Charles Toutant

March 03, 2003 | New Jersey Law Journal

For New Jersey judges, even a simple invitation to a banquet demands careful weighing of potential consequences. The state's Code of Judicial Conduct requires judges to abstain from partisan politics and take great care in social interactions that might create an appearance of impropriety. New Jersey's hermetically sealed bubble may be burst if a Feb. 20 federal court ruling striking down New York's judicial gag rule on First Amendment grounds becomes the law of the land.

By Charles Toutant

7 minute read

April 12, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

After a bad bout with Lyme disease that left him mentally impaired, John Rhody gave up his law practice and looked forward to passing his days with a favorite hobby - old postcards.

By Charles Toutant ALM

5 minute read

June 29, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

Attorney who represent customers of mortgage-modification companies — increasingly attractive work these days — are at risk of losing their law licenses if they split fees with the financiers, two Supreme Court committees say in a joint ethics opinion.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

March 05, 2010 | Law.com

A New Jersey appeals court on Wednesday reversed a trial judge who relied on his personal experience as a dog owner in ruling that a dog that bit two people did not fall under the state Dangerous Dog Statute. The appeals court reinstated a municipal judge's imposition of safety measures callling for the animal's owner to erect a 6-foot fence around his property, put a tether and muzzle on the dog whenever he is removed from its enclosure and obtain $1 million in liability coverage.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

December 21, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

The ratio of lawyers to partners at the largest New Jersey firms has been dropping for the past three years, an indication that firms are putting more reliance on partners as billing engines.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

October 15, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

Suits by consumers in three states who challenge General Mills' claim that Cheerios can lower cholesterol and cut the risk of cancer, were consolidated Wednesday in federal court in New Jersey, the company's venue of choice.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

November 20, 2006 | New Jersey Law Journal

Esther Salas, a nine-year veteran of the Federal Public Defender's Office, was sworn in Nov. 3, becoming New Jersey's first Hispanic U.S. magistrate judge.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

October 18, 2005 | The Legal Intelligencer

Kenney & Kearney, a Cherry Hill, N.J., litigation boutique, is disbanding after 20 years, following other small- to midsize firms that, unable to meet corporate clients' demands, are seeking merger partners, falling prey to raiders or simply falling apart.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

March 21, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

A lawyer who, while still a law student, fraudulently obtained a student loan may nonetheless be disciplined as though the offense occurred after her admission to the bar, says a New Jersey ethics tribunal

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

May 11, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

A plea deal in a traffic-violation case that seemed satisfactory at the time apparently left a client seething with rage, leading to an altercation months later at Mercer County lawyer Edward Heyburn's office that police were called to break up.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read