Charles Toutant

July 16, 2010 | Law.com

Just as being slipped a spiked drink at a party is no defense to driving while intoxicated, neither is exposure to mind-impairing chemicals, a New Jersey appeals court has held. Calling drunken driving an absolute-liability offense, the court said trial courts shouldn't be burdened with sorting out complex pretextual defenses, lest the preventive purpose of the DWI statute be defeated. In a partial victory for the driver, the court found the judges below erred in imposing jail time in excess of 180 days without a jury trial.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

November 17, 2003 | New Jersey Law Journal

Peter Cooper, an Essex County judge for two decades and a former mayor of Livingston, died on Nov. 9 after a brief illness. He was 74.

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read

April 18, 2005 | New Jersey Law Journal

More and more, corporations are eliminating private offices for lawyers, not only to save money but also to make space allocation more democratic. The change is jarring to some lawyers who rue the loss of privacy - and status - the open layout brings.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

October 31, 2005 | Law.com

New Jersey's biggest firms hired more novice lawyers this year than last, and entry-level compensation, with bonuses, rose to an average of $98,200. Legal staff recruiters and managing partners say the economy is experiencing a nice bounce back from the post-Sept. 11 hiring slump. And lateral hiring is still the tool of choice for firms seeking to bulk up on productive practice areas.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

February 17, 2004 | The Legal Intelligencer

Reading's Stevens Lee has become the latest local firm to enter the central New Jersey legal market, and the object of its desire is one of Princeton's oldest and most venerable firms -- Smith Stratton Wise Heher Brennan.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

November 11, 2002 | New Jersey Law Journal

Size certainly matters, but it's not always an advantage, as 400-lawyer Pepper Hamilton learned the hard way. The firm's Philadelphia office subpoenaed as a witness a longtime client of its Detroit branch, only to see a Pepper Hamilton lawyer from Detroit show up with a motion to quash. "Serving a subpoena on an existing firm client is, to say the least, a professional embarrassment to be avoided at all costs," wrote U.S. District Judge Stephen Orlofsky.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

May 28, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus is merging with a 37-lawyer Lehigh Valley boutique, giving the Somerville firm a presence in Pennsylvania and providing its new contingent - Tallman, Hudders & Sorrentino of Allentown - wider expertise.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

September 25, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

The New Jersey Supreme Court is being asked to take a second look at its ruling that a doctor has no duty to tell a woman considering an abortion that the embryo is a living being.

By Charles Toutant

4 minute read

November 26, 2008 | New Jersey Law Journal

The city of Camden has been ordered to pay $535,000 to its former public defender in the aftermath of a 2007 Supreme Court decision that expanded the reach of New Jersey's whistleblower act.

By Charles Toutant

5 minute read

February 12, 2008 | New Jersey Law Journal

An Essex County family court judge is facing an ethics inquiry - and perhaps a chewing out by the chief justice - for asking a Hispanic lawyer in open court, "When did you become an illegal alien?"

By Charles Toutant

3 minute read