Nursing and veterans homes were among the hardest hit facilities in the early days of the pandemic, with the outbreak among older patients prompting widespread outrage and calls for reform. Now, under legislation the governor signed in February, those facilities, hospitals, surgery centers, senior homes and hospice centers will be required to report COVID-19 outbreaks and fatalities of their staff to state health officials.

New Jersey partner Phillip Bauknight will chair the task force, which features attorneys from practice groups including wage and hour law, international law, data security and workplace privacy, corporate compliance, and employee benefits and tax.

Philip Degnan joins the firm, while Bhaveen Jani and Max Schatzow - who are both known as "leaders in their practice areas and communities," according to firm Managing Partner Michael Donahue - were promoted.

The records are the first of about 360,000 identified by the judiciary in superior and municipal courts as eligible for automatic vacation, dismissal and expungement under the decriminalization law that was effective on July 1.

Christopher Orlando will assist the firm’s governmental clients as they work to transform local law enforcement. Early in his career, he developed the legal framework for the creation of the Camden County Metro Police Department, replacing the Camden City Police Department.

On June 17, The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the ACA in California v. Texas. The Court’s 7-2 decision concluded that the plaintiffs did not have standing to litigate the constitutionality of the law. In this week's Closing Entry, Corporate Synergies General Counsel and Senior Vice President Daniel Kuperstein writes about what that means for employers.

David Haworth has litigated general commercial, construction, franchise and consumer fraud matters for two decades.

First Assistant Attorney General Andrew Bruck will replace outgoing Gurbir Grewal in the role for the remainder of the four-year term, which ends this January.

“I’m disappointed,” Gov. Phil Murphy told reporters. “We’re considering our options here because we want to fight for New Jersey commuters and New Jersey taxpayers.”

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices overturned a lower court ruling that favored the State of New Jersey, saying that the Natural Gas Act enacted in 1938, which allows private energy companies to seize land for a project if they have obtained a certificate from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reflecting that the construction of a pipeline “is or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity,” can be applied to state-owned land.

A  Superior Court judge ruled that the owners of a Ridgewood restaurant could proceed with litigation against their landlords, who they sued on grounds that they shouldn’t have to pay rent for the months of business they lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. And according to the plaintiff’s attorney, how the case shakes out could have far-reaching effects on the rights of similar operators.

The $90 million project was financed through a complex and unique public-private partnership established with the university's development partner RISE Highlanders, its collegiate housing partner Collegiate Housing Foundation, and its public partner, the Essex County Improvement Authority.