New Jersey Pulse


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    The Top In-House Hires Of November

    Elon Musk's xAI has a new but familiar general counsel, while several sports groups — including the New York Mets, PGA of America and the SEC college athletic conference — also brought on new legal leaders in November.

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    Sheppard Mullin To Offer Larger Bonuses To Busy Associates

    Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP associates who labored past 2,000 hours in 2025 can expect to see a little extra in their upcoming bonus checks, according to an internal memo obtained by Law360.

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    Chiesa Shahinian Brings On Former Rutgers Labor Counsel

    Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC has grown its employment law team with Rutgers University's former vice president for university labor relations and special counsel to the university president, the firm announced Tuesday.

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    Lowenstein Sandler Launches Digital Infrastructure Group

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP launched a new, cross-disciplinary practice group to represent data centers and other players in the digital infrastructure industry, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • DeCotiis Beats DQ Bid In NJ Turnpike Discrimination Suit

    A New Jersey state appellate panel on Tuesday rejected a bid to disqualify DeCotiis Fitzpatrick Cole & Giblin LLP from representing the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and two employees in a discrimination case filed by a medical facility and doctors who performed work for authority members.

  • NJ Comptroller Bill Debate Turns Into Fight Over AG's Record

    A New Jersey Senate committee hearing on Monday about a bill that would remove investigatory powers from the Office of the State Comptroller devolved into attacks on the state attorney general's record and accusations of "textbook" First Amendment violations.

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    Port Authority Chair Gets NJ Committee Nod For Another Term

    The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee voted to reappoint Kevin O'Toole, chair of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey since 2017, to another six-year term on the board of commissioners of the agency on Monday.

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    3rd Circ. Says Habba Barred From Serving As Acting US Atty

    President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer cannot serve as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, the Third Circuit ruled Monday in a precedential opinion holding that her appointment violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and undermined the constitutional safeguards of Senate confirmation.

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    State High Courts See Little Progress In Improving Diversity

    State supreme courts have seen minimal improvements in the racial and gender diversity of their jurists, as new justices have been disproportionately white and male, with even less progress made in seating justices with varied professional experiences, according to a recent report.

  • NJ AG, Comptroller Blast Bill To Strip Agency's Probe Powers

    New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin is set to go before lawmakers on Dec. 1 to speak out against a proposed bill aimed removing investigatory powers from the Office of the State Comptroller after calling the proposal "outrageous" on social media.

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    Gov.-Elect Sherrill Taps Dozens Of Attys For Transition Teams

    New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill's recently announced transition teams feature a number of legal professionals from within New Jersey and outside the state working in a variety of roles as she prepares for her term to begin. 

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    Blank Rome's Reelected Leader Sees Values As Key To Growth

    As he prepares to begin a second four-year term as Blank Rome LLP's managing partner and chair, Grant Palmer said a commitment to longstanding values like teamwork and diversity have helped the firm navigate changes in the legal market since it launched in Philadelphia nearly 80 years ago.

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    Magic Circle Firms Enchant Associates With Top-Tier Bonuses

    U.S. associates at Linklaters LLP and Clifford Chance LLP have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, as the Magic Circle firms Wednesday became the latest to match the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.

  • Ex-Media Exec Launches Counter Fees Bid In Severance Fight

    A former media executive is pushing back on Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP's demand for more than $500,000 in legal fees, arguing that a New Jersey federal court should instead award him more than $600,000 in fees because he is actually the prevailing party in a suit against his former employer over severance pay.

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    Democrats Seek Documents On Emil Bove's DOJ Tenure

    Senate Democrats are turning to public records requests to learn more about the controversial tenure of U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove while he served at the U.S. Department of Justice, claiming that they're being "stonewalled" by the department.

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    Holtec Can Pursue Suit Over Alleged Scheme Involving Ex-GC

    Holtec International prevailed over motions to dismiss its lawsuit in New Jersey state court accusing its former general counsel and others of running an embezzlement scheme that cost the company over $700,000.

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    How GCs Are Turning Litigation Into Strategic Profit Tool

    For most general counsel, litigation has meant playing defense to guard their corporations against outside threats. In 2025, however, a growing number have been taking on roles as quarterbacks seeking to score large policy or financial victories for their companies.

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    Ex-IBM Unit GC Joins Telecom Somos In Deputy Role

    New Jersey-based telecommunications company Somos Inc. has added a vice president and deputy general counsel of corporate and legal affairs who previously worked in-house at IBM for over 15 years.

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    Weil Matches Year-End And Special Bonuses For Associates

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP on Tuesday joined a cadre of other firms in matching the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.  

  • Treasury Beats NJ Law Firm's Suit Over Access To Tax Return

    A federal judge in New Jersey on Monday dismissed a law firm's suit against the U.S. Treasury over unauthorized access to its tax returns, saying that Zemel Law LLC's complaint against the government includes only a "barebone assertion" and lacks the detail necessary to properly claim wrongful disclosure.

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    AY Strauss Expands Family Law Bench With NJ Atty Trio

    AY Strauss LLC announced Monday that it's expanding its family law practice with a trio of new attorneys joining from Starr Gern Davison & Rubin PC in New Jersey, building on recent growth in the firm's cannabis and immigration practices.

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    5 BigLaw Firms Match Prevailing Year-End, Special Bonuses

    BigLaw continues to dole out extra cash for attorneys just in time for the holidays, with five more firms matching the year-end and special bonuses previously announced by their peers.

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    NJ Experts Warn Of Evolving AI Pitfalls At Bar Symposium

    Lawyers today are facing new and more nuanced ethical challenges around the use of artificial intelligence at the same time that the penalties for misusing AI are growing more severe, New Jersey experts warn.

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    Buchanan Ingersoll Bumps 18 Attys Up To Partner For 2026

    More than a dozen attorneys have been recently selected to move up to the shareholder level at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC next year as the Pittsburgh-based firm reclassifies one of its title tiers.

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    Texas Boutique Giving Associates Bonuses Of Up To $135K

    Texas complex commercial litigation boutique Vartabedian Hester & Haynes LLP announced Friday that it will reward associates with additional year-end bonuses of up to $135,000 by Dec. 31, while more firms said they'd match or exceed the prevailing BigLaw scale.

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Expert Analysis

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    Talking Mental Health: Encouraging New Attys To Find Joy Author Photo

    Rudene Haynes at Hunton discusses her experiences as a hiring partner, common sources of stress that newer attorneys face and steps that law firms can take to protect their attorneys' mental health and encourage personal life fulfillment.

  • Fla. Bar's Cyber Incident Response Plan Sets Precedent Author Photo

    The incident response plan developed by the Florida Bar's cybersecurity and privacy committee might not seem all that consequential, but it's a long overdue framework that could go a long way toward protecting the highly sensitive data law firms handle — and could even set a model for other professional organizations to follow, says Chris Boehm at Zero Networks.

  • Why Attorneys Should Write About Justices' Minority Opinions Author Photo

    Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s searing dissents this past term serve as a reminder for attorneys to analyze U.S. Supreme Court minority opinions in their thought leadership for three key reasons, says Jessica Kaplan at Legally Penned.

  • 3 Business Development Lessons From Mozart's 'Magic Flute' Author Photo

    Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” offers a useful framework for attorneys to build relationships and develop new business, inspired by Prince Tamino’s curiosity, courage and consistency, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.

  • 5 Ways Legal Teams Can Use KPIs To Quantify Their Value Author Photo

    As in-house legal departments are increasingly expected to do more with less, developing a thoughtful framework to measure key performance indicators can help them both maximize and demonstrate their contribution to business success, say co-founders at New Era ADR.

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    Defining The Culture For A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    We co-founded The International Academy of Financial Crime Litigators to connect leading trial lawyers, litigation experts and academics, and our experience has shown that embracing opportunity, responding fearlessly to market realities, and relentlessly defining the organization’s culture have all been integral to success, say Stéphane Bonifassi, Lincoln Caylor and Elizabeth Ortega.

  • 5 Emerging Themes Shaping Lateral Partner Moves This Year Author Photo

    A few key trends have arisen in partners’ lateral movements in the first half of 2025, reflecting a legal market defined by macroeconomic uncertainty, shifts in firm structures and rising scrutiny of firm affiliations, say legal recruiters at Macrae.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Be A Mentor Or Mentee Author Photo

    Mentorship is a powerful tool for business development when both mentors and mentees approach their relationships with strategic purpose, ensuring professional success while supporting broader business goals, say Angela Liu at Dechert and Jessica Lewis at WilmerHale.

  • 4 Biz Dev Steps For Attys Who Don't Know What They Want Author Photo

    Junior attorneys are increasingly expected to start building books of business while they are still figuring out their long-term career goals, but a few pointers can help young lawyers develop business even when they’re uncertain about their future direction, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • Protecting Client Funds From Cyberattacks Author Photo

    As cyberattacks on law firms continue to escalate, bar associations, law firms and individual lawyers must all take steps to protect client funds in attorney trust accounts — from imposing cyber hygiene mandates to reimagining malpractice coverage — because once that money is gone, it’s generally gone for good, says Michael Epstein at The Epstein Law Firm.

  • Making Legal Cents: For Billing, Think Value, Not Time Author Photo

    Pricing strategy is one of the most consistently discussed but underleveraged tools in a firm's arsenal, and rather than keeping hourly billing because it's easy, firms should consider their differentiators when structuring more effective fee models, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.

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    Achieving Organic Growth For A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    We started Law Rocks to promote music education for underprivileged youth and raise funds for local nonprofits, and our 15-year journey has shown that enthusiasm, persistence and a great network can lead to a surprising amount of organic growth, say Nick Child and Ted Scott at Secretariat.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Engage With The Media Author Photo

    Business development is all about awareness — and by taking existing skills and adapting them to build media relationships and thereby address today's audiences, lawyers can expand their outreach and use thought leadership to build a more complete, compelling personal brand, says Michael Goodwin at Stanton PR.

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Habits Of Great Relationship Partners Author Photo

    When seeking outside legal advisers, general counsel want commercially savvy lawyers who cultivate relationships of trust with their in-house counterparts, back up the GC's authority and focus on actionable advice instead of abstract legal analysis, say Andrew Dick at The L Suite and Rob Morvillo at Olo.

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    Generating Confidence In A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    I started LawWithoutWalls to change the way legal professionals see and think about their world, and it taught me the importance of giving people a reason to believe in your nonprofit mission, as well as how to achieve work-life integration, says Michele DeStefano at the University of Miami.

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