Rahil Darbar

Clients rely on Rahil Darbar, a Principal in Porzio's Wealth Preservation Group, for compassionate advocacy and personalized guidance through challenging estate and trust disputes. He represents a broad range of clients who object to provisions contained in a decedent's will or who have been damaged by the administration of a trust or estate in which they have an interest. Clients also rely on Rahil when they are faced with a crisis and need immediate and emergent relief through litigation. Rahil prides himself on having a mastery over the procedural nuances in the Chancery and Probate Courts throughout the State of New Jersey and has filed emergent applications in nearly all 21 counties. He has litigated claims concerning:

• Challenges to the validity of a will due to undue influence over the testator, lack of capacity of the testator, or defective execution of the will;
• Accounting proceedings to defend or challenge the management of an estate or trust;
• Contested guardianship proceedings to determine whether a guardian is needed and/or who should serve in that capacity;
• Fiduciary removal proceedings to remove an executor, trustee, or guardian due to incompetence or misconduct;
• Obtaining temporary and preliminary injunctive relief when substantial assets of clients are at risk of being misused or diluted.

Rahil employs a practical and cost-effective approach to every matter and directs the litigation to achieve the specific goals demanded by his clients. When matters cannot be resolved through settlement, Rahil is prepared to go to trial and has obtained favorable decisions for his clients through jury and bench trials.

Rahil’s experience with probate litigation gives him a unique and advantageous perspective in planning for the Firm’s individual and business clients. He tailors estate plans and provides guidance to high net worth clients and families who seek to reduce and limit future litigation. 

He maintains strong ties to the South Asian community and is the VP of Programming for the South Asian Bar Association of North America. He is a Past President of the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey and Co-Chair of its Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee. He is also a Barrister of the Justice Morris Pashman Inn of Court in Bergen County, an organization dedicated to the continued development of trial lawyers.

• New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law - Professional Lawyer of the Year, SABA-NJ (2020)
• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America - Commercial Litigation (2021-2025)

• South Asian Bar Association of North America - Vice President of Programming
• South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey - Co-Chair, Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee; Past President (2020)
• District Ethics Committee for East Morris and Sussex Counties (District XA) - Former member
• Battered Women’s Legal Advocacy Project (BWLAP) – Pro Bono Volunteer Attorney
• Legal Services of Northwest Jersey – Pro Bono Volunteer Attorney
• New Jersey State Bar Association
• Justice Morris Pashman Inn of Court
• Morris County Chamber of Commerce
• Leadership Morris  - Alumni

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Rahil's recent set of professional accomplishments include:

• Completed a bench trial to a favorable verdict in Middlesex County Chancery Division, Probate Part, where he advocated for the second wife of a Decedent being sued by Decedent’s two children from the first marriage, over substantial probate and non-probate assets.
• Obtained a favorable verdict after a six day bench trial in Hudson County Chancery Division, Probate Part, where he successfully defended a former executor of an Estate from claims of fiduciary breach and mismanagement.
• Has obtained numerous temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctive relief for his clients where a fiduciary has engaged in financial improprieties or mismanagement of assets.
• Garnered a dismissal of products liability claims for a major retailer of workout equipment arising out of catastrophic injuries sustained by the Plaintiff under the doctrine of Forum Non Conveniens and failure to join an indispensable party under R. 4:6-2(f).  Plaintiff appealed and Mr. Darbar prepared the opposition brief that resulted in a successful affirmation of the trial court's decision. Nikirk v. ConducTV Brands, No. A-1217-19T3 (App. Div. February 4, 2021).
• Served as trial counsel in November 2019 for the world’s second largest manufacturer of elevators in in a multi-million dollar construction defect litigation with over fifteen defendants and obtained a favorable settlement before a jury verdict.
• Acquired a complete dismissal of Consumer Fraud, Consumer Protection, and Breach of Contract claims for a family owned and operated pool manufacturer. Hamrahi v. Carlton Pools, Inc., ESX-L-8628-17 (Law Div. September 20, 2019).
• Obtained dismissal of anti-trust, RICO, fraud, and privacy claims for the world's largest social media company in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Shulman, d/b/a Advances Magazine v. Facebook. et als., 2018 WL 3344236 (D.N.J. 2018).