Thomas R. Lahey

Thomas R. Lahey is an Associate in Schenck Price’s Elder and Special Needs Law, Estate and Trust Litigation and Estate, Gift & Charitable Planning Practice Groups, where his practice focuses on elder law, estate planning, estate administration, and trust and estate litigation.

Thomas advises individuals and families on the development of comprehensive estate plans tailored to meet their unique financial and personal goals. His work includes sophisticated estate and trust tax planning, estate and trust administration, special needs planning, and elder law strategies. In addition to his planning work, Thomas is actively involved in litigation matters, representing clients in fiduciary disputes, contested probate proceedings, guardianship litigation, and fiduciary accounting actions.

Thomas is frequently appointed by the court in New Jersey to serve in fiduciary and advocacy roles. These include appointments as counsel and Guardian ad Litem for alleged incapacitated persons or minors, temporary or substitute fiduciary in contested estate actions, and Special Fiscal Agent in corporate litigation involving closely held businesses.

He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), both nationally and in the New Jersey chapter, the Greater New Jersey Estate Planning Council, and the Trusts & Estates and Elder Law sections of both the New Jersey and New York State Bar Associations. Thomas is also active in the Bergen County and Morris County Bar Associations and is currently serving as a pupil in the Morris Pashman Inn of Court for the 2024–2026 term.

Before joining Schenck Price, Thomas practiced in the trusts and estates department of a prominent New York-area law firm. He previously served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable James J. DeLuca, J.S.C. (Ret.) and completed internships with the Honorable Menelaos W. Toskos, P.J.Ch. (Ret.) and the Honorable Vincent F. Papalia, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge.

Thomas earned dual B.A. degrees in International Relations and Philosophy from The Catholic University of America and received his J.D., cum laude, from Rutgers Law School (Newark). While in law school, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Rutgers University Business Law Review and was a Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics during the 2019–2020 academic year.