Riker Danzig Forms Elder Law Group

Riker Danzig Adds Elder Law Group Michael LaMagna

Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti in Morristown announced the formation of an elder law group based in its New York and Connecticut offices. The group is led by partner Michael LaMagna, who joined the firm last June. He is a licensed nursing home administrator and has experience managing health care facilities, including assisted living centers, nursing homes and independent housing centers. The group will counsel clients on a range of legal matters affecting seniors and their families, including complex financial and estate planning issues, and long-term care planning, the firm said. The group attorneys will provide legal counsel on all issues related to Medicaid and advanced asset protection planning, guardianships, nursing home placement, long term care insurance, Social Security litigation, and special needs law, the firm said. Also joining the elder law group are: Alberthe Bernier, Artem Djukic and Julie B. Zgoda.

Riker Danzig Adds Elder Law Group Alberthe Bernier

Bernier joins as counsel. She handles Medicaid planning and asset protection planning, trusts and estate planning and administration, special needs planning, contested and uncontested Article 81 guardianship proceedings for individuals and institutional clients, and Article 17-A guardianship proceedings for the special needs population. Bernier received her J.D. from St. John's University School of Law in 2008 and her B.S. summa cum laude, from St. John's University in 2004. Bernier is admitted in New York.

 

 

 

Riker Danzig Adds Elder Law Group Artem Djukic

Djukic joins as an associate. He handles Medicaid planning and asset protection planning, guardianship proceedings, and special needs planning. He also regularly works with clients on estate planning. Djukic received his J.D. from New York Law School in 2012, where he was notes and comments editor of the New York Law School Law Review. He earned his B.A. from Binghamton University in 2009. He is admitted in New York and New Jehandlrsey.

 

 

 

 

Riker Danzig Adds Elder Law Group Julie B. Zgoda

Zgoda joins as an associate. Zgoda has experience drafting estate planning documents, including wills, powers of attorney, health care proxies and irrevocable life insurance trusts. She also handles the execution of estate administration documents. Zgoda received her J.D. from Pace University School of Law in May 2014. She received her B.A., cum laude, from St. John's University, Peter J. Tobin College of Business in May 2009. She is admitted in New York.

 

 

Norris McLaughlin Welcomes Harris

Norris McLaughlin Welcomes New Real Estate Attorney Ellen M. Harris [Photo Credit: Photo by Lynn Goodwin.]
Norris McLaughlin i n Bridgewater welcomed Ellen M. Harris , who spent 12 years as chief legal officer at the Newark Housing Authority, to its real estate and finance practice group as senior counsel. She has a background in municipal and federal law, contract negotiations, arbitration, mediation, transactional real estate, and eminent domain matters. She has handled transactions involving the acquisition of hundreds of properties that resulted in the relocation of thousands of residents and businesses within 77 redevelopment areas, according to the firm. She has negotiated  agreements for construction projects, redevelopment agreements with private parties, and lease of facilities projects and other documents, coordinating with bond counsel, city, federal, and state agencies, and financial consultants.She  earned her B.S. from Bucknell University in 1981 and her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1986.

LaTourette Named Chief Counsel to NJ DEP

Shawn LaTourette Named Chief Counsel to NJ DEP Shawn M. LaTourette

Shawn M. LaTourette, a partner in the Gibbons environmental department, has been appointed chief counsel to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. LaTourette has handled a range of environmental permitting, counseling, and litigation matters for Gibbons clients since 2015. He will now advise the DEP on various legal and policy matters while overseeing its offices of litigation, natural resource damages, special projects, dispute resolution, and economic analysis. He earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from Rutgers Law School-Camden, where he was lead notes & case notes editor for the Rutgers Law Review, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Rutgers University. “Shawn is a talented lawyer with an incredibly bright future,” firm managing partner Patrick C. Dunican Jr. said in a statement. “He will certainly bring the same passion and dedication that we witness every day to his new team at the NJDEP.”