-monthly depending on docket size.

Central Municipal Court of Bergen County

The Central Municipal Court of Bergen County at 71 Hudson Street, Hackensack handles consolidated dockets from multiple Bergen towns under shared-services agreements. Robert’s institutional knowledge of this court runs particularly deep.

Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office

Indictable matters arising in Bergen County are prosecuted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office at Two Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, NJ 07601 — phone (201) 226-5500 (crime tips (201) 226-5532). The office is led by Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella and is housed in the Bergen County Plaza complex adjacent to the Justice Center. Bergen Prosecutor’s office handles indictable felony presentations, the Bergen Vicinage’s PTI program under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12, the Megan’s Law unit, the Child Advocacy Center, the Veterans Diversion Program, and the Body Worn Camera review program. Defense intake on a third-degree-or-above Bergen matter routinely involves the Prosecutor’s pre-indictment conference and PTI screening.

Why Avery & Avery for Bergen County Matters

Three things distinguish our Bergen practice:

Fifty years of continuous Bergen practice. Robert W. Avery has practiced in Bergen County since 1976 — predating most of the firms on any modern competitor roster. We have argued before the Bergen Vicinage at every level over five decades.

Fifteen years on the Bergen municipal bench. Robert served as Judge of the Ridgefield Municipal Court from 1986 to 2000. There is no substitute for fifteen years of judicial service when your matter is heading to a Bergen municipal court.

Bergen County civic record. Robert was twice the Bergen County Republican Association’s nominee for county-wide office — Bergen County Freeholder (2014) and Bergen County Surrogate (2016). He served on the Ridgefield Borough Council and as Council President. Few attorneys in our roster have a comparable record of continuous Bergen County civic involvement.

Our Bergen County Practice Areas

We handle the full Title 2C and Title 39 docket in Bergen, plus civil and family-part work:

• Bergen County Criminal Defense — DP, indictable, federal-court matters at the Justice Center
• Bergen County DWI — Alcotest defense, refusal, multi-offense across all 70 Bergen municipal courts
• Bergen County Traffic — Title 39 defense; Route 4 / Route 17 / I-80 speeding and reckless
• Bergen County Personal Injury — Auto, premises, wrongful death; coordination with Hackensack UMC and Englewood Hospital
• Bergen County Family Law — Bergen Vicinage 2 Family Part divorce, custody, support, alimony
• Bergen County Landlord-Tenant — Bergen Special Civil Part eviction and security-deposit recovery
• Bergen County Estate Planning — Bergen County Surrogate’s Court probate and inheritance-tax planning
• Bergen County Municipal Court — the cross-cutting Title 39 / DP / DWI practice, anchored by Robert’s fifteen years on the Ridgefield bench

Bergen Cities We Serve

We serve all 70 Bergen municipalities. Highlighted city landings:

• Ridgefield — our home base; Robert’s bench
• Hackensack — county seat
  • Justice Center

Other Bergen towns we routinely appear in: Fort Lee, Paramus, Englewood, Teaneck, Bergenfield, Ridgewood, Fair Lawn, Mahwah, Garfield, Cliffside Park, Lodi, Lyndhurst, Edgewater, Rutherford, Tenafly, Westwood, Dumont, Hasbrouck Heights, Maywood, Wyckoff, Hillsdale, Ramsey, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, New Milford, Glen Rock, Oakland, Montvale — and the rest of the seventy.

Bergen County Geographic Footprint

Bergen County is bounded by the Hudson River (east), Rockland County NY (north), Passaic County (west), and the Meadowlands / Hudson County (south). Major arteries:

• Route 4 — east-west spine; runs through Hackensack
• Route 17 — north-south spine; Route 17 traffic enforcement is among the heaviest in NJ
• I-80 — east-west; major freight + commute corridor
• NJ Turnpike (I-95) — eastern Bergen; Exit 70 (Ridgefield/Palisades Park), Exit 72 (Fort Lee/GWB)
• Garden State Parkway — Bergen Exit 161 (Hackensack)
• Palisades Interstate Parkway — northern Bergen palisades cliffs
• George Washington Bridge — Fort Lee gateway to Manhattan

These arteries drive the recurring fact patterns of our DWI, traffic, and personal-injury caseload.

Schedule a Free Bergen County Consultation

For a free first consultation, call (201) 943-2445 — Robert or John picks up — or submit through the form. Same-business-day response. After hours, leave a voicemail; we return calls promptly the next morning.

For background on the firm, see About, Robert W. Avery’s bio, and John S. Avery’s bio.