Derek M. Freed was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After attending Atlantic City High School, Derek graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, with a bachelor’s degree in history.

Derek attended law school at Rutgers-Camden. After graduating from Rutgers in 2000, with honors, Derek joined Fox Rothschild LLP as an associate. In October 2000, Derek began working with his future partners, Wendy M. Rosen and Barbara Ulrichsen, while at Fox Rothschild. The three have worked together ever since.
In June 2006, Barbara, Wendy and Derek left Fox Rothschild to form Ulrichsen Rosen & Freed. UR&F has devoted its practice almost exclusively to the field family law in the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Derek appears regularly before the Family Part in Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, and Burlington counties. He has litigated matters relating to virtually all aspects of family law. Along with Barbara Ulrichsen, Derek successfully argued the matter of A.B. v. S.E.W., 175 N.J. 588 (2003), before the New Jersey Supreme Court. Derek also co-authored the Amicus Curiae brief submitted to the New Jersey Supreme Court in the case of Gnall v. Gnall, 222 N.J. 414 (2015), on behalf of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Derek also has successfully represented clients in the Appellate Division in matters involving issues such as allocation of college tuition and expenses, enforcement of property settlement agreements, equitable distribution, alimony, child support, custody, and parenting time.

Derek is admitted to the bars of the State of New Jersey and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Derek’s practice focuses almost exclusively in the field of family law in New Jersey. He presently serves as a member of the executive committee of the family law section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. He is an Associate Managing Editor of the New Jersey Family Lawyer, a New Jersey State Bar Association publication. He is a member of the Matrimonial Lawyers Alliance. He was selected for inclusion in the New Jersey Super Lawyers edition 2014 though 2016 and has been listed in “Woodward/White’s Best Lawyers in America.” He is qualified as a mediator under New Jersey Court Rule 1:40 and has also been trained as a Collaborative Family Law attorney. He has also lectured on various family law topics for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education of New Jersey.

Derek resides in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. His outside interests include music and biographies. He is a dual citizen of the United States and Red Sox Nation.