Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert Blog

Seven Gibbons Employment & Labor Law Department Attorneys Selected to 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Posted in Firm News / General Litigation

On March 16, 2020

Seven Gibbons Employment & Labor Law Department attorneys were featured in New Jersey Super Lawyers and New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars, with five Department attorneys on the 2020 Super Lawyers list and two on the 2020 Rising Stars list. These attorneys were listed in a wide range of categories, including Employment & Labor and Employment Litigation – Defense. Highlights of this year’s New Jersey Super Lawyers list include the top-tier rankings earned by two Department attorneys. Top 10 Attorneys in New Jersey Christine A. Amalfe, Chair, Employment & Labor Law Department Top 100 Attorneys in New Jersey Christine A. Amalfe, Chair, Employment & Labor Law Department Susan L. Nardone, Director, Employment & Labor Law Department Top 50 Female Attorneys in New Jersey Christine A. Amalfe, Chair, Employment & Labor Law Department Susan L. Nardone, Director, Employment & Labor Law Department The Gibbons attorneys listed in the 2020 issue of New Jersey Super Lawyers are Christine A. Amalfe, Kelly Ann Bird, Susan L. Nardone, Kristin D. Sostowski, and Richard S. Zackin. James J. La Rocca and Joseph E. Santanasto were selected to the 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. For the full release, please see here.

Eight Gibbons Real Property and Environmental Attorneys Selected to 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Development/Redevelopment / Environmental and Green Issues / Firm News / Real Estate

On March 16, 2020

Attorneys from the Gibbons Real Property and Environmental Departments were featured in New Jersey Super Lawyers and New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars, with five attorneys on the 2020 Super Lawyers list and three on the 2020 Rising Stars list. These attorneys were listed in a wide range of categories, including Environmental, Land Use/Zoning, and Real Estate. The Gibbons attorneys listed in the 2020 issue of New Jersey Super Lawyers are Russell B. Bershad, Howard D. Geneslaw, William S. Hatfield, John H. Klock, and Susanne Peticolas. Jordan M. Asch, Andrew J. Camelotto, and Cameron W. MacLeod were selected to the 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars section. For the full release, please see here.

27 Gibbons Commercial & Criminal Litigation Department Attorneys Selected to 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Antitrust / Class Action Defense / Construction Litigation / Firm News / General Litigation / Insurance

On March 16, 2020

Attorneys from the Gibbons Commercial & Criminal Litigation Department were featured in New Jersey Super Lawyers and New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars, with 18 Department attorneys on the 2020 Super Lawyers list and nine on the 2020 Rising Stars list. These attorneys were listed in a wide range of categories, including Antitrust, Business Litigation, Class Action, Communications, Construction Litigation, Criminal Defense, Criminal Defense: White Collar, Insurance Coverage, and Media/Advertising. Highlights of this year’s New Jersey Super Lawyers list include the top-tier rankings earned by two Department attorneys: Top 10 Attorneys in New Jersey Lawrence S. Lustberg, Co-Chair, Commercial & Criminal Litigation Department Top 100 Attorneys in New Jersey Michael R. Griffinger, Director, Commercial & Criminal Litigation Department Lawrence S. Lustberg, Co-Chair, Commercial & Criminal Litigation Department The Gibbons attorneys listed in the 2020 issue of New Jersey Super Lawyers are: Frederick W. Alworth Guy V. Amoresano Robert C. Brady Thomas J. Cafferty Patrick C. Dunican Jr. Michael R. Griffinger Jennifer A. Hradil Bruce A. Levy Lawrence S. Lustberg Robert J. MacPherson Michael R. McDonald Brian J. McMahon Mary Frances Palisano Damian V. Santomauro Peter J. Torcicollo Thomas R. Valen Christopher Walsh John T. Wolak Those listed in the 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars section are: Anne M. Collart Leigh A. DeCotiis Sylvia-Rebecca...

Two Gibbons Government & Regulatory Affairs Department Attorneys Selected to 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Federal Lobbying / Firm News

On March 16, 2020

Two members of the Gibbons Government & Regulatory Affairs Department have been selected to the 2020 New Jersey Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. Kevin G. Walsh, Co-Chair of the Department, was selected to the Super Lawyers list, while Michael D. DeLoreto, an associate in the Department, was selected to the Rising Stars list. For the full release, please see here.

New Decision on Asserting the Defend Trade Secrets Act Against Foreign Entities

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Trade Secrets

On March 16, 2020

A recent federal court decision concluding that a Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) claim could go forward against a UK-based defendant should be read both by foreign entities doing business in the United States and by U.S.-based entities that work with foreign affiliates. The case highlights the DTSA’s strong reach over both activity and actors residing outside the United States. In vPersonalize Inc. v. Magnetize Consultants Ltd., Civ. No. 18-CV-01836-BJR, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18491 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 3, 2020), a UK-based defendant moved to dismiss a DTSA claim arguing that the Economic Espionage Act’s extraterritorial provision should not apply to private civil actions under the DTSA, should not apply to a foreign entity, and should not apply unless a foreign defendant is alleged to have committed “an act in furtherance” of the violation. The court rejected these arguments and declined to dismiss the DTSA claim. The dispute centers on the relationship between 18 U.S.C. § 1837 entitled, “Applicability to conduct outside the United States” and 18 U.S.C. § 1836, which provides a private right of action under the DTSA. Section 1837 states that “this chapter” (which includes sections 1831-1839 of Title 18) applies to conduct outside the U.S. if the offender is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien or an organization organized under...

New Jersey Division on Civil Rights Issues Guidance on the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act

by Cassandra J. Neugold

Posted in Discrimination

On March 12, 2020

On March 2, 2020, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (“DCR”) issued a Guidance Memorandum on the Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act (“the Act”), which took effect in July 2018 and is widely considered to be one of the most employee-protective equal pay laws in the nation. In a statement made on the day of the Guidance Memorandum’s (“guidelines”) release, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy reaffirmed his administration’s intention to eliminate discriminatory pay practices throughout the State that have historically prevented women and other minority groups from earning equal pay. The guidelines include a legal overview, with specific attention paid to the Act’s changes to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD”), and provide answers to Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”). The first section of the guidelines offer an overview of the Act’s main provisions and provide details on how the Act modifies the LAD. As a refresher, the overview outlines the DCR’s position as to the five most important provisions of the Act: Expanded Remedies for Pay Discrimination: The Act amended the LAD to implement a six-year “lookback” period which allows employees who prove pay discrimination to recover up to six years of back pay if the discrimination was continuous and a violation occurred within the LAD’s two-year statute of limitations. The Act...

Gibbons Ranked New Jersey’s Top Lawyer-Lobbying Firm for Twelfth Consecutive Year

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Federal Lobbying

On March 10, 2020

For the twelfth year in a row, Gibbons P.C. has been ranked the #1 lawyer-lobbying firm in New Jersey, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC), which has just released its report on 2019 lobbying expenditures in the state. Gibbons has also ranked sixth in the state among all lobbying firms. “The firm’s growing presence and influence in both the state’s capital and the nation’s capital ultimately stem from loyal clients who have turned to Gibbons for over a decade as their ‘go to’ firm for navigating the governmental process and resolving legislative and regulatory issues that impact their bottom lines,” says Patrick C. Dunican Jr., Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons. Based just steps from the New Jersey State House in Trenton and supported by additional resources from the firm’s Newark and Red Bank offices, the Gibbons Government & Regulatory Affairs Department offers a broad range of services and experience in state legislative affairs, regulatory affairs and departmental actions, administrative law, business incentives, government procurement and contracting, and political and campaign finance compliance. In addition, the firm’s Washington, DC office provides Gibbons lawyer-lobbyists a base from which to more efficiently handle federal regulatory concerns and government relations strategies with on-the-ground guidance wherever client issues may arise. Building on its longstanding...

Gibbons Government & Regulatory Affairs Department Director Christine Stearns Featured on ROI-NJ’s Third Annual “Influencers Power List”

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in Healthcare

On March 3, 2020

ROI-NJ, a weekly newspaper covering business in New Jersey, has named Christine A. Stearns, a Director in the Gibbons P.C. Government & Regulatory Affairs Department and Administrative Director of the Trenton office, to its third annual “Influencers Power List” of the professionals with the greatest influence on business in the state. The list ranks New Jersey’s top 30 influencers by number, then features a select group of influential professionals in various fields. Gibbons attorneys have been featured on this list every year it has been published. The firm also has more attorneys on the 2020 list than does any other law firm in New Jersey. Ms. Stearns appears on the list of most influential “Government Affairs” professionals for the second consecutive year. Previously selected to the NJBIZ “Health Care Power List” for several years and included on NJ Spotlight’s list of “Top 10 Healthcare Lobbyists in New Jersey,” Ms. Stearns has also been named a “Top Policy Expert” on the ROI-NJ “Health Care Influencers” list in 2018 and 2019. On this year’s “Influencers Power List,” ROI-NJ notes: Yet another big name with plenty of experience in Trenton and government affairs, she deftly handles the needs of clients at Gibbons, one of the top government affairs groups in the state. To compile the “Influencers Power List,”...

Gibbons Chairman and Managing Director & CCL Department Member Featured on ROI-NJ’s Third Annual “Influencers Power List

by Gibbons P.C.

Posted in General Litigation

On March 3, 2020

ROI-NJ, a weekly newspaper covering business in New Jersey, has named Patrick C. Dunican Jr., Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons P.C. and a member of the firm’s Commercial & Criminal Litigation Department, to its third annual “Influencers Power List” of the professionals with the greatest influence on business in the state. The list ranks New Jersey’s top 30 influencers by number, then features a select group of influential professionals in various fields. Gibbons attorneys have been featured on this list every year it has been published. The firm also has more attorneys on the 2020 list than does any other law firm in New Jersey. Mr. Dunican is one of 19 people on the “Lawyers” list. The publication notes: Oversees what many feel is the state’s most powerful firm. Client list is a who’s who of business and political leaders. Dunican’s deft handling makes him one of the most respected leaders in the sector. Mr. Dunican has been featured on this list every year it has been published. He is also consistently ranked on the PolitickerNJ “Power List” of the 100 most prominent and connected people in New Jersey politics and has been named for ten consecutive years among the NJBIZ “Power 100” list of the most powerful people in New Jersey business. To...

Governor Murphy Proposes the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget

by Michael D. DeLoreto

Posted in State Legislative and Budget Matters

On February 26, 2020

Governor Phil Murphy presented the outline of his spending plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 to the State Legislature on February 25, 2020. The FY 2021 Budget proposes total revenues exceeding $42.7 billion (a 4.3 percent increase from FY 2020), and $40.8 billion in total appropriations (a 2.2 percent increase from FY 2020). An additional $1.6 billion is dedicated for surplus and $300 million is directed into the State’s “rainy day” fund. If enacted as proposed, this would be the largest budget in New Jersey history. One of the biggest expenses is the annual payment to the State’s pension system; a proposed total of $4.9 billion for FY 2021. If funded at this level by the Legislature, the contribution to state pension system would consume 12 percent of all state appropriations. This contribution is still only about 80 percent of what is actuarially required. Additional priorities for the Governor include increases to the state education funding formula by $336 million; another $132 million for NJ Transit; creating the Garden State Guarantee to provide two years of tuition free higher education; funding for lead service line replacements; and expanding eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit Program and the Pharmaceutical Assistance for the Aged and Disabled and Senior Gold programs. The Governor proposes to pay for...