Charles Toutant

February 15, 2011 | New Jersey Law Journal

Layoff notices were sent Monday to nearly a third of the employees in the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, including 18 of the 62 assistant prosecutors, but the prosecutor is hoping for an 11th-hour reprieve.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

May 12, 2010 | New Jersey Law Journal

A federal appeals court has affirmed the rejection of a suit filed by a state trooper who claimed he suffered harassment and retaliation for complaining about racial profiling and who later killed himself.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

March 20, 2006 | Law.com

Native American law, a well-established practice area west of the Mississippi, is gaining ground at eastern firms, as displaced tribes seek to reclaim ancestral lands and make them profitable. After successful settlements led to two casinos in Connecticut, other tribes started bringing land-claim suits -- and law firms are lining up to help. While tribes' finances are short and the odds of winning long, there are still legal fees to be had, since casino developers are willing to underwrite legal costs.

By Charles Toutant

8 minute read

June 27, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

In terms of business friendliness, New Jersey's legal system is neither a corporate haven like Delaware's nor a hostile territory like West Virginia. In fact, it falls smack in the middle, says a survey of in-house counsel.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

March 08, 2010 | Law.com

Law firm Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello faces conflict allegations over its projected $3.5 million fee for representing shareholders who obtained no monetary or equitable relief in a class action settlement over the merger of drug giants Merck and Schering-Plough. The lawyer for the class member opposing the settlement argues that certifying the class serves no purpose except to make Carella Byrne eligible for attorney fees. He also seeks sanctions against the firm for allegedly botching the suit.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

December 08, 2006 | Law.com

In a wave of federal suits, Verizon Wireless is attacking the practice of "pretexting," by which imposters pose as customers to obtain calling details and other information. The suits, the most recent of which was filed Tuesday in New Jersey, charge that the defendants accessed customers' accounts online by entering telephone numbers and other data in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the state Computer Related Offenses Act, as well as common-law fraud, conversion and civil conspiracy.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

December 29, 2003 | New Jersey Law Journal

Since danger invites rescue, those injured rushing to give aid are foreseeable plaintiffs even if they never arrive at the scene, and a tortfeasor thus owes en route Good Samaritans a duty of care under the common-law rescue doctrine, a Mercer County judge ruled last Tuesday.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

August 03, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

It used to be that salaries for first-year associates at large firms remained intact for the year, but increasing pressures to match the pay offered elsewhere have impelled some New Jersey firms to a mid-year hike.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

March 24, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

The judiciary's threatened termination of service by mail in the Special Civil Part due to insufficient funds has been averted, now that the Legislature has enacted a measure that allows the courts to adjust the fee charged as postal rates rise.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

September 13, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

Now that New Jersey courtrooms have Wi-Fi capability, trial lawyers with wireless laptops have a distinct edge: The ability to Google prospective jurors at the counsel table.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read