Non-profits come in all sizes. Many of the largest employers in any given area are legally non-profits…consider area hospitals and colleges. There are also thousands of smaller non-profits ranging from those with a very specific and active purpose, a social service provider, a community mental health agency, a library foundation, a service club or its […]
Archive | Legal Update
How do I Sell Liquor in my Restaurant?
You want to open a restaurant in one of the over five hundred municipalities in New Jersey and you would also like to serve wine, beer or other alcohol in your new restaurant. It sounds simple, but regulations and costs can make the idea of serving alcohol in a restaurant somewhat daunting. It does not […]
High Times in the Garden State
During this decade, there has been a trend to legalize the sale and use of marijuana and other cannabis products Nationwide. A total of twenty-nine States, plus the District of Columbia, have some form of legalization either for outright recreational use or for medical purposes. New Jersey is among the States allowing the sale and […]
Experts and Land Use Boards: License to Testify?
Hearings before land use boards often involve fact witnesses and expert witnesses who provide the factual and legal basis upon which a board renders its decision. Expert testimony in the land use context is most often presented by professionals in the fields of engineering, architecture, and professional planning. Neither the Municipal Land Use Law (“MLUL”) […]
Let Them Eat Cake?
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument on December 5th in the highly controversial case, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm. This case involves Colorado cake ‘artist’, Jack Phillips’ refusal to create a custom cake for a same – sex marriage couple, alleging it conflicted with his religious beliefs. The case has major First […]
Will Your Legacy Withstand the Test of Time? Here’s the Formula.
What makes a family business so successful? How is it that some family run businesses, over the years, prove to withstand the test of time, while others fail generational transition? A successful family business is a marriage of the family dynamic with economics. This marriage creates a number of challenges, but if effectively managed, fosters […]
Innocent Purchasers of Contaminated Property
New Jersey’s Spill Compensation and Control Act, N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11 et seq., governs liability regarding a property upon which hazardous substances have been discharged. The Act states that anyone “in any way responsible” for hazardous substance discharge is strictly liable, jointly and severally, without regard to fault, for all cleanup and removal costs. Land purchasers in […]
Fiduciary Duties to Locate a Missing Heir
There may come a point in time where you are asked to serve as a personal representative of an estate of a loved one. With this privilege comes legal obligations and fiduciary duties. Pursuant to New Jersey statutory law, a personal representative of an estate has a duty to settle and distribute the estate of […]
Time of Submission is Key for Land Use Applications
As you may recall from past Legal Updates, the New Jersey Legislature made a sweeping change to the application procedure dictated by the Municipal Land Use Law. Prior to 2011, applications submitted for development were subject to municipal ordinances in effect at the time the decision was rendered by the Board. This meant that pending […]
Noteworthy Winter 2018
Photo spreads including all WJ&L attorneys appeared in 201 Magazine in May and more recently in November’s edition of Bergen Magazine. These photo spreads were in connection with the selection of some of our Partners as “top” attorneys in their fields. Tom Wells, Jim Jaworski and Stuart Liebman have enjoyed this distinction a number of […]