Luers Joins Cohn Lifland to Launch Public Records Practice 

Walter M. Luers    [Photo Credit: © 2020 Steve Hockstein/ HarvardStudio.com.]

Walter M. Luers has joined Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf  in Saddle Brook as a partner to establish and grow the firm's Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) practice. In addition to OPRA and OPMA, Luers also has successfully handled civil rights law and commercial litigation. Luers, who formerly headed his own practice in Hunterdon County, has represented media organizations and other private entities, nonprofit corporations and individuals in cases involving access to public records. His cases have resulted in seven New Jersey Supreme Court opinions, eight published Appellate Division opinions and dozens of other decisions, the firm said in its announcement.

Florio Perrucci Welcomes Two Associates

Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor welcomed new associate attorneys Matthew P. Rocco and William Hutcheson. Rocco works from the firm's Rochelle Park office, focusing on general litigation, insurance defense and corporate law. Hutcheson works from the firm's Philipsburg office, where he supports several practice areas.

Matthew P. Rocco            [Photo Credit: J Taylor Design.]

Prior to joining the firm, Rocco worked as an intern at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, during which he worked on cases involving fraud, embezzlement, money laundering and criminal conspiracy charges. He is a graduate of Rutgers Law School in Newark, where he was an associate editor on the Rutgers Law Record . He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

 

William Hutcheson          [Photo Credit: J Taylor Design.]

Hutcheson began his legal career as a law clerk to Warren County Superior Court Judge H. Matthew Curry . At Syracuse University College of Law, he traveled to France, Germany, Lichtenstein and Switzerland to gain new perspectives on the law, worked with the low-income taxpayer clinic, and mentored international students pursuing LLM degrees. Hutcheson previously worked as a hedge fund and real estate analyst. He earned a B.S. in finance from Pennsylvania State University–Harrisburg.

Mohammed Takes Presiding Judge Chair in Passaic County

Passaic County Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed.                                                                                            [Courtesy Photo.]

Passaic County Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed, who was recently profiled in the Law Journal for his tech savvy has played in preparing courts and judges for remote operation during COVID-19, will become presiding criminal judge in his vicinage as of Nov. 15, replacing retiring Judge Marilyn Clark. New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner issued the order earlier in October. Since March, Mohammed, a New Jersey Institute of Technology graduate who worked full time as an electrical engineer while attending law school at night at Seton Hall University School of Law, has become known for teaching colleagues about all the ins and outs of remote courtroom proceedings. A week after a public health emergency was declared, "Mohammed was teaching 300 judges, law clerks and judiciary staff on navigating a virtual courtroom on March 16. He would continue his tutelage with the Passaic County Bar Association on March 23 (with 434 attendees) and March 26 (100 attendees); the State Bar Association on March 26 (attended by 400); the Bergen County Bar Association on April 2 (attended by 100); the affinity bars (New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association, Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey, South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey and the Garden State Bar Association) on April 7 (attended by 100); and the Middlesex County Bar Association on April 15 (attended by 100),"  Suzette Parmley  wrote for the Law Journal in an April 30 report.