North Jersey

One of two strategically located offices in the Garden State is Duane Morris' northern New Jersey office in Florham Park. The North Jersey office is part of an international network of the firm's offices, and lawyers in the office provide a variety of services as an integral part of one of the world's largest law firms.

Range of Services

Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring

Lawyers in the Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring practice work in tandem with each client, whether debtor, trustee, lender or other creditor, labor unions or landlords, to determine the best strategy for deriving maximum value from a troubled entity while simultaneously seeking to meet each client's goals. Clients draw on the firm's extensive reorganization experience gained during its involvement in many of the largest restructurings of the past three decades and the capabilities of a national team of dozens of Duane Morris bankruptcy lawyers in jurisdictions across the United States.

Lawyers in the North Jersey office have significant experience handling both national bankruptcies and regional bankruptcies in the mid-Atlantic states. One of the senior lawyers is a founding Master of the Bankruptcy Inn of Court, one of two Inns of Court dedicated to bankruptcy practice in the United States;  former chair of the Bankruptcy Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association; and certified as a business bankruptcy specialist by the American Board of Certification, which is accredited by the American Bar Association.

Complex Litigation, White-Collar Defense and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Lawyers in Duane Morris' Trial Practice Group represent clients in all types of complex commercial litigation, from inception through trial and appeal.

Duane Morris litigators are experienced in an array of areas, including employment, intellectual property, corporate and shareholder disputes, class actions, environmental, healthcare and real estate disputes. Attorneys in the North Jersey office represent clients in banking, products liability, employment, marine, and insurance and reinsurance matters, as well as in professional liability errors and omissions liabilities and aviation and logistics litigation. Clients include financial institutions, architects and engineers and healthcare providers, among many others.

These lawyers also represent both individuals and corporations facing federal and state allegations of criminal conduct, including fraud, environmental crimes, securities violations, RICO violations, trade espionage and a variety of business-related offenses.

In addition to representing clients in U.S. forums and before international tribunals, the firm also provides counsel on settling disputes without conventional litigation by using alternative dispute resolution, and advises on methods to anticipate and avoid litigation.

Corporate, Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions

Duane Morris attorneys have experience in negotiated acquisitions and divestitures and defense against takeover attempts. These attorneys regularly represent international clients in both domestic and cross-border transactions, have experience with venture capital and private equity transactions and work with many clients in developing and implementing creative strategies to accomplish their corporate finance and acquisition objectives. The firm represents clients in a range of securities offerings and regularly advises public companies on compliance with ongoing reporting obligations and other securities laws.

Attorneys in North Jersey support the firm's national corporate practice in advising clients on corporate finance issues, corporate compliance and internal investigations, corporate trusts, and securities and antitrust disputes. The firm also has extensive experience with mergers and acquisitions, public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, contract negotiations, SEC regulatory matters and taxation.

Employment Law

Duane Morris' lawyers represent employers of all sizes in a broad spectrum of labor and employment matters, including equal-employment opportunity compliance and litigation, statutory compliance and litigation defense and employment termination. The firm's attorneys provide a full range of labor relations services, representing clients in union-organizing campaigns, proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, negotiations of labor contracts and disputes over labor contract provisions.

In North Jersey, attorneys represent clients in a wide range of employment litigation disputes, including gender and racial harassment, wage discriminations, trade secret violations, restrictive covenant injunction matters and charges brought under federal and state regulatory acts, such as the Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

Financial Services Litigation

Attorneys in the Financial Services Litigation Group represent a wide variety of financial institutions, including banks, hedge funds, asset-based lenders, mezzanine lenders, insurance companies and credit cards processors. Members of this group are well-versed in financial products and understand the industry. They handle disputes concerning syndications, joint ventures, securitizations and other structures in which financial institutions participate, as well as financial products such as letters of credits, CDOs, commercial mortgages and various lending products. These attorneys also have extensive experience defending consumer claims and class actions suits, and represent lenders in commercial foreclosures and other asset-recovery matters.

Health Law

In one of the most regulated industries in the United States, Duane Morris' healthcare attorneys provide innovative solutions to assist healthcare providers in protecting their assets and increasing their overall profitability while remaining compliant with federal and state laws and regulations. The firm's healthcare clients benefit from one of the most experienced healthcare practice groups in the country. Duane Morris advises a wide range of healthcare organizations; clinical and genetics laboratories; pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers; medical and laboratory professionals; and product distributors, retailers and manufacturers in regulatory and corporate matters; contract and commercial litigation; and labor and employment, real estate, compliance, managed care, credentialing, reimbursement and taxation issues.

The North Jersey office boasts extensive experience in representing clients in the healthcare industry in complex litigation disputes involving complex liability and medical causation issues as well as disputes surrounding significant personal injuries and economic damages from catastrophic injuries, wrongful death and toxic exposure.

Insurance and Reinsurance

Duane Morris' background in the industry contributes to the firm's ability to address client concerns effectively. Duane Morris attorneys have an in-depth understanding of actuarial, underwriting and policy-coverage matters affecting the business and legal issues of insurance industry clients. The firm has handled matters impacting financial examinations, market conduct examinations and other regulatory issues, as well as general corporate matters, both domestically and internationally.

Attorneys in North Jersey's Insurance and Reinsurance Practice Group have been engaged in representations of insurance-industry interests for many years, having served as counsel to numerous property/casualty insurance companies, life insurance companies, reinsurance companies, HMOs and PPOs, rating bureaus, captive insurers offshore, alternative market entities and guaranty associations. The firm has also represented underwriters of public offerings of insurance securities.

Intellectual Property and IP Litigation

Duane Morris' intellectual property (IP) lawyers recognize the importance of clients' intellectual capital to the success of their businesses and understand how to uphold IP rights to increase opportunities for clients to enhance market share. Members of the firm's IP practice have played pivotal roles in the development of IP law, and their experience includes trademarks and copyrights, patents and brand protection, domestic and international. Duane Morris' IP attorneys have garnered recognition for their outstanding practices.

Duane Morris lawyers have substantial experience across the United States in all areas of IP litigation, including jury trial experience on behalf of IP owners and accused infringers in patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright and trade secret cases. The firm's IP attorneys have also represented clients in mediation, arbitration and inter partes proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and before appellate courts concerning IP matters.

Real Estate

Members of the Duane Morris Real Estate Practice Group represent and counsel clients in various aspects of real estate matters, providing both transactional and litigation support on issues relating to purchase and sale of real property, title insurance, lending, leasing, creditors' rights and lender liability, and in the development of planned real estate projects, including condominiums, cooperatives and planned-unit developments.

Attorneys in the North Jersey office have significant experience in a wide range of transactions, including purchase and sale transactions, financing, leasing and easement issues , with special focus on complicated transactions, such as property flips, tax-deferred property contributions, development contracts, construction loans, easements and property covenants. Clients have included sellers, purchasers, landlords, tenants, lenders, developers and property owners.

Tax

Our tax attorneys are an integral part of the firm's transactional practice. Members of the Tax Practice Group work closely with our corporate and finance lawyers to structure and effectuate complex transactions from a tax perspective. We represent business enterprises operating as corporations, partnerships or limited liability companies, advising both foreign-owned and U.S.-based multinationals on international and domestic acquisitions and reorganizations, as well as providing federal, state and local tax counsel. Many of our lawyers are frequently sought out to publish and speak to groups of professionals and laypersons alike, and serve as consultants in their fields to other professional advisors.

For More Information

For more information, please contact North Jersey Office Managing Partner David A. Sussman or any of the lawyers referenced in the Attorney Listing.