New Jersey

Disbarred in Pa. and Del. (Where He Wasn’t Even Licensed), Young Attorney Is Merely Censured in NJ

An inexperienced attorney, licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, got into trouble by helping a Delaware accountant prepare estate documents, including wills for his clients. But he didn’t violate attorney ethics rules intentionally, a Delaware tribunal found. Nonetheless, Leonard Kingsley was disbarred both in Delaware—where he was never licensed to…

Jan 6, 2011 9:45 PM CST

Dispute Over $5 Municipal Meeting CD Costs Township $17K, All But $4.04 for Attorney’s Fees

Charged a $5 fee for a compact disc recording of a 2008 municipal meeting in Bridgewater, N.J., resident Tom Coulter thought the fee, which is set by a municipal ordinance, was excessive. So he complained to the New Jersey Government Records Council, which agreed. The township now offers a CD…

Dec 23, 2010 5:16 PM CST

Is Plastic Santa’s Ho-Ho-Ho (and Singing) Too Loud? N.J. Judge Must Decide

Jill Patella clearly enjoys Christmas. A video of her New Jersey home shows decorations in every window and a plethora of holiday lights. She even has her toilet decorated with a special seat cover and commode rug. But a neighbor says the ho-hos and singing of a life-size plastic Santa…

Dec 22, 2010 12:43 AM CST

Shock Jock Hal Turner Gets 33 Months for Threatening 7th Circuit Judges in Blog Post

Defiant to the end, an Internet radio shock jock sought probation today for saying in a blog post that three federal appeals court judges in Chicago “deserved to be killed” for their rulings in gun-ban litigation while simultaneously accusing the judge in his own Brooklyn federal court case of “legal…

Dec 21, 2010 8:38 PM CST

Ex-Client Sues Winston and Ex-Partner, Says His $1M Covered Uma Thurman Loss in Starr Theft

Following news last week that a former partner of Winston & Strawn had been both criminally charged and sued by the feds over his alleged role in a $20 million theft from a New York money manager’s investors comes news today that one of those investors has sued both the…

Dec 21, 2010 1:01 AM CST

Nun Who Thought Lawyer Was Sent By God Is Disappointed by Alleged Theft

A disbarred New Jersey lawyer has been indicted on charges that he stole about $35,000 from a nonprofit law firm founded by a nun. Gary R. Thompson of Pequannock was charged with theft in a 45-count indictment, the Daily Record reports. His one-time employer, Sister Rosemary McSorley, is both a…

Dec 15, 2010 3:02 PM CST

Rutgers Suicide Case Sets Up Test of NJ Privacy Law

The case of two college students who used a computer to spy on a gay student’s romantic encounter could be the first legal test of New Jersey’s 2003 invasion of privacy law. Tyler Clementi, 18, committed suicide after the incident. Clementi’s roommate, 18-year-old Dharun Ravi, and another classmate, 18-year-old Molly…

Nov 8, 2010 10:30 AM CST

Judge Pays Annual Registration Fee with Rubber Check—Twice—Then Sends Money Order

A New Jersey jurist paid her annual bar registration dues with a rubber check—twice—before submitting a money order to cover the balance. But Trenton Municipal Judge Renee LaMarre Sumners is now a lawyer in good standing, after local newspaper coverage Thursday apparently spurred her to ante up again, according to…

Nov 4, 2010 8:12 PM CDT

Former Law Firm MP and Ex-NJ State Sen. Arraigned in ‘Retainer’ Legislative Bribe Case

A former New Jersey state senator was arraigned today in prison garb along with the business-suited former managing partner of a law firm who is reportedly battling cancer and was barely able to walk into the federal court in Newark with the help of his attorney. Both pleaded not guilty…

Nov 3, 2010 5:07 PM CDT

NJ Lawyer Censured for Taking Items from Blind Vendor

A New Jersey lawyer has been censured for taking food and drinks from a blind refreshment stand vendor without paying for the items. The now-retired lawyer, Elwood John Walzer, had claimed the vendor was cantankerous and didn’t like to make change. Walzer said he took the items when he had…

Oct 25, 2010 12:26 PM CDT

Lawyer Had His Name on the Marquee But Wasn’t a Partner, Appeals Court Says

A New Jersey lawyer who had his name on the law firm marquee wasn’t a partner entitled to a payout when he was booted from the law firm, an appeals court has ruled. A trial judge had awarded lawyer Raymond Nadel $2.9 million, but a New Jersey appeals court reversed,…

Oct 22, 2010 12:29 PM CDT

Municipal Judge Appeals Kibosh on 2nd Gig as Stand-Up Comedian

Nixed when he sought permission to continue with his longstanding sideline as a stand-up comedian, a New Jersey municipal judge will soon explain his position to the state supreme court. It has agreed to hear the appeals of South Hackensack Judge Vincenzo Sicari, 41, from the kibosh put on his…

Oct 15, 2010 11:29 AM CDT

High-Ranking Prison Official Charged with Seeking Bribes for Help with Discrimination Case

A high-ranking official with the New Jersey Department of Corrections has been arrested on federal bribery charges. Among the accusations against Lydell Sherrer, 51, is that he accepted $4,000 in bribes to provide a fellow employee with internal documents to use in a discrimination lawsuit against the department, reports the…

Oct 14, 2010 12:47 AM CDT

Rutgers E-Mail Sought re Now-Dead Student’s Complaint Roomie Was Spying on Him

A student who committed suicide after his roommate photographed him having sex in his dorm room and posted the footage on the Internet had complained to Rutgers University authorities shortly before he leapt to his death off the George Washington Bridge last month. Now Middlesex County prosecutors have obtained a…

Oct 7, 2010 11:23 PM CDT

EEOC Sues Port Authority, Alleges Women Lawyers Paid Less, Older Female Attorneys Fired

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a direct action against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, alleging that it pays women lawyers in non-supervisory jobs less than men who do substantially the same work and has fired two women lawyers in their fifties in order to…

Oct 6, 2010 9:26 PM CDT