New Jersey

Judge wasn’t required to help police arrest her fugitive boyfriend, her lawyer says

A suspended New Jersey superior court judge charged with hindering the arrest of her then-boyfriend, a fugitive wanted in an armed robbery case who was found at the judge’s home, wasn’t required to do more than she did, her lawyer told a Somerset County judge on Tuesday. Hence, the case…

Nov 18, 2015 5:00 PM CST

Ex-BigLaw clerk admits stealing deal info; his law classmate gave tips to broker, then ate the notes

A former managing clerk in the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has admitted stealing deal information from its computer systems and taken a plea in an insider-trading case. Steven Metro, now 41, is the third of three defendants in the Newark case to do so. None has…

Nov 12, 2015 4:35 PM CST

Law firm offers free defense to military veterans booked for traffic offenses on Veterans Day

A New Jersey law firm is offering a free defense to military veterans charged with a traffic offense on Veterans Day. “Whether it’s a serious matter, like a DWI, or a speeding ticket, we will take care of it for free,” attorney Al Mollo of the Mollo Law Firm told…

Nov 10, 2015 4:30 PM CST

Judge faces ethics case for driving drunk, allegedly using office to try to avoid DUI citation

A New Jersey municipal judge who pleaded guilty to drunken driving earlier this year now faces a legal ethics case both for the DUI and because he allegedly tried to use his office in an effort to avoid the driving-under-the-influence citation. Judge Dennis Baptista, who sits in Phillipsburg, was recorded…

Nov 3, 2015 3:25 PM CST

New Jersey sheriff’s officer charged with illegally giving juvenile’s mugshots to newspaper

A New Jersey sheriff’s officer has been arrested on charges that he illegally leaked arrest photos of a juvenile shooting victim to a newspaper. Mercer County sheriff’s officer Christopher J. McKenna is charged with wrongful access and disclosure of information, a third-degree felony punishable by three to five years in…

Nov 2, 2015 3:15 PM CST

Our hamster toy looks nothing like Fox News anchor, says Hasbro in response to lawsuit

A hamster toy manufactured by Hasbro Inc. shares a Fox News anchorwoman’s name. But it looks nothing like Harris Faulkner, the award-winning anchor of Fox Report Weekend, and hence her lawsuit against the toymaker must fail, the company argues in a motion to dismiss (PDF) filed last week. Citing the…

Nov 2, 2015 7:05 AM CST

Ex-client charged with arson in fires at law firm and prosecutor’s office gets 16 years

A New Jersey man was sentenced Friday to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to crimes related to fires set earlier this year at the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office and a Vineland law firm. Felix R. Lopez, 30, pleaded guilty to arson and employing a juvenile in the commission…

Oct 30, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

Nurse who was quarantined during Ebola scare sues Gov. Chris Christie

A nurse quarantined during last year’s Ebola scare is suing the governor of New Jersey. The Record and the Associated Press reported Thursday that nurse Kaci Hickox has sued Republican Gov. Chris Christie and several members of his administration for violating her constitutional rights. Last October, Hickox was flying home…

Oct 23, 2015 4:40 PM CDT

Appeals court nixes 10-year plea deal in claimed contract hit attempt on family lawyer

An appeals court has nixed a plea deal by one of the men allegedly involved in performing a claimed contract hit attempt on a New Jersey divorce lawyer in 2002. However, that means that all the original charges will be reinstated against defendant Vancleve Ashley, who had gotten a 10-year…

Oct 15, 2015 12:10 PM CDT

Man was fired for passing gas, disability suit says

Updated: A New Jersey worker was fired for passing gas, his wife says in a disability suit filed against his now-former employer. Plaintiff Louann Clem, who also worked at the same company as her husband, Richard, says he suffered from gastric distress after having bypass surgery for his obesity, reports…

Oct 2, 2015 2:05 PM CDT

Despite lack of law license, man represents clients in court in New York and New Jersey

Operating from a New York City law office, Mikhail Perlov represented clients in court in criminal matters in Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan and Queens, as well as Belmar and Rahway, New Jersey. But there was one big problem: He wasn’t licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey or any…

Sep 28, 2015 9:05 AM CDT

Client shouldn’t be punished with judgment for no-show lawyer at arbitration, appeals court says

A lawyer’s failure to show up at an arbitration hearing should not result in a judgment against her client, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled. The unpublished Sept. 24 opinion (PDF) said the client, grape seller Giuliano S.R.L., should not have to “bear the brunt of counsel’s apparent confusion…

Sep 28, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

New Jersey judge accused of making vulgar, suggestive remarks faces disciplinary charges

A New Jersey judge faces disciplinary charges for allegedly making vulgar and sexually suggestive remarks to lawyers and witnesses. In a complaint made public Tuesday, a state committee on judicial conduct accused Passaic County Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli of showing “poor judgment and a lack of dignity and…

Sep 23, 2015 12:50 PM CDT

Jackson Lewis opens Jersey Shore office, said to be the first BigLaw firm to locate there

Labor and employment powerhouse Jackson Lewis is opening an office on the Jersey Shore. The 800-attorney boutique’s new Monmouth County outpost is believed to be the first Jersey Shore office for any Am Law 100 firm, Bloomberg BNA reports. It will be staffed with five lawyers from Giordano Halleran &…

Sep 16, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Insurer not liable for $1M law firm judgment for turning over child’s passport, federal judge rules

A New Jersey law firm’s malpractice insurance carrier doesn’t have to pay a state-court judgment of nearly $1 million that is linked to a parental-kidnapping case, a federal judge has ruled. Granting a summary judgment motion in the declaratory judgment action, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas found that the law…

Sep 15, 2015 6:25 AM CDT