Zazzali-Law Legal Practice Areas

Congratulations to our partner Paul Kleinbaum upon his election to The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. The College is comprised of labor, management and employee advocates as well as government officials, judges and arbitrators throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Its mission is to promote achievement, advancement and excellence in the practice of labor and employment law and to establish high standards of professionalism and civility in the field. Election to the College is recognition by one’s colleagues of outstanding performance in the profession, exemplifying integrity, dedication and excellence. Paul will be inducted into the College at its 15th annual installation in November.

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The firm successfully represented the New Jersey State PBA as an amicus in a case in which the constitutionality of the statute granting law enforcement officers and fire fighters paid leave to attend conventions was challenged. The lawsuit was filed by a small group of supervisors in the Dept. of Corrections who sought to have the statute declared unconstitutional. The State PBA joined with the Attorney General in defending the statute. In New Jersey Law Enforcement Supervisors Association et al. v. State, the Appellate Division unanimously rejected all constitutional and equal protection challenges and upheld the validity of the statutes thereby protecting the paid convention leave benefit for thousands of law enforcement officers and fire fighters in New Jersey.

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Recent technological changes have created circumstances which the law never contemplated even a decade ago. Computers and other technology have combined to provide extraordinary public access to personal information, while simultaneously masking the identity of persons communicating to the public via the internet. The law has struggled to keep up with these recent developments. See recent cases relating to the confidentiality of electronic documents.

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On March 2, 2010 the firm filed suit seeking emergent relief in the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, on behalf of the New Jersey Education Association and the New Jersey State PBA. The suit sought to invalidate Governor Christie's Executive Order #7 which extends the State's "pay-to-play" restrictions to labor unions that negotiate collective bargaining agreements with the public employers in New Jersey. On May 7, 2010 the Appellate Division issued its decision, ruling in favor of our clients and invalidating the Governor's Executive Order as an unconstitutional infringement on legislative authority. See NJEA v. Christie and NJ State PBA v. Christie (App. Div. 2010).

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Following six years of service with the Supreme Court of New Jersey, Chief Justice James R. Zazzali has returned to the firm as Of Counsel. Former Chief Justice Zazzali wrote more than 100 opinions during his tenure on the bench and is generally acknowledged to be one of the outstanding lawyers in the State during his 40 years of practice.

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On March 2, 2010, Andrew F. Zazzali, Jr. and James R. Zazzali were each awarded the Social Justice Award at the Annual Archbishop of Newark's Business and Labor Dinner, an event which benefits the Archdiocese's CYO/Youth & Young Adult Ministries. The awards were presented by the Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, who honored the Zazzalis for their commitment to social justice and "the many thousands of workers and their families they have helped throughout the years and will continue to assist in the future".

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Congratulations to our partners Robert Fagella, Paul Kleinbaum and Sidney Lehmann, who were recently named by New Jersey Magazine as Super Lawyers. This is Mr. Fagella's 20th consecutive year as an AV rated attorney.

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The firm is actively pursuing a class action suit against the New Jersey Department of Corrections seeking to obtain backpay and benefits for thousands of Recruit Trainees who were underpaid during their training period pursuant to an unlawful regulation. This suit seeks upwards of $10 million in damages against the State of New Jersey.

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The firm recently and successfully represented the New Jersey State PBA in a suit against the State of New Jersey, obtaining injunctive relief preventing the furlough of thousands of law enforcement officers pursuant to emergency regulations issued by the Civil Service Commission.

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The firm is pleased to announce it has recently been retained by Teamsters Local Union No. 804, which represents approximately 7,000 UPS workers in the New York metropolitan area.