(Hackensack, NJ – April 27, 2018) – Hackensack-based law firm Pashman Stein Walder Hayden (PSWH) is pleased to announce that its Appellate Litigation Practice Group has been named The New Jersey’s Law Journal’s 2017 Appellate Litigation Department of the Year for the firm’s impressive record of appellate successes this past year.
The Law Journal, the leading legal trade publication in NJ, made the selection from among the state’s 900 law firms with the help of an outside panel of distinguished practitioners, along with its editorial staff.
In 2017, PSWH successfully represented clients in five merits cases before the Supreme Court of New Jersey, including the Court’s landmark Open Public Records Act decision in North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. Township of Lyndhurst, 229 N.J. 541 (2017), where it reversed the Appellate Division and held that certain police records, including dashcam videos and use of force reports, were accessible to PSWH’s newspaper client under OPRA or the common law. The New York Times wrote an editorial praising the decision. The firm also served as lead counsel in PleasanTech Academy’s victory in Jones v. Morey’s Pier, Inc., 230 N.J. 142 (2017), co-counsel in Allstate Insurance Company’s victory in Allstate Insurance Company v. Northfield Medical Center, P.C., 228 N.J. 596 (2017), and argued before the Court as counsel for amici curiae in State v. Bacome, 228 N.J. 94 (2017), and Matter of New Jersey Firemen’s Association Obligation to Provide Relief Applications Under Open Public Records Act, 230 N.J. 258 (2017).
In addition to its success before the Supreme Court of New Jersey, PSWH achieved significant appellate victories in 2017 for its clients in the intermediate state and federal appellate courts, including in North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. IC Solutions, Inc., No. A-2898-14T1, 2017 WL 3722538 (App. Div. Aug. 30, 2017), North Jersey Media Group, Inc. v. State of New Jersey, Office of the Governor, 451 N.J. Super. 282 (App. Div. 2017), State v. Mauti, 448 N.J. Super. 275 (App. Div. 2017), and Odeon Capital Group LLC v. Ackerman, 864 F.3d 191 (2d Cir. July 21, 2017).
Notably, several of the appellate clients that PSWH successfully represented last year were referred to the firm by other law firms that represented the client at trial, but specifically sought out the firm’s appellate experience to protect the judgment on appeal or to demonstrate the reversible errors committed below.
The firm’s appellate pedigree is as impressive as its recent appellate successes. In crafting their written arguments and preparing for oral argument, PSWH attorneys draw on retired New Jersey Supreme Justice Gary Stein’s unique insight and experience, reflected in the more than 365 majority and dissenting opinions he authored during his 18 year tenure as an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, which cover virtually every area of New Jersey state law, including education, constitutional law, insurance coverage, zoning and land use law, civil and criminal procedure, and attorney discipline. A number of PSWH attorneys also served as judicial law clerks for prominent appellate court judges prior to joining the firm, including for justices of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits, and the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.
New Jersey Law Journal Professional Excellence Methodology and Selectivity
Each year, the Litigation Departments of the Year awards draw one of the most enthusiastic responses of all the Law Journal’s Professional Excellence categories. Even this year, as it shifted its focus toward New Jersey’s midsize and smaller firms, the response was strong, as were the submissions. The litigation groups that were selected as winners went beyond providing good counsel to clients—they, in many cases, ferried them through the most significant disputes, handled matters in creative ways, litigated at the trial and appellate levels, or moved the law forward. Sometimes they accomplished these things all at once.
About Pashman Stein Walder Hayden
Pashman Stein Walder Hayden is a full-service mid-size business law firm offering a wide range of corporate and personal legal services. Headquartered in Hackensack, New Jersey with an office in Red Bank, New Jersey, the firm serves a diverse client base including regional Fortune 500 companies, emerging growth entities, and individuals, as well as out-of-state corporate counsel, law firms and individuals with interests in the New York metropolitan region. For more information, please visit www.pashmanstein.com.
