The Honorable Walter F. Skrod (Ret.) joined DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin, LLP as Of Counsel in January 2022 after serving nearly seven years as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge. Judge Skrod brings extensive experience to the firm, offering his expertise in the areas of alternate dispute resolution, mediation, and arbitration, as well as consultation with public and private sector clients. He also consults on trial presentations. Additionally, Judge Skrod is available to manage litigation as a special master and offers guidance to the firm regarding complex matters.

Appointed as a Superior Court Judge in Bergen County in 2015, Judge Skrod presided over domestic violence and child support trials in the Family Division until early in 2017. At that time, he commenced service as a trial judge in the Civil Division, where he conducted a range of civil jury trials, including several major personal injury cases involving commercial establishments and consumer products. Judge Skrod specialized in the settlement of major cases, inclusive of those involving insurance disputes, and personal injury or death resulting from aircraft crashes, malpractice, commercial establishment accidents, construction site accidents, and motor vehicle accidents.

Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court bench, Judge Skrod maintained an active civil litigation practice in the negligence field. He tried cases involving serious personal injury and property damage. Judge Skrod was managing attorney for the northern New Jersey staff counsel litigation office of Liberty Mutual for 20 years and served in that same role for GEICO for nearly seven years. He oversaw the preparation of and trial of hundreds of cases. Judge Skrod also served as the Englewood Cliffs municipal prosecutor for approximately five years.

Judge Skrod lectured for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education on the issue of defending damages in personal injury cases.

Judge Skrod earned his J.D. from Rutgers University Law School and his B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame, from which he graduated cum laude.

Judge Skrod is admitted to the New Jersey Bar, the Washington D.C. Bar, and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Judge Skrod is currently a member of the Bergen County Bar Association. He was a former member of the New Jersey Association for Justice (previously known as the ATLA-NJ). He was compelled to give up that membership when he became a Superior Court Judge. He has since rejoined NJAJ.