Our Practice

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We represent clients in civil lawsuits of government, individual, employment, personal injury and business matters at all levels. With strong professional and academic credentials as well as extensive trial experience in state and federal courts, our attorneys have successfully represented clients in virtually every area of civil lawsuits.

We do not merely prepare and file pleadings and briefs. We do more than take depositions and argue in conference rooms. We are trial and courtroom lawyers. We try lawsuits and otherwise represent our clients at courthouses arguing before juries and judges. We undertake the representation of clients in lawsuits and arbitration proceedings with a goal of preparing the case for trial. We do not consider pre-trial discovery as an end to itself, but a tool to helping us better explain the case to judges and juries. All pre-trial activity has as its objective a successful outcome.  We have extensive experience in appellate courts with outstanding success.

We have experience in the public sector and are active statewide, representing:

• cities and towns
• planning boards
• school boards
• charter commissions
• sanitary and water districts
• public corporations
• other agencies

We also represent non-public sector clients before public boards and agencies on a regular basis.  In our public sector we regularly advise municipalities, their developers and planners on matters such as subdivision and site plan agreements, expropriations, Official Plans, zoning matters and property assessments.

 We maintain an active and varied legislative practice on behalf of private and public clients.

 We provide depth and balance in addressing the legal and practical issues confronting our business clients. Owners of businesses, ranging from small, closely held ones to major corporations, present to us a full range of legal and practical issues attendant to running a successful business. We are knowledgeable in general corporate and business law issues, and advise clients on the structure of a corporation, partnership or other business organization. When appropriate, we organize our approach to a complex business issue with a multidisciplinary team of attorneys and staff to assure sound legal advice in the best interest of our clients.

We advise individuals and entities concerning virtually every type of business transaction and activity. In addition, we assist in forming and structuring real estate ventures and transactions as well as negotiating and closing real estate acquisitions, sales, and exchanges.

We also provide a wide range of business planning and other counseling services for corporations, partnerships, and individuals. The firm advises corporate clients on matters pertaining to contractual arrangements among corporate shareholders; the formation and restructuring of various forms of business organizations; executive compensation; and other matters of business and tax planning. We provide these services for clients engaged in many different types of business activities, including real estate development, manufacturing, construction, health care, and the provision of utility services.

 We assist in guidance in addressing employee or general labor disputes. Our employment attorneys believe in "preventive maintenance," providing such services as a review of employee handbooks, forms, and procedures to assist an employer in effectively communicating to employees the ground rules for productive employment. When adverse action against an employee is inevitable, our attorneys are skilled at providing counseling through an unpleasant situation with high litigation potential. If a dispute is unavoidable, we provide aggressive, solution-oriented representation in adversarial proceedings before state and federal courts, administrative agencies, and alternative dispute resolution forums.

The firm's employment attorneys are experienced in all aspects of labor and employment law, including labor-management, civil rights and employment discrimination, worker's compensation, wrongful discharge, and tort litigation arising from employment matters.

New employment laws have placed increasing demands on clients engaged in managing the workplace. Our attorneys regularly counsel clients on how to avoid sexual harassment claims, implement a drug-free workplace program, or tackle classification and compensation issues. As litigators, our employment attorneys have skillfully defended public and private clients against discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination lawsuits, obtaining favorable judgments for our clients in many instances. 

When choosing us our client will have the confidence that we have the expertise, experience, and local knowledge to handle their most difficult, challenging, and critical employment issues.

 We provide counseling and representation to a wide variety of clients affected by environmental issues. These include public utilities, industrial and manufacturing companies, construction companies and real estate developers, among others.  We are actively engaged in both state and federal legislative processes affecting environmental and natural resources issues and the related administrative rule-making proceedings. Of particular importance to many clients is our day-to-day consultation on the issues of environmental permitting and compliance.

In addition to a working knowledge of the laws, regulations, and political climate, this area of law requires familiarity with the client's operations as well as close cooperation in the preparation of permit applications and compliance filings, the design and implementation of compliance programs, and the evaluation of long-range corporate goals and business plans.

We anticipate significant growth in the firm's environmental practice in order to meet the increasingly critical needs of clients in this complex and rapidly expanding area of law.