Archive for category: Latest News

Congratulations to our managing partner, Eric Kahn, for another incredible result on behalf of our clients. Eric settled a case against the United States Postal Service for $4,900,000. Unfortunately, this accident resulted in serious injuries to Eric’s 55 year old client, but the settlement will allow her to receive the medical care that she will require in the future. Claims against the Federal Government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) can be complicated, but this an area of the law where Eric has developed a specialty.

Gregg Wisotsky, with the assistance of David Wikstrom, was recently successful before the Appellate Division in having a case that was previously dismissed by a trial judge restored! Gregg represents a client who fell and was seriously injured while walking across a poorly maintained driveway after stepping off of the sidewalk. The trial judge dismissed the case, finding that the defendants were immune to a lawsuit, relying on the longstanding proposition that residential homeowners are not liable for poorly maintained sidewalks that abut their property. The Judge dismissed the lawsuit, essentially treating this matter as a just another “sidewalk” case.

On Appeal, we argued that the trial judge failed to consider where our client fell, and misapplied the residential sidewalk immunity law since the fall did not in fact occur on a public sidewalk. The Appellate Division agreed, and reversed the dismissal of the case, and remanded it back to the trial court for trial.

In another matter, Eric Kahn, with the assistance of Annabelle Steinhacker, successfully argued an Appeal on behalf of an injured plaintiff whose case was dismissed, when she was represented by another attorney, after the case was mistakenly dismissed by a trial judge. Eric Kahn said that “cases must be decided on their merits, rather than procedural technicalities, and every person deserves an opportunity to have his or her day in Court”. The Appellate Division reversed the trial court’s procedural dismissal, and remanded the case for trial.

Javerbaum Wurgaft is known for having many fine trial lawyers, but also has significant experience and success before the Appellate Division and the Supreme Court

March is Women’s History Month; a month federally designated to celebrate historical and contemporaneous contributions made by women. This month and every day, we at Javerbaum Wurgaft honor the myriad accomplishments achieved by women in the law.

While the national average for the last twenty years has seen women graduating law school at roughly the same rate as men, the advancement of women in the field has stagnated. A recent large firm survey found that women only comprise 21.46% of partners. When breaking that figure down between equity and non-equity partners, female equity partnership drops to an abysmal 17.4%.¹ At Javerbaum Wurgaft, we confront inequities like this by seeking solutions internally and through active participation in the legal community.

Javerbaum Wurgaft is committed to supporting the promotion of women. Over the past several years, the women of Javerbaum Wurgaft have created opportunities for women to come together to network and engage in meaningful dialogues to address continued inequities in the profession. Every year, Diane Cardoso organizes a Ladies’ Networking spa day at the New Jersey Association of Justice’s Boardwalk Convention in Atlantic City. She also initiated an annual Ladies’ Networking Dinner at the New Jersey Association of Justice’s Meadowlands Convention. In July of 2016, Annabelle Steinhacker hosted a Women’s Networking Event addressing systemic sexism in the law and facilitating an open discussion aimed at practical solutions. These events provide unique opportunities for women to make professional connections and to organize and confront obstacles impairing the progress of women within the legal community.

To advance gender parity, the women at Javerbaum Wurgaft occupy leadership positions in New Jersey and national legal organizations. Diane Cardoso is a state revitalization delegate to the American Association of Justice. She also is a board member of the New Jersey Association of Justice, the Treasurer for the Hudson County Bar Association and a fellow of the New Jersey State Bar Association Leadership Academy for 2017-18. Judge Marguerite Simon serves as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission and was selected as a member of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals. Annabelle Steinhacker is a trustee for the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey. She also serves as a Director on the Board of Directors, at her alma mater, for the Maine Law Alumni Association. Laura Nicolette is the Young Lawyers Trustee to the Union County Bar Association. Jessica Bland is an adjunct professor at Seton Hall Law, and mentors second and third-year members of SHU’s Interscholastic Moot Court Board. By assuming leadership roles, the women of Javerbaum Wurgaft seek to include a broader perspective and greater access in New Jersey’s leading legal organizations.

All the women of Javerbaum Wurgaft maintain memberships among New Jersey’s many legal organizations including the New Jersey Association of Justice, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey, the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association, Brennan-Vanderbilt Inn of Court, and many of the county bar associations. In addition to active participation within organizations, the women of Javerbaum Wurgaft regularly lecture at legal symposiums ranging from NJICLE and NJAJ to the Women and the Law annual seminar hosted by the New Jersey Defense Association.

Backed by a consistently supportive roster of attorneys, both male and female, Javerbaum Wurgaft continues to be a change-maker in gender inequity in the State of New Jersey. Actively advocating for women by providing networking opportunities and a leading voice among the many legal organizations in our State ensures a stronger legal community accessible to all. A more diverse profession benefits not only the legal community but our clients as well. We are proud of our commitment to promoting women, to our continued fight against unconscious bias and systemic sexism, and to our promise to pursue greater accessibility and parity in the legal profession.