Former AUSA Pierre-Louis Rejoins Montgomery McCracken

Former AUSA Rejoins Montgomery McCracken in Cherry Hill Fabiana Pierre-Louis

Fabiana Pierre-Louis, a former assistant U.S. attorney and supervisor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Trenton office, returned to Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads in Cherry Hill as a partner in the white collar and government investigations practice group. Pierre-Louis served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of New Jersey in the Newark office and later became attorney-in-charge of the Trenton office, and then the Camden office. Before spending a decade as a prosecutor, Pierre-Louis was an associate at Montgomery McCracken. She graduated from Rutgers Law School, magna cum laude, and from Rutgers University in New Brunswick. In law school, Pierre-Louis was vice president of the Black Law Students Association, was a governor’s executive fellow of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, and a volunteer for the Rutgers Domestic Violence Project. In 2017, she received the “Young Lawyer Award” from the Garden State Bar Association. She is a trustee of the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey.

Bucca Joins Becker & Poliakoff as Partner

Tana Bucca Joins Regional Firm Becker as Partner Tana Bucca

Becker & Poliakoff announced that Tana Bucca, previously of Stark & Stark, joined as a partner in the community association practice in Morristown. She represents condominium associations, homeowner associations and cooperatives throughout New Jersey. She assists clients with general corporate matters, collections, governing document reviews, drafting and negotiating contracts, rule and regulation enforcement, transition negotiations, and construction defect litigation. She also has significant litigation experience in state and federal courts and engages in alternative dispute resolution, the firm said. Bucca previously led Stark & Stark‘s northern New Jersey office. “I am excited to grow my practice on a larger platform and be a part of the expanding Becker community association practice group, as well as work with their talented attorneys,” Bucca said in a statement.

Wong Fleming Hires Bank Counsel Clarke 

Clarke Joins Wong Fleming as Associate Sharil A. Clarke

Wong Fleming brought on former in-house lawyer Sharil A. Clarke as an associate in its Princeton office. She has represented financial institutions in all aspects of loan restructuring, collection and litigation. She is certified as a fraud examiner and anti-money laundering compliance specialist, and also holds a professional certification in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. At Wong Fleming, Clarke will lead the bank compliance practice group, the firm said. Clarke previously was vice president and senior counsel for Santander Bank. She earned her B.S. degree from Rutgers University, an M.A. in international relations and affairs from Syracuse University, and her J.D. from Syracuse College of Law. She is a former administrative law judge for the City of New York and a former trial attorney for the Office of the U.S. Trustee in New York City. She serves as a trustee for the Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation in Somerset. She is admitted in New Jersey and New York.

Eckert Seamans Welcomes Fein to Newark Office 

Laura E. Fein

Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott hired litigation associate Laura E. Fein to the Newark office. She joined the mass tort litigation group, concentrating on asbestos litigation. According to the firm, her experience includes managing national discovery teams for multi-billion-dollar mergers in the  aerospace, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries; negotiating with government agencies; and litigating a range of commercial matters. She earned her J.D., with high honors, from Columbia Law School, where she was a Stone scholar and a John Olin scholar of law and economics, and earned her A.B., magna cum laude, in social studies from Harvard College, where she was a Radcliffe national scholar.

Norris McLaughlin Adds Associate Deans

Norris McLaughlin Adds Deans as Associate Shauna M. Deans                           [Photo Credit:Lynn Goodwin.]
Norris McLaughlin in Bridgewater brought on  Shauna M. Deans as an associate in the estate planning and administration practice group. Deans focuses her practice on estate planning and administration, including inheritance and gift taxation. Deans also is certified as a civil mediator, and has assisted parties on behalf of the court in the settlement of special civil, small claims, and landlord-tenant matters. Deans received her J.D. from Howard University School of Law in 2010, and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Spelman College in 2007. While attending law school, she was senior articles editor for the Howard Law Journal. She clerked for Camden County Superior Court Judge Frederick J. Schuck  in the Law Division. “Joining Norris McLaughlin is an exciting step in my career,” Deans said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with such a great team and putting my knowledge and experience to use for the firm’s clients.”