For immediate release: October 2, 2008
For further information contact: Winnie Comfort or
Tammy Kendig
609-292-9580
Supreme Court of New Jersey Recognizes Volunteers on District Fee Arbitration Committees
The Supreme Court will issue certificates of meritorious service to 52 members of New Jersey's district fee arbitration committees to thank them for having served the Judiciary, today announced David E. Johnson Jr., director of the Office of Attorney Ethics. Members of these committees resolve disputes concerning legal fees between consumers and their attorneys.
"Our fee arbitration volunteers are the backbone of this very successful program, allowing attorneys and their clients a quick and convenient process to resolve their disagreement over appropriate attorney fees. We are grateful for their expertise and dedication," said Johnson.
The New Jersey Supreme Court created the current fee arbitration system in 1978 as a way to resolve fee disputes between clients and attorneys in a timely and inexpensive manner. Only nine other states offer a mandatory, statewide, attorney fee arbitration program similar to New Jersey's.
Fee arbitration is initiated when a client files an arbitration request form with the secretary of the committee in a district where the attorney maintains a law office. Clients can obtain contact information for the appropriate district committee by calling the automated Fee Arbitration Hotline at 800-406-8594 and entering the attorney's office zip code. The client and the attorney each must pay a $50 administrative filing fee for utilizing the fee arbitration system.
In fee matters, the attorney must prove that the fee charged was reasonable based on a number of factors, including the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved and the legal skills required; the likelihood that serving the client will preclude other employment by the lawyer; the customary fees for similar legal services; the amount involved and the results obtained; the time limits imposed by the client or by the circumstances; the nature and length of the professional relationship with the client; the experience, reputation and ability of the lawyer or lawyers performing the services; and whether the fee is fixed or contingent. Matters involving fees of $3,000 or more are heard before panels of three members of the district fee arbitration committee. Matters involving lesser amounts are heard by a single attorney from the committee. A written arbitration determination is prepared for the parties, who may choose to settle at any time before or during a hearing.
Attorneys and members of the public are appointed to four-year terms. Currently 304 volunteers serve on the state's 17 committees. Please see the attached list for the names and hometowns of the departing members.
In 2007, clients filed 1,003 new fee disputes statewide. The committees resolved 1,038 disputes involving almost $11.3 million in total billings. More information on the Office of Attorney Ethics and the fee arbitration program can be found at njcourtsonline.com.
Outgoing Fee Arbitration Committee Members
District I
(Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem Counties)
Marian Haag, Esq., Chair, Bridgeton
Braun D. Littlefield, Esq., Atlantic City
Michael J. Mackler, Esq., Atlantic City
Dorothy F. McCrosson, Esq., Ocean City
Joseph Abbott, Jr., Pleasantvillebr>
Paul S. Cooper, Bridgeton
District IIA
(North Bergen County)
Margaret S. Sullivan, Esq., Chair, Ridgewood
Alexander P. Adler, Cliffside Park
Jeffrey Hering, Montvale
District IIB
(South Bergen County)
Ronald M. Abramson, Esq., Chair, Hackensack
Edward S. Kiel, Esq., V. Chair, Hackensack
William J. Bailey, Esq., Westwood
Robert Boyle, Hackensack
Steven Frimmer, Ridgefield Park
Joseph A. Harris, Ph.D., Teaneck
District IIIA
(Ocean County)
Patricia Speck, Shrewsbury
District IIIB
(Burlington County)
Jeremy D. Countess, Esq., Chair, Moorestown
Marie Kotch, Columbus
Nina Ladoff, Moorestown
District IV
(Camden and Gloucester Counties)
Lynn M. Castillo, Esq., Woodbury
District VA
(Essex County - Newark)
Joan H. Langer, Esq., Chair, Newark
Luis E. Rivera-Castro, Esq., Montclair
John H. Klock, Esq., Newark
Harold Bobrow, Maplewood
District VB
(Essex County - Suburban Essex))
Cheryl H. Burstein, Esq., Chair, West Orange
Marc B. Kramer, Esq. of Short Hills
District VC
(Essex County - West Essex)
A.L. Gaydos, Jr., Esq., Chair, Montclair
Laurie A. Bernstein, Esq., Roseland
Geraldine Reed Brown, Esq., Montclair
Audrey Bartner, Verona
District VI
(Hudson County)
Norberto A. Garcia, Esq., Chair, Jersey City
Joseph J. Talafous, Jr., Esq., Jersey City
Cindy N. Vogelman, Esq., Secaucus
Raymond Bulin, Union City
District VII
(Mercer County)
Roger T. Haley, Esq., Trenton
District VIII
(Middlesex County)
Chris E. Piasecki, Esq., Chair, Middlesex
Ernest Blair, Esq., Kendall Park
Gregory A. Drews, Esq., New Brunswick
District IX
(Monmouth County)
Edward P. Fradkin, Esq., Chair, Oakhurst
Allen C. Jenkins, Marlboro
Walter T. MacGowan, Jr., Spring Lake
District X
(Morris and Sussex Counties)
John E. Ursin, Esq., Chair, Sparta
Jonathan S. Bristol, Esq., Morristown
Herbert M. Strulowitz, Esq., Randolph
District XI
(Passaic County)
Richard J. Baldi, Esq., Chair, Paterson
Patricia M. Rocca, Little Falls
District XII
(Union County)
James J. Byrnes, Esq., Chair, Union
Edward P. Ruane, Esq., Springfield
Alan T. English, Ph.D., Summit
District XIII
(Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren Counties)
Donna Marie Jones Emmi, Esq., Chair, Hillsborough
Lisa J. Pezzano-Mickey, Esq., Asbury Park
Robert G. Wilson, Somerville