Dawn Attwood

Dawn Attwood serves as co-chair of the firm's Insurance Law practice.  Her complex civil litigation practice focuses on public entity defense and insurance defense, as well as employment and commercial litigation on behalf of both public and private sector clients. Dawn has extensive experience at the trial and appellate levels representing private commercial insureds, the State of New Jersey, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, New Jersey Transit, a number of county prosecutor’s offices, boards of education, and municipalities. She is proficient in handling product liability, civil rights, and employment actions, along with dram shop, premises liability, automotive liability and coverage matters. She has also represented private clients with respect to bar admissions. She has handled numerous appeals in both the Appellate Division and Supreme Court of New Jersey and has been granted certification several times on novel and significant legal issues.

Prior to joining Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, Dawn was a partner at DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole, LLP. Before that, she spent five years with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, where she defended the State in tort, contractual and employment litigation matters and tried several civil jury matters involving the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the Federal Employer’s Liability Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. As co-counsel, she assisted in the successful prosecution of a municipal court judge in a trial before a specially appointed three-judge panel, affirmed on appeal to the Supreme Court of New Jersey. 

Reported Decisions

• Stewart, et al. v. New Jersey Turnpike Authority, et al., 249 N.J. 642 (2022)
• Jones v. Morey's Pier, Inc. 230 N.J. 142 (2017)
• Mandal v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, 430 N.J. Super. 287 (App. Div.), petition for certif. denied (2013)
• Mann v. Heil Packer, 2010 WL 98883 (App. Div. 2010)
• Hyatt v. County of Passaic, 340 Fed. Appx. (3rd Cir. 2009)

Honors & Recognitions

Selected for inclusion in the list of:

• New Jersey Law Journal, Mentors, 2021
• New Jersey Super Lawyers, 2020, 2022-2024
• Martindale Hubbell, AV Preeminent

The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found at http://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.html.

The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings list is issued by Martindale-Hubbell. A description of the selection methodology can be found at http://www.martindale.com/Products_and_Services/Client_Review_Ratings.aspx.

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Community & Professional

• New Jersey State Bar Association
• Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey