P&A Law - What's New

February 2012

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce that our Chicago office has moved to a new location. Please click here for the new address.

Lori Lange will be presenting a seminar, sponsored by the DC Chapter of Professional Women in Construction (PWC) entitled "Understanding the Buy American Act" on Wednesday, February 15th from 8:00 am to 9:30 am in Peckar & Abramson's Washington, DC office. For more information or to register for the seminar, please click here.

Steve Charney will be a lead moderator and Paul Monte will be a panelist at the AGC 2012 Conference on Surety Bonding and Construction Risk from January 30 - February 1st in Naples, Florida. On February 1st, from 8:00 am to 9:30 am, Mr. Charney and Mr. Monte will be discussing M/W, DBRE Program Requirements with a focus on compliance, policies, practices and day-to-day procedures that contractors would do well to adopt, implement or follow. For more information, please click here.

January 2012

Jerry Brodsky was recently quoted in a January 19, 2012 article in Miami Today entitled "Construction Industry Rebound Likely, With Prices Rising Too." Mr. Brodsky discussed the positive outlook in construction for 2012 and pointed out there are very significant public work projects going on now, which will attract more projects in the near future. He also stated that the construction industry in continuing to recover and that the success of these project will spur more projects.

Stephen Reisman was recently quoted in a January 5, 2012 article in Miami Today entitled "Construction materials prices edge up, pressure holds labor cost steady." Mr. Reisman discussed the rising cost of materials like reinforcing steel, pipe material and concrete, despite the fact that demand is still relatively low. Mr. Reisman commented that the rise in cost is due to the fact that when demand was suppressed, the production of building materials was reduced, and now the suppliers have to catch up. Mr. Reisman also pointed out that in Miami-Dade there are currently a number of large projects that are underway or going to be started soon and that as demand increases, labor costs, which have been relatively low, will also rise.

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce that Kim Mercado-Washington has joined the firm as an associate in the firm's Labor Relations and Employment Law Department.

David Scriven-Young was recently named as a Rising Star in Environmental Law by Illinois Super Lawyers. "Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations."" While up to five percent of the lawyers in the state are named to Super Lawyers, no more than 2.5 percent are named to the Rising Stars list."

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce that Lori Ann Lange and Eric M. Gruzen have been named partners in the firm.

Michael Branca and Aaron Brotman recently wrote an article for the December 19th issue of ENR's Spotlight on Mid-Atlantic entitled "The Hidden Risks of Federal Construction Contracts." Please click here to read the article.

December 2011

Stephen Reisman, Adam Handfinger and Brian Shue recently authored an article entitled "Public-Private Partnerships: Unique Opportunities and Risks" which was published in the Fall 2011 edition of Constructionink!. Please click here to read the article.

Jeffrey Daitz and Kevin O'Connor authored an article entitled "Whistleblower Law Permits Recovery of Economic Loss Without Showing Termination" which was published in the New Jersey Law Journal's Employment and Immigration Law supplement on December 5th. Please click here to read the article.

Tom Thompson, John Hanover, Bob Peckar, Steve Charney, and Paul Monte will be speakers at the 2011 Construction Superconference on December 14 -16 in San Francisco, California. Mr. Thompson will be a speaker in a morning session on December 15th entitled "Fighting Financial Fraud." Mr. Hanover will be a panel member in a morning session on December 15th entitled "Imposing and Meeting Pre-Qualification Requirements: How to Handle Protests." Mr. Peckar will be moderating the luncheon session on December 15th entitled "America – The Home of the World's Leading Infrastructure?" Mr. Charney will be moderating an afternoon session on December 15th entitled "Rebuilding the Structure of MBE programs: From Laudable Goals to Failed Policies to Criminality." Mr. Monte will be a panelist on the MBE session. For more information or to register for the conference, please click here.

November 2011

Kevin J. O'Connor recently published an article entitled "Misappropriating Data to Further a Claim-Theft or Protected Conduct" in the ABA Litigation Section's Employment & Labor Relations electronic newsletter. Please click here to read the article.

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce that Jenifer Minsky has joined the firm as an associate and Program Manager for Project Notice. Prior to joining, Peckar & Abramson Ms. Minsky was an associate principal at Zeitlin & DeChiara and a Deputy Assistant Borough Chief at the Corporation Counsel for the City of New York.

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce the formation of Construlegal, an alliance of construction law firms for the Americas. For more information, please click here.

Robert Peckar and Thomas Curran recently spoke on Criminal Liability for New York at the Building Trades Employers' Association (BTEA) of New York City's Safety Conference on November 21st in New York City.

Peckar & Abramson is proud to announce that the firm has once again been ranked as a first -tier law firm on a national level in the area of Construction Law in the 2011 - 2012 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” annual analysis. The firm's New York, Miami, New Jersey and Washington, DC offices were also ranked in the first-tier for Construction Law. "Rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process." "These rankings, which are presented in tiers, showcase 9,633 different law firms ranked nationally in one or more of 75 major legal practice areas and in metropolitan or state rankings in one or more of 119 major legal practice areas." " Achieving a high ranking is a special distinction that signals a unique combination of excellence and breadth of expertise." For more information and to view the firm's rankings, please click here.

William (Tom) Thompson will be appearing with the Inspector General of GSA at the Construction SuperConference on December 15, 2011 in San Francisco for a presentation on “Fighting Financial Fraud.”

Thomas Curran recently was interviewed by CNBC for an article entitled "What Should MF Global Investors Know Right Now?" to discuss what steps affected investors should take now that MF Global has filed for bankruptcy. Please click here for the complete story.

Robert S. Peckar will be a moderator at the AAA/ICDR Legal Update and International Construction Roundtable on November 11, 2011 in New York. For more information, please click here.

William (Tom) Thompson will be speaking on “Practical Insights for Federal Contractors” at the International Risk Management Institute's annual meeting in San Diego on November 16th.

October 2011

Thomas Curran is a program co-chair for a CLE seminar entitled "What Every Criminal & Corporate Lawyer Needs to Know About Monitors" sponsored by the City Bar's Criminal Advocacy Committee on October 25th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the City Bar Center for CLE. The program will cover legal and ethical considerations for monitors, regulation and oversight of monitors, codes of conduct, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of monitors. For more information, please click here.

Stephen H. Reisman will be a speaker at a training course entitled "A Creature of Contract: Drafting Construction ADR Clauses to Meet Project Needs" offered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) on October 19th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The program will discuss how parties can pro actively manage the resolution of disputes that may arise on their project by including ADR clauses in their construction contracts. For more information, please click here.

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce that Bruce D. Meller and Stephen H. Reisman have been named "Best Lawyers’ 2012 Lawyers of the Year". Mr. Meller was named "Best Lawyers’ 2012 Newark Litigation - Construction Lawyer of the Year" and Mr. Reisman was named " Best Lawyers’ 2012 Miami Construction Law Lawyer of the Year. "Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current, 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in Best Lawyers' surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity."

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce that the following attorneys have been chosen as 2011 New York-Metro Super Lawyers in Construction Law: Richard Abramson, Steve Charney, Gregory Chertoff, Robert Drucker, Patrick J.Greene, Charlie Kenny, Bruce Meller, Bob Peckar, Howard Rosen, Stephen Stallings and Charles Williams. Thomas J. Curran was chosen as Super Lawyer in White Collar Criminal Defense and Denis Serkin was chosen as a Rising Star in Construction Law. Bob Peckar was also chosen as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in the metro New York area. "Only five percent of New York Metro attorneys have been named to the Super Lawyers list. The selection process is based on peer nominations, blue ribbon panel review and independent research.

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce that the following attorneys have joined the firm as associates: Aaron Brotman, Felix X. Rodriguez, Brian A. Shue, Abby R. Weiner and that Michelle Benyacar has joined the firm as Special Counsel.

September 2011

Best Lawyers in America® has announced that 19 lawyers from our firm have been selected by their peers for inclusion in their 2012 edition. The following lawyers have been selected in the following practice areas: Arbitration and Mediation: Adrian L. Bastianelli, III; Construction Law: Steven M. Charney, Patrick J. Greene, Charles F. Kenny, Bruce D. Meller, Paul G. Monte, Robert S. Peckar, Stephen H. Reisman, Donald S. Rosenberg, Neal I. Sklar and Gary M. Stein. Construction Litigation: Richard L. Abramson, Adrian L. Bastianelli, III, Jerry P. Brodsky, Steven M. Charney, Gregory H. Chertoff, Robert A. Drucker, Melinda S. Gentile, Patrick J. Greene, Jr., Charles F. Kenny, Bruce D. Meller, Paul G. Monte, Gerard J. Onorata, Robert S. Peckar, Stephen H. Reisman, Howard M. Rosen, Neal I. Sklar, Gary M. Stein; Real Estate Law and Real Estate Litigation: Donald S. Rosenberg. Best Lawyers are selected "based on exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 41,000 leading attorneys cast almost 3.9 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor."

July 2011

Client Alert: NJ Supreme Court Permits Claims for Personal Liability Under the Consumer Fraud Act

Jerry Brodsky was recently named as Division 8 (International) Chair for the Special Programs and Education Committee (SPEC) of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Forum on Construction.

Florida Super Lawyers has named the following attorneys as 2011 Florida Super Lawyers in Construction Law: Melinda Gentile, Adam Handfinger, Stephen Reisman, Neal Sklar and Gary Stein. Only five percent of Florida attorneys are named to the Super Lawyers list. The selection process is based on peer nominations, blue ribbon panel review and independent research.

Kevin O'Connor will be discussing changes in the New Jersey Lien Law and the Consumer Fraud Act at a seminar entitled Recent Developments in New Jersey Law: 2011, sponsored by the New Jersey Institue of Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), on July 28th. For more information or to register for this seminar, please click here.

June 2011

Press Release: Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Once Again Honored by Chambers’ USA and Legal 500

Please click here for Peckar & Abramson's Rankings.

The Legal 500 US-2011 has once again recognized Peckar & Abramson as a Top Tier Firm in Construction on a national level. Specifically, the Legal 500 noted that "There are not many firms in the US that offer more in-depth expertise in construction litigation’ than Peckar & Abramson, which has ‘top-level knowledge in the field and vast national coverage’...". Robert S. Peckar was recognized as a Leading Lawyer and Jerry P. Brodsky, Steven M. Charney, Thomas J. Curran, Melinda S. Gentile, and Stephen H. Reisman were recommended in the Legal 500 editorial. "The Legal 500 Series, now in its 25th year, is widely acknowledged as the world’s largest legal referral guide. This year, more than 180,000 in-house counsel and lawyers have been surveyed and interviewed globally. The Legal 500 is an independent guide, and firms and individuals are recommended purely on merit." For more information, please click here.

Peckar & Abramson is pleased to announce that David Arola has joined the firm as an associate in the Miami office.

Peckar & Abramson will be hosting a complimentary Breakfast Seminar on "How to Prepare for the Possibility of Labor Strikes" on June 21s at 8:00 a.m. in our New York office. For more information or to register for the seminar, please click here.

Peckar & Abramson is hosting a CLE course entitled "Recent Developments in the Intersection of the Consumer Fraud Act and Construction Law in Residential and Commercial Disputes" on June 10th in our New Jersey office. For more information or to register for the course, please click here.

Charles Kenny will be a speaker at seminar entitled Construction Defect Litigation, sponsored by the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), on June 8th. For more information or to register for the seminar, please click here.

May 2011

Thomas Curran was recently quoted in an article in the New York Times entitled "The Defense Can't Afford to Rest" . Please click here for the article.

Kevin O'Connor will be discussing changes in the New Jersey Lien Law and the Consumer Fraud Act at a seminar entitled Recent Developments in New Jersey Law: 2011, sponsored by the New Jersey Institue of Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), on July 28th. For more information or to register for this seminar, please click here.

Thomas Curran recently appeared on The Kudlow Report on CNBC in a segment entitled "Govt. War on Goldman Sachs? " to discuss the Wall Street Journal's reports that Goldman Sachs executives are expected to receive subpoenas related to its mortgage business. Please click here for the video.

Charles Kenny will be a speaker at seminar entitled Construction Defect Litigation, sponsored by the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE), on June 8th. For more information or to register for the seminar, please click here.

Thomas Curran recently appeared on The Kudlow Report on CNBC in a segment entitled "Raj Convicted on All Counts " to discuss the conviction of hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam on all counts of insider trading. Please click here for the video.

Mc Graw-Hill Construction and ENR, in association with Peckar & Abramson, will be hosting the 5th Groundbreaking Women in Construction (GWIC) conference, a leadership conference for women in the design and construction industry, on May 9th - 10th in New York City. Bob Peckar will be the moderator and Thomas Curran will be a panelist at a pre-conference workshop entitled "Compliance and Intergrity in the Construction Industry-The New Paradigm" on May 9th from 8:30 a.m to 10:00 am. To learn more about the conference, please click here.

Thomas Curran recently appeared on "In the Loop" on Bloomberg television to discuss replacement of one member of the jury at the insider-trading trial of Galleon Group LLC co-founder Raj Rajaratnam. Please click here for the video.

Peckar & Abramson will be hosting a complimentary Breakfast Seminar on "Corporate Planning and Pension Withdrawal Liability: What You Need to Know" on May 18th at 8:00 a.m. in our New Jersey office. For more information or to register for the seminar, please click here.

April 2011

Thomas Curran recently appeared on "In the Loop" on Bloomberg television to discuss the closing arguments at the insider-trading trial of Galleon Group LLC co-founder Raj Rajaratnam. Please click here for the video.

Jeffrey Daitz and Kevin O'Connor authored an article entitled " Navigating the Minefield of Modern Employee Theft Claims" which was published in the New Jersey Law Journal's Employment and Immigration Law supplement on April 18th. Please click here to view the article.

Kevin O'Connor will be a speaker at the Morris County Bar Association's Construction Law Conference on April 28th in Morristown, New Jersey. The conference will provide an Overview of Construction Insurance Coverage and Construction Law as it relates to The Consumer Fraud Act , Residential Disputes, and Commercial Disputes. Mr. Connor will review the history of the Consumer Fraud Act leading to the most recent posture as it effects Construction Law. For more information or register for the conference, please click here.

Peckar & Abramson was recently featured in Corporate INTL's 2011 Construction Law Review issue in an article entitled "Challenging US Construction Sector During Economic Crisis". Please click here to view the article.

Peckar & Abramson has been selected, for the 5th year in a row, to be on Chambers USA's shortlist for Chambers USA's Awards for Excellence in Construction. The Chambers USA Awards for Excellence "reflect a law firm’s pre-eminence in key practice areas. They also reflect notable achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service." Peckar & Abramson was the recipient of the award in 2007, the first year the award was given. This year's winner will be announced on June 9th at the Chambers USA Award for Excellence dinner in New York.

Steven Charney will be speaking at PLI’s Building Better Construction Contracts program on April 28, 2011 in New York. Mr. Charney will be speaking about the ConsensusDOCS Approach to IPD: the 300 Document. For more information or to register for the seminar, please click here.

Stephen Reisman, Neal Sklar and Adam Handfinger will be speakers at a complimentary Peer Conference entitled "Sharpening Your Claims Tools: Knowing How to Prosecute & Defend Claims" on April 6th at 8:00 a.m. in our Miami office. For more information or to register for the conference, please click here.

Mark Berry and Mike Branca will be speakers at the ARTBA's 3rd Annual Transportation Construction Law and Regulatory Forum on April 6th -7th in Washington, DC. Mr. Berry will speaking on P3 Projects and Contractors on April 6th and Mr. Branca will be speaking on Practical Advice for Contracting with the Federal Government on April 7th. For more information, please click here.

Tom Curran recently appeared on Bloomberg Television to discuss Adam Smith's testimony in the Galleon insider trading trial. Please click here for the video.

Jeffrey Daitz will be speaking on "Countering Insured Resistance to Settlement; Early Mitigation/Settlement Strategies" at RSUI's Annual Claims Seminar on April 18th - 21st in Atlanta, Georgia.

Robert S. Peckar was recently featured in the 2011 issue of New Jersey Super Lawyers magazine in an article entitled "Bob Peckar Builds Harmony.". Please click here to view the article.