The Honorable Patricia K. Costello

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A pair of new and interesting twists in the ongoing story of lawyers resisting in-person appearances in Immigration Courts due to COVID-19 surfaced recently. First, an opinion was issued by the N.Y. State Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics stating that an attorney could withdraw from a case if he/she had a fear of contracting…

Every year, the New Jersey State Bar Association holds its Annual Meeting in Atlantic City. This year, for the first time ever, the Annual Meeting went virtual. Lawyers from CSG made history by participating in an ethics panel which drew the highest number of participants in the State Bar’s history.

Ronald Israel, Esq., Member,  and

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A Washington, D.C. firm seeking fees resulting from a successful Freedom of Information Act application learned that transparency is a must, especially when seeking fees from the public fisc.

King and Spalding, LLP sought fees but attempted to file the application under seal, claiming that to reveal its rates, staffing strategies and detailed billing would…

The N.J. State Appellate Division just reinforced guidelines for lawyers seeking  fees for work done in contested probate cases. Whether you represent the trustee, a beneficiary or challengers, if your hours are necessary and your rates are reasonable, you will be paid from the estate.

Decedent was young and had two minor children. He left …

Basic rules: when you represent an organization, you must make it clear to employees who wish to retain you that there is a potential conflict of interest. Further, you cannot breach the attorney-client confidentiality by testifying before a grand jury about conversation had with your clients.

How could the General Counsel of Penn State, a…

The New Jersey Supreme Court will hear a case with interesting implications for lawyers in private firms who are conscripted to represent indigent litigants. The Office of the Public Defender, through the staff attorneys and assigned (“pool”) attorneys, provide indigent criminal defendants with representation. Legislation has expanded their arena to include parents who are targets…

It’s estimated that almost 90% of the judges in the United States are elected. In New Jersey, they are not, with the exception of the County Surrogate, a quasi-judicial position with jurisdiction over Probate cases. Elected judges tend to be on social media more than non-elected judges, probably due to campaign demands.

The Passaic County…

Warning: the underlying facts and procedural history are cringeworthy. This is the saga of a medical malpractice case which is dismissed, leading to a legal malpractice case, which is wrongfully dismissed, leading to an Appellate Division case which exposes all the flawed decision-making.

Plaintiff died, allegedly of bedsore complications in a Jersey City nursing home in 2012. His daughter, as the representative of her father’s estate, retained defendant attorney to handle the medical malpractice case against the nursing home.

Defendant had never handled a medical malpractice case, but in preparation for this matter he read a book and researched the Affidavit of Merit (AOM) statute. Believing no AOM was necessary, defendant filed the complaint in 2013. He “initiated the action without conducting an investigation, a medical records review, or consulting with any experts before or after the complaint was filed.” (Opinion at 4). In April of 2014 the complaint was dismissed with prejudice for failing to file an AOM. Defendant then advised plaintiff she may have a cause of action against him for legal malpractice.
Continue Reading A Cascade of Errors