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Hill Wallack LLP Attorneys Instruct Certification Class for PROP

26 Jul 2018

Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania

2018 Annual Recycling & Organics Conference

July 25 - 27, 2018Best Western Premier

The Central Hotel & Conference Center | 800 East Park Drive, Harrisburg, PA

Partner David J. Truelove and associate Benjamin W.R. Hauser of Hill Wallack LLP, along with Chuck Raudenbush of Waste Managment will be conducting the following class:

Certification Class: Recycling 311 - Specifications, Negotiations and Contracting (0.2 CEU)
Thursday, July 26, 2018 | 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to service specifications, contracts, negotiations, and implementation of collection or processing agreements. This session will demonstrate what tools and methods are necessary to avoid problems before they occur.

Click here for more conference information.

Hill Wallack LLP Partner Francis J. Sullivan to Speak at NBI Seminar in Princeton, NJ

12 Jul 2018

Business Law Boot Camp

Learn Current Procedures and Best Practices

In order to successfully advise your business clients, it's essential that you remain up to date on best practices and the latest developments. At this fast-paced program you will learn practical tips and techniques from experienced practitioners on a variety of matters ranging from contracts to taxes; and at the end of the day you will return to your desk with a handy resource and the know-how to effectively represent any business client.

Holiday Inn Princeton
100 Independence Way
Princeton, NJ 08540

Thursday, July 12, 2018
9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Click here for program information and registration.

About the speaker:

FRANCIS J. SULLIVAN is a partner in the law firm of Hill Wallack LLP. He is partner-in-charge of the business & commercial and trusts & estates practice groups. Mr. Sullivan concentrates his practice in the representation of corporate entities and partnerships, buying and selling businesses and real estate, tax, and regulatory issues, as well as obtaining and structuring financing to further his clients' business needs, growth and development. He frequently advises clients on the planning, organizing, restructuring, and governance of new and existing business entities, including the documenting of the relationship between and among the business entity and its owners. Mr. Sullivan also negotiates, structures and drafts operating, partnership and shareholder agreements; agreements for retirement; and buy-outs of partners and corporate owners; as well as generational succession planning. He also is involved in commercial litigation on behalf of his business clients. Mr. Sullivan is very active in the legal profession and his community. He is past president of the Bucks County Bar Association. Mr. Sullivan is a member of the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, a lifetime fellow of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and is a Senior Hearing Committee member of the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board. He is a former Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and is a member of the Inns of Court of Bucks County. Mr. Sullivan earned his B.A. degree from La Salle University and his J.D. degree from Villanova University School of Law. He earned a Master of Laws in taxation from Villanova University School of Law and in 2004, received a certificate in estate planning from the Graduate Tax Division of Temple University School of Law at Temple Law School. Mr. Sullivan is a member of the American, Pennsylvania and the Bucks County Bar Associations.

Pennsylvania Enacts Fast-Track Foreclosure Process for Vacant Properties

25 Jun 2018

Written by: Michael J. Shavel, Esq. and Jill M. Fein, Esq.

New legislation in Pennsylvania provides for an accelerated foreclosure for vacant properties. The Vacant and Abandoned Real Estate Foreclosure Act (the “Act”) which goes into effect on December 19, 2018 enables creditors to expedite the foreclosure process and sheriff’s sale if the property is certified as vacant.

The Act is meant to assist municipalities which are faced with rapidly deteriorating properties that create a health and safety issue in the community. These properties are typically not repaired or restored until a creditor acquires title; therefore the expedited process allows foreclosing creditors to reach the point of sheriff’s sale quicker than the normal track.

Under the Act, once a foreclosure lawsuit is commenced the creditor can choose one of two methods to certify that a property is vacant either through a municipal code officer or through the court system. If the creditor chooses to use a municipal code officer, the officer will inspect the mortgaged property and draft a report certifying that the property is vacant and abandoned. The creditor is responsible for compensating the code officer for the work performed. The report must then be sent to the owner of the property and/or the obligor under the mortgage with a notice that the owner must request a hearing to refute the vacancy determination, and if they fail to do the finding will become final.

A creditor may also use the judicial method to certify that a property is vacant by requiring the owner to evidence to the Court that the property is not abandoned. The judicial method requires that the creditor file an affidavit which can be provided by a code enforcement officer, the creditor or any competent adult with knowledge of the condition of the property (including a property inspector or agent) with photographs showing the condition of the property to evidence the alleged abandonment of the property. This Affidavit and a Rule to Show Cause is then served on the property owner or obligor, who then must respond with a statement under oath certifying that the property is not vacant and abandoned. In the event a property owner or obligor responds, a hearing will be set and a judge will make the final determination.

Once the property is certified as vacant and abandoned, the foreclosure process becomes streamlined and the typical obstacles that a creditor may encounter in moving to a sheriff’s sale are eliminated. The property is not subject to mediation, conciliation, diversion, or any other local program to encourage resolution of owner-occupied residential foreclosures. Eliminating the need for service by the Sheriff all subsequent documents may be served by first class mail to an address specified by the owner, or if no address is specified by first class mail and posting on the property. Most notably, once the property is certified as vacant the sheriff must schedule the property for a sheriff’s sale within 60 days of the filing of the writ of execution and the creditor’s payment of the acceleration fee. Finally, the Act also allows a creditor to exercise a limited right to possession while the foreclosure is pending to maintain the yard and exterior of the property and to remedy any potential health or safety hazards.

The Act provides a welcome relief for creditors navigating the foreclosure process in vacant properties and all but eliminates the delays that can delay a residential foreclosure for months or years. Creditors should start planning to take advantage of this new expedited track now for properties known to be vacant.

©2018 Hill Wallack LLP. All rights reserved. Please contact Hill Wallack for permission to reprint. Notice: The purpose of this Client Alert is to identify select developments that may be of interest to readers. The information contained herein is abridged and summarized from various sources, accuracy and completeness of which cannot be assured. This Client Alert should not be construed as legal advice or opinion, and is not a substitute for the advice of counsel.

Hill Wallack LLP Accepted the HomeFront Diaper Challenge!

12 Jun 2018

Princeton, N.J. June 12, 2018 --- Hill Wallack LLP participated in the HomeFront Diaper Challenge! HomeFront launched a month-long Diaper Challenge aimed at raising 100,000 diapers and baby wipes. During this time, the offices of Hill Wallack LLP collected diapers and baby wipes for this worthy cause. On June 12, 2018, Wendy Cohen, John Petrangeli and Eileen Garretson of Hill Wallack presented Ms. Connie Mercer, the President/CEO of HomeFront with these items for the families in Mercer County. Katrina Homel, Esq. and Mary Gnias spearheaded collections for the Hill Wallack Yardley office. This effort will culminate in the opening of HomeFront’s Diaper Resource Center, a new program to support families experiencing the need for diapers in Mercer County. The National Diaper Bank Network estimates that 1 in 3 American families report experiencing the need for diapers. Disposable diapers cost at least $70 to $80 per month per baby, but no state or federal child safety-net program allocates dollars for the purchase of diapers and they cannot be obtained with food stamps. Without diapers, babies cannot participate in early childhood education programs and without child care, parents cannot go to work. The diapers speak directly to HomeFront’s mission to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness in New Jersey.

Hill Wallack LLP Attorneys Present Short Discussion and Q & A on RGB

05 Jun 2018

Please join us for a special screening of RBG, a documentary on the life and work of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this evening at 8:00 p.m. at the Princeton Garden Theatre. Before the film, Hill Wallack LLP attorneys and Princeton residents, Katrina Homel and Victoria Airgood will be leading an introductory discussion and, after the film, a Q&A centered on the legal and cultural issues touched on by the film. You can find more info here.

Hill Wallack Family Law Attorney Megha R. Thakkar Sworn in as the Middlesex County Bar Association Secretary

24 May 2018

Princeton, NJ May 24, 2018 --- Divorce and family law attorney, Megha R. Thakkar, was sworn in as Secretary of the Middlesex County Bar Association for the 2018-2019 term. She took the oath of office during the association’s Annual Installation of Officers and Trustees, which was held at the Estate at Farrington Lake in East Brunswick on May 23, 2018.

Megha has been active in the Middlesex County Bar Association since 2008, and served as a Trustee from 2011-2018. In January 2016, Megha received the Martin S. Goldin Family Law Award from the Middlesex County Bar Association.

Megha is Counsel in the Princeton, New Jersey office of Hill Wallack LLP, where she is a member of the firm’s Family Law practice group. She represents clients in all aspects of divorce and family law, including litigation, mediation, and arbitration, custody matters, alimony and child support disputes, post-judgment applications, prenuptial agreements, and domestic violence litigation. She is also a qualified mediator in family law matters.

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Hill Wallack Attorneys Selected To The 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers List

21 May 2018

Yardley, PA May 21, 2018 --- Francis J. Sullivan and David J. Truelove, from the Yardley, PA office of Hill Wallack LLP, have been selected to the 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Francis J. Sullivan is the Managing Partner of Hill Wallack LLP’s Yardley, Pa., office. He is partner-in-charge of the Business & Commercial and Trusts & Estates practice groups. Mr. Sullivan represents corporate entities and partnerships in a wide variety of business transactions and related litigation. Mr. Sullivan’s clients include family owned businesses and partnerships, as well as businesses in a number of industry sectors, such as financial services organizations and mortgage companies, automobile dealerships, construction and related trades, home heating fuel oil entities, professional firms (medical, legal and accounting), and publishing. He also represents individuals in commercial matters.

David J. Truelove is a partner-in-charge of the firm’s Employment & Labor Law practice group. Mr. Truelove’s areas of concentration include municipal labor law, employment matters and complex litigation. He is a recognized labor lawyer, who has successfully represented municipalities, school districts and other public entities throughout Bucks County, Montgomery County and the surrounding region in a wide variety of high-profile collective bargaining matters.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, 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 annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the county. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, go to superlawyers.com.

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Hill Wallack LLP Attorney Katrina M. Homel Elected to the Board of Directors of the YWCA Princeton

10 May 2018

Princeton, NJ May 10, 2018 --- Katrina M. Homel, an associate attorney in the Yardley, Pennsylvania office of Hill Wallack LLP, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the YWCA Princeton for a three-year term, from 2018 through 2021. She was elected to the position at the YWCA’s annual meeting on May 9, 2018, which was held at the YWCA Princeton’s W Center.

Prior to her election to the YWCA Princeton Board of Directors, Ms. Homel served as the Co-President of the YWCA Princeton NEXT GEN Board from 2016 through 2018. The NEXT GEN Board, launched in 2016, engages young professional women in the greater Mercer County area in professional development and board leadership activities. It is one of only two YWCA boards in the country focused on young professional women, and is dedicated to engaging young people and the larger community in the YWCA’s mission of empowering women and eliminating racism.

Ms. Homel is a member of Hill Wallack LLP’s Employment & Labor, School, and Municipal Law practice groups. She regularly advises school law clients in matters related to school district policy, special education, contracts, student privacy, union relations, and other issues as they occur in school districts. As a member of Hill Wallack’s Employment & Labor Group, she represents and counsels private and public entities as well as individuals in a broad range of labor and employment law issues.

About the YWCA Princeton

The YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. The Princeton YWCA, founded in 1917, serves more than 5,000 people in the Mercer County area annually through child care, dance, arts & crafts, book clubs, educational lectures & seminars, wellness classes and a Newcomers Club that welcomes participants from all over the world. Across the USA, there are 225 YWCAs that serve more than 2 million women, girls, and their families. The YWCA Princeton is also part of World YWCA, an international movement serving 25 million worldwide in 120 countries.

Hill Wallack LLP Partner Louis Tambaro to Speak at Elite Consulting Partners Advisor Workshop

10 May 2018

Elite Consulting Partners Advisor Workshop

"Starting or Growing a Successful Independent, RIA, or Hybrid Practice"

This educational and dynamic workshop, led by Elite Consulting Partners President and industry expert Frank LaRosa, brings together leading industry professionals and thought leaders from within the Independent, RIA, and Hybrid space to lead insightful discussions geared at informing financial advisors who are thinking about INDEPENDENCE, RIA, or Hybrid options or already within their chosen model on strategies that will impact their short-term and long-term business success. To view agenda, click here.

Thursday, May 10, 2018
Sheraton Valley Forge
King of Prussia, PA

About Louis D.Tambaro

Louis D. Tambaro is a partner in the Princeton, N.J. office of Hill Wallack LLP, where he is a member of the Corporate Law practice group. Mr. Tambaro concentrates his practice on the representation of broker-dealers, financial advisers, registered investment advisers and wealth management firms in transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. In doing so, he couples his experience in private practice with his more recent experience as a financial services professional and branch manager for a large independent broker-dealer. As President of Tambaro Financial Services, LLC, Mr. Tambaro consulted with numerous financial advisers, groups of advisers, and investment adviser representatives, as well as small regional broker-dealers, with respect to various types of compliance concerns.

New Jersey Enacts Paid Sick Leave Act Effective October 29, 2018

08 May 2018

Written by: Susan L. Swatski

On May 2, 2018, New Jersey became the tenth state to enact a mandatory paid sick leave law. The law goes into effect on October 29, 2018 and will require all New Jersey employers, regardless of size, to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. The Act preempts and moots all municipal ordinances regarding paid sick time. Current employees will begin accruing sick time on October 29, 2018, so employers will need to have their revised leave policies in place in short order. Employees hired after October 29, 2018, will begin accruing sick time on their first day of employment. An employee can use accrued sick time after the 120th day of his/her first day of employment for the following reasons:

diagnosis, care or treatment of or recovery from an employee's own mental or physical illness, including preventive medical care;
aid or care for a covered family member during diagnosis, care or treatment of or recovery from the family member's mental or physical illness, including preventive medical care;
circumstances related to an employee's or his/her family member's status as a victim of domestic or sexual violence;
closure of an employee's workplace or of a child’s school because of a public official's order; or,
time to attend a meeting required by school staff to discuss a child's health.

Employers may not require an employee to find a replacement to cover the employee's absence. The payment amount is based on the same rate of pay that the employee earns at the time of the payment, not when the time was accrued.

Under the Act, employers must designate any period of 12 consecutive months as a "benefit year." In each benefit year, an employee may accrue up to 40 hours of sick time at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. An employer may "frontload" the 40 hours of sick time at the beginning of the benefit year, but employers are not required to permit employees to use more than 40 hours of sick leave in a benefit year. Employees are permitted to carry over a maximum of 40 hours of accrued sick time. Employers may, at their discretion, buy out an employee’s unused accrued sick time in the month before the end of the benefit year. An employee has the option to either have the entire amount of unused sick time paid out or 50 percent of the time. The Act does not require the employer to pay employees for unused accrued sick leave upon separation from employment. Employers with existing paid time off, personal days, vacation days and sick-day policies may use those policies to comply with the Act provided employees can use the time off as required by the Act.

Employers must post a notification of employees' rights under the Act and provide employees with a written copy of the notice within 30 days after the Department of Labor has issued a model notice and each time thereafter when an employee is hired. Employers also must retain records documenting paid sick time taken by employees for a period of five years.

The Act provides for a private right of action that includes, among other remedies, liquidated damages in an amount equal to the actual damages sustained by the employee. The Act also contains anti-retaliation provisions that include a rebuttable presumption that an employer's actions are unlawful if the employer takes adverse action against an employee within 90 days of the employee engaging in activity protected under the Act. Protected activities include filing a complaint with the Department of Labor, cooperating with an investigation, opposing policies and practices that are unlawful under the Act or informing other individuals of their rights under the Act.

Your business likely will be impacted by the Paid Sick Leave Act. You should start preparing now to ensure your sick leave, paid time off and vacation policies are compliant with the Act. You should also include training on the retaliation provisions of the Act for managers and supervisors.

For more information about this alert or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact Susan L. Swatski at (609)734-6318 or sswatski@hillwallack.com or any member of Hill Wallack’s Employment & Labor Department.