Plan to merge Rutgers’ two law schools would end competition for students, faculties

Officials at Rutgers in New Jersey have announced a plan to merge the university’s two law schools at Camden and Newark. The merger, which would take place by the fall of 2014, would create one of the country’s largest law schools. Neither campus would be closed, but the schools would…

Mar 1, 2013 2:03 PM CST

ABA responds to Superstorm Sandy with a reinforced disaster response plan

Mar 1, 2013 7:40 AM CST

Fellow lawyer who took plea tells jury Paul Bergrin tried to ‘get to’ witnesses against clients

Updated: Convicted for his own role in a claimed New Jersey racketeering enterprise allegedly operated from a Newark law firm, Thomas Moran told a federal jury on Monday that the fellow attorney he once considered his mentor routinely threatened potential witnesses against criminal defense clients, the Record reports. Paul Bergrin…

Feb 26, 2013 9:13 PM CST

Does judge’s moonlighting as stand-up comic put judiciary in bad light? State’s top court to decide

Vince A. Sicari is a municipal judge in South Hackensack, N.J. He’s also a stand-up comic who performed Monday night at Carolines on Broadway in New York and recently warmed up the crowd before a taping of The Colbert Report and cracked jokes before an appearance by U.S. Supreme Court…

Feb 26, 2013 6:05 PM CST

Client drug dealer tells jury he and lawyer worked on witness hit list and laundering of bail money

A former client of Paul Bergrin testified Friday that he and the once-prominent New Jersey criminal defense attorney worked together on developing a list of individuals to eliminate as potential witnesses in his pending drug case by murdering them. Bergrin, a former state and federal prosecutor, also helped him with…

Feb 25, 2013 9:27 PM CST

Jury hears law office tape, is told attorney Paul Bergrin talked of witness hits, making $1M weekly

Updated: Clearly, Oscar Cordova isn’t the most pristine of witnesses. In testimony in federal court in Newark, N.J., on Tuesday, he admitted doing drugs and also said he had sex in his hotel room with women sent there by defendant Paul Bergrin, a prominent criminal defense attorney now on trial…

Feb 20, 2013 7:55 PM CST

Drug trafficker serving time testifies attorney sold kilos of coke from his law office

A witness currently serving time for drug trafficking admitted in federal court in Newark, N.J., on Monday that he hopes to get his sentence reduced by testifying against attorney Paul Bergrin, who is accused of operating his Newark criminal defense firm as a racketeering enterprise. But Rondre Kelly also insisted…

Feb 13, 2013 1:20 PM CST

Brick-and-mortar office requirements are relaxed for state’s lawyers

The Supreme Court of New Jersey has adopted an amendment that allows lawyers to practice from virtual offices—within a set of approved guidelines. While the amendment acknowledges the profession’s increased reliance on technology to communicate with clients and will no doubt ease the burden of costly permanent offices for many…

Feb 12, 2013 8:02 PM CST

Bad coffee leads to embezzlement case against law firm worker

A really bad cup of coffee that burned the lips of a Wisconsin law firm worker resulted in a criminal case against a co-worker who is now accused not only of tainting the beverage with a foreign substance but embezzling from her employer. Kay Lee Gysbers was released on a…

Feb 7, 2013 3:36 PM CST

18 charged with stealing $200M by getting 25,000 credit cards for fake individuals

A federal indictment unsealed in Newark, N.J., on Tuesday charges 18 people in what authorities said is one of the largest credit card frauds ever. The defendants are accused of faking identities for thousands of individuals, establishing bank accounts in their names and obtaining tens of thousands of credit cards…

Feb 5, 2013 5:30 PM CST

Woman says lawyer Paul Bergrin pushed her to lie, as a child, about her dad’s attack on her mom

A New Jersey defense attorney accused of operating his law firm as a racketeering enterprise pushed a 9-year-old girl about her father’s brutal attack on her mother, a witness for the prosecution told a federal jury in Newark on Monday. Now 20 years old, Carolyn Velez told the jury that…

Jan 29, 2013 7:23 PM CST

Subway agrees size does matter, says ‘footlong’ sandwiches should be 12 inches

After Internet complaints and at least two lawsuits contending that its “footlong” sandwiches don’t measure up to their billing, Subway issued a statement Thursday saying that the company will work harder to ensure that all of the chain’s 1-foot products are actually 12 inches long. While declining to comment specifically…

Jan 24, 2013 8:38 PM CST

Subway suit says ‘footlong’ sandwiches don’t measure up

A viral Facebook post that purportedly shows a Subway “footlong” sandwich doesn’t measure up to its 12-inch billing has created new problems for the national chain. Two men in New Jersey have filed suit over the issue, seeking damages and a change in practices in the Tuesday filing. And the…

Jan 23, 2013 7:35 PM CST

Is lawyer ‘a drug dealer, a pimp and a murderer’? Bergrin says he’s innocent, calls witnesses liars

The courtroom in Newark was packed Tuesday, as opening arguments began in the federal trial of a once-prominent New Jersey criminal defense attorney, who is accused of operating his law firm as a racketeering enterprise. Paul Bergrin, 57, used his law firm as a cover for criminal activity he orchestrated…

Jan 23, 2013 5:01 PM CST

Jury Selection Begins in Trial of Ex-Prosecutor Accused of Operating Law Firm as RICO Enterprise

Jury selection began this week in Newark in the latest federal trial of a former state and federal prosecutor accused of operating his New Jersey law firm as a racketeering enterprise. Paul W. Bergrin, 57, a once-prominent defense attorney, faces 26 counts including murder and drug trafficking. He is accused…

Jan 9, 2013 11:04 PM CST