Cohn Lifland Practices Noted in Best Law Firm Rankings
Once again Cohn Lifland has been regionally ranked in three practice areas in the U.S. News-Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings.* Our firm received a Tier 1 Ranking, the highest level, for the Metropolitan New Jersey area in the category of Commercial Litigation and received Tier 2 Ranking for its Family Law and Family Law Mediation practices.
The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.
*No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the selection methodology can be found here.
Cohn Lifland Attorneys Recognized in "Top Lawyers" Rankings
Twenty-two Cohn Lifland attorneys -- in 19 areas of practice -- were recognized in the 2021 Bergen Magazine listing of "Top Lawyers"*:
*No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the selection methodology can be found here.
Joseph (Jay) B. Brown, Charles R. Cohen, Joshua P. Cohn, Audra DePaolo, Mercedes Diego, Matthew F. Gately, Lee S. Goldsmith M.D., Jordan S. Goldsmith, Jeffrey W. Herrmann, Leonard Z. Kaufmann, Julie L. Kim, Barry A. Knopf, Walter M. Luers, Andrew R. Macklin, Joseph A. Maurice, Peter S. Pearlman, Erika R. Piccirillo, Alex Pisarevsky, Richard A. Schnoll, Geri Landau Squire, Mary Ann Stokes, Allen Susser, Amanda S. Trigg
Maurice Recognized as Professional Lawyer of the Year
The NJ Commission on Professionalism in the Law has designated November as Professionalism in the Law Month. The Commission asks each bar association to select a member who epitomizes the principles of professionalism. The Officers and Trustees of the Bergen County Bar Association selected Joseph Maurice, recent past president of the Bar Association, unanimously as the recipient of the Honorable Peter Ciolino Professional Lawyer of the Year. He was honored at an event on November 18.
Alzheimer's Walk Success
Cohn Lifland is proud that our team, the Cohn Lifland Alz-Stars, raised $7,470 in the 2021 Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Bergen/Passaic. We raised – and exceeded – our fundraising goal repeatedly, and still ended up raising 125% of our goal, and were the #1 fundraising group at the event. Although the Walk is over, additional donations are welcome until year end. To donate, click here.
Pictured are team members Amanda Trigg, Erika Piccirillo (with Brisket), Audra DePaolo, Christina Stripp, Melinda Lugo, Megan Bell, Maureen Woods, Jacqueline Larsen and Barbara Blumberg.
BCBA 121st Annual Dinner & Dance
The Bergen County Bar Association's 121st Annual Dinner & Dance will be held at The Lake House at the Indian Trail Club in Franklin Lakes on Thursday, October 28. Joseph Maurice, the 122nd President of the BCBA, will be honored at the event. For more information, click here.
Construction Litigation Success
Our client hired a contractor to work on his home pursuant to a 203k home rehabilitation loan. The costs on the project escalated very quickly and our client ultimately fired his contractor based on poor workmanship and the spiraling costs. The contractor then attempted to place a lien on the home for unpaid invoices. We successfully sued the contractor, winning summary judgment awarding our client a refund of money he paid pursuant to change orders that were unsigned in violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and the Home Improvement Practices regulations. The Court also dismissed the contractor’s collection claims and ordered him to pay our counsel fees and costs. A proof hearing on our client’s damages is scheduled to take place in November. If successful, those damages will be trebled.
Cohn Lifland Is Going Purple
Cohn Lifland is going purple to support the fight against Alzheimer's Disease. Our team has joined together in the Bergen-Passaic Alzheimer's Walk. We have met our initial goal -- twice -- and will keep raising it. Join our team or sponsor us. We welcome your support: http://act.alz.org/goto/cohnliflandgoespurple .
All Wrapped Up
As long-time supporters of Bergen Volunteers' All Wrapped Up, Cohn Lifland is pleased to be be receiving the Community Impact Award at Bergen Volunteers' upcoming Hearts of Gold Dinner & Auction on October 14.
Polluters Help Pay for Restoration of Threatened Trees
Cohn Lifland’s Leonard Kaufmann was instrumental in recovering more than $350 million for the State of New Jersey from major petroleum conglomerates in his capacity as Special Counsel to the State’s Attorney General.
The State is now using that money in an initiative to clean up the environment. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection plans to restore 10,000 acres of Atlantic white cedar, a coastal tree species threatened by climate change, in what would be the largest restoration effort involving the species in U.S. history. The $20 million project will span 10 years.
“Through this project, we will reestablish once-dominant stands of Atlantic white cedar, but at higher elevations less vulnerable to rising seas and saltwater intrusion, and provide habitat for globally rare plants and wildlife, while capturing and storing carbon and absorbing floodwaters," said Shawn LaTourette, New Jersey's Environmental Protection Commissioner.
New Jersey will pay for the project with money from court settlements with makers and sellers of MTBE, a gasoline additive that helped boost octane ratings, but which tended to separate from stored gasoline and leak into the ground in many spots in the U.S., contaminating water supplies. It has since been phased out in favor of ethanol.
In 2007, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection initiated the litigation against nearly 50 petroleum refiners and distributors, gasoline sellers and chemical manufacturers, in which it claimed that waterways throughout the state were contaminated by gasoline containing MTBE. Cohn Lifland and 3 other firms serve as Special Counsel to the Attorney General for this litigation.
Family Law Certification Prep Course
Amanda S. Trigg will be a speaker at the Family Law Certification Prep Course, presented by NJICLE in cooperation with the New Chapter of the AAML and the NJSBA Family Law Section, a live webcast on October 11.
