Charles Toutant

November 13, 2003 | Law.com

A recent ruling against same-sex couples marrying in New Jersey may give impetus to legislative creation of a new status of domestic partnership. Not only did the judge put the matter squarely in the hand of the Legislature, she gave lawmakers a blueprint for the type of civil-status law that would be accorded full faith and credit nationwide. And while gay marriage cases are proceeding in other states, a court-watcher says New Jersey was a well-chosen forum for a test case.

By Charles Toutant

7 minute read

December 29, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

A suit by former clients, the owners of a pretzel business, say their tax and estate lawyer's inexperience in intellectual property matters cost them lots of dough — $100 million's worth.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

August 20, 2010 | Law.com

Warning clients of their own duty to read critical documents, a New Jersey appeals court held Wednesday that a malpractice suit over Sills, Cummis & Gross' drafting of a bank merger agreement was time-barred and meritless. The panel found that the plaintiffs, four directors of the former West Jersey Community Bank, were experienced in the world of banking and failed to follow their lawyers' advice to look over the agreement.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

April 04, 2005 | New Jersey Law Journal

Energized by a surge in utility practice, Philadelphia's Saul Ewing opened an office in Newark on Friday, subletting space left dormant by LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae - and taking a few LeBoeuf lawyers, too.

By Charles Toutant

2 minute read

December 16, 2005 | The Legal Intelligencer

In a move to end the gridlock accompanying New Jersey's adoption of a new device to prove drunken driving cases, the state Supreme Court has taken over the test case that will establish the machine's scientific reliability.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

July 20, 2004 | Law.com

Lawyers who let payment of their annual New Jersey registration fees lapse for several years may soon find it difficult to reinstate their good standing. The Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection is asking the state Supreme Court to revoke the license of any attorney who has failed for five consecutive years to make the required payments. The proposal would also require these attorneys to retake the New Jersey bar exam to resume practicing in the state.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

November 16, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

A carrier's declaratory-judgment suit could cause sleepless nights for any lawyer who has ever had to deal with a client disappointed by the outcome of a case.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

December 08, 2010 | New Jersey Law Journal

A federal judge in Camden refuses to dismiss a reverse-discrimination suit by a white pharmaceutical sales rep against her black supervisor.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

October 18, 2010 | New Jersey Law Journal

Just months after a federal judge de-certified a class-action suit charging retail giant Wal-Mart with complicity in janitorial contractors' abuses of illegal aliens, a second attempt has been filed - one that looks suspiciously like the first.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

March 27, 2006 | New Jersey Law Journal

Corporate dissatisfaction with outside law firms reached new heights in 2005, prompting legal departments to explore new ways to hire outside counsel and to try new firms they haven't used before, a study of corporate hiring habits finds.

By Charles Toutant

6 minute read