Charles Toutant

December 11, 2001 | Law.com

A long-time employee of the Camden, N.J., city attorney's office who was fired amid conflict-of-interest charges is suing the office, claiming the city violated his federal civil rights, the First Amendment and the Conscientious Employee Protection Act. Theo Primas was given no reason for his dismissal, which came five days after the city charged that he improperly interceded in a racial discrimination case.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

January 30, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

A former patient of a clinic for troubled adolescents, which closed in 1998 after an administrative law judge found evidence of a regimen that included beatings, strip searches and sleep deprivation, will receive $3.75 million from the clinic and a staff psychiatrist.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

June 14, 2010 | Law.com

A video game company is suing its lawyers, claiming they used its list of investors to try to drum up work for the firm by e-mail -- some of it spam. Skyworks Ventures alleges that Scarola Ellis breached its fiduciary duty by using the company's confidential and proprietary information for its own benefit and that it engaged in breach of contract by overbilling. Skyworks also claims the firm's e-mail solicitations to Skyworks' clients violated the CAN-SPAM Act, which sets strict rules for commercial e-mails.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

July 16, 2010 | Law.com

Just as being slipped a spiked drink at a party is no defense to driving while intoxicated, neither is exposure to mind-impairing chemicals, a New Jersey appeals court has held. Calling drunken driving an absolute-liability offense, the court said trial courts shouldn't be burdened with sorting out complex pretextual defenses, lest the preventive purpose of the DWI statute be defeated. In a partial victory for the driver, the court found the judges below erred in imposing jail time in excess of 180 days without a jury trial.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

November 17, 2003 | New Jersey Law Journal

Peter Cooper, an Essex County judge for two decades and a former mayor of Livingston, died on Nov. 9 after a brief illness. He was 74.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

April 18, 2005 | New Jersey Law Journal

More and more, corporations are eliminating private offices for lawyers, not only to save money but also to make space allocation more democratic. The change is jarring to some lawyers who rue the loss of privacy - and status - the open layout brings.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

October 31, 2005 | Law.com

New Jersey's biggest firms hired more novice lawyers this year than last, and entry-level compensation, with bonuses, rose to an average of $98,200. Legal staff recruiters and managing partners say the economy is experiencing a nice bounce back from the post-Sept. 11 hiring slump. And lateral hiring is still the tool of choice for firms seeking to bulk up on productive practice areas.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

February 17, 2004 | The Legal Intelligencer

Reading's Stevens Lee has become the latest local firm to enter the central New Jersey legal market, and the object of its desire is one of Princeton's oldest and most venerable firms -- Smith Stratton Wise Heher Brennan.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

November 11, 2002 | New Jersey Law Journal

Size certainly matters, but it's not always an advantage, as 400-lawyer Pepper Hamilton learned the hard way. The firm's Philadelphia office subpoenaed as a witness a longtime client of its Detroit branch, only to see a Pepper Hamilton lawyer from Detroit show up with a motion to quash. "Serving a subpoena on an existing firm client is, to say the least, a professional embarrassment to be avoided at all costs," wrote U.S. District Judge Stephen Orlofsky.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

May 28, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus is merging with a 37-lawyer Lehigh Valley boutique, giving the Somerville firm a presence in Pennsylvania and providing its new contingent - Tallman, Hudders & Sorrentino of Allentown - wider expertise.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read