Business, Estate and Financial Services Attorney

Ms. Adu is the current Chair of the Trusts, Estates and Finance Practice Group at Lyons & Associates, where her practice is devoted to all aspects of wills, trusts and estates, guardianships, and corporate litigation and consultation. Additionally, her matrimonial and family law practice focuses on matters including appeals, special needs families and Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs). Ms. Adu was selected as a New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Star for her work in family law for years 2020 and 2021.

In her personal life, Joanna is the parent of a child with special needs. As a special needs parent, Joanna has an innate understanding of the issues and concerns of special needs families, including providing for their future care through special need trusts, family law issues involving special needs children, and guardianship petitions.

In addition to her law practice, Ms. Adu has served as a speaker and panelist for professional presentations and attorney Continuing Legal Education seminars on a variety of family and elder law topics including: signs and symptoms of financial elder abuse, child support, family law ethics, and diversity and inclusion, among others. She is also a Director for SERV Achievement Centers, a subsidiary of SERV Behavioral Health Systems, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides an array of services, supports and housing for individuals with developmental disabilities, mental illness and substance abuse issues.  

Prior to joining Lyons & Associates, P.C., Joanna served as an appellate law clerk for the Honorable Susan L. Reisner, P.J.A.D. (ret.). In her clerkship, Joanna worked on appeals involving an array of legal issues including civil litigation, mass tort litigation, land use, criminal law and various family matters including DCPP related abuse and neglect and/or termination of parental rights cases, child support, and domestic violence. Joanna graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Washington in 2006, and graduated with honors from the Seattle University School of Law in 2016.

Ms. Adu is admitted to practice in the State of New Jersey and the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey. She is a member of the New Jersey Association of Justice Matrimonial Law Committee, American Bar Association, National Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association, Garden State Bar Association, and Association of Black Women Lawyers.