Alton L Abramowitz is one of Manhattan's best known and most productive matrimonial attorneys, a longtime leader of the divorce bar both at the state level and nationally. The 63-year-old New York native, a veteran of hundreds of cases, has long been an advocate of progressive change in the law, from pushing for a no-fault divorce law in New York to improving a slow-to-change matrimonial court system. Further, he's had a high profile for several years, as a sought-after source for such media as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Abramowitz is in many respects a classic divorce lawyer - tenacious, independent and tough-minded, while at the same time thoughtful and pragmatic. Although he strives to settle all of his cases out of court, he remains a litigator capable of waging battle when necessary.

Abramowitz attended Washington's American University at the height of the Vietnam War ("A time of great social and political ferment, and a fascinating time to be in school"), and his first opportunity after law school was in Rockland County, New York, as a legal services lawyer representing the indigent in civil cases. His combined instincts for fairness and enterprise served him well: He handled many domestic-relations cases and social benefits claims matters; he helped lead a class-action case against the State of New York on Medicaid claims. In all he was named in at least eight reported decisions, "heady stuff for a young lawyer." Not long after, the well-known divorce lawyer Irving Erdheim hired the young Abramowitz, launching him into more than 30 years of intense matrimonial litigation. Two years later he joined the firm of Samuel G. Fredman in its 5-lawyer matrimonial department. Over more than a decade the practice exploded, as did Abramowitz's reputation as an aggressive courtroom advocate. Truth was, "I was handling cases against much older and more experienced lawyers. It gave me confidence and energy."

For several years Abramowitz has worked in small boutiques; in 2006 he teamed with Hal Mayerson and other noted lawyers, helping make their firm one of leading divorce boutiques in Manhattan, a legal landscape that's famously high-stakes. Abramowitz has represented all types of people, from corporate CEOs to a Nobel Prize-winning economist to Grammy-award winning entertainers. A veteran of more than one divorce himself, Abramowitz has spent most of his career residing and working in New York City; "Living in the suburbs never worked for me." His 17-year-old daughter sings with a Manhattan opera company; he and his family live on the Upper East Side. They enjoy the theater, travel and the Knicks.