Hon. Rachelle L. Harz (Ret.) combines her 15 years of Civil Judicial experience, together with her 29 years of civil trial experience, to bring a unique skill set to her present Alternate Dispute Practice. Judge Harz has presided over all aspects of civil litigation including medical malpractice, professional liability, personal injury, employment matters, LAD, environmental matters, consumer fraud, commercial, corporate, and contract disputes, and nursing home litigation. From 2016-2023, Judge Harz was appointed to be one of three Judges in New Jersey designated to manage and try Muti-County Litigation matters (mass torts). Over the course of her Judicial career, Judge Harz has been a frequent lecturer for Trial Attorneys of America (TAA), the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), the American Bar Association (ABA), the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ) Educational Foundation, the Bergen County Bar Association, and the Mass Tort Bolch Judicial Institute, Duke Law School.
Judge Harz taught regularly at the Civil Judicial Orientation Program for newly appointed judges, as well as at New Jersey Judicial College, the yearly program for Judicial education.
Named a Super Lawyer 2005-2007, and listed in the top 50 Women New Jersey Super Lawyers in 2007, Judge Harz before her appointment to the bench was invited to appear on 60 Minutes as well as be a guest commentator on Court TV and New Jersey Network, Channel 13 television. Judge Harz's first 8 years of her private civil litigation practice was litigating all aspects of defense work for insurance carriers. Judge Harz subsequently spent many years involved with plaintiffs' medical malpractice and personal injury litigation in New Jersey and defense medical malpractice litigation in New York.