What does the new year hold for the members of the New Jersey State Bar Association? We asked for your personal and professional resolutions, and you answered.
Among the themes that emerged: work-life balance and embarking on long-planned projects. “I am going to try really hard to start writing the legal book that I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” said Gianfranco A. Pietrafesa, of Archer Law.
Some attorneys also mentioned aspirations for their firms in the new year. Rekha Rao, an estate planning attorney with the Rao Legal Group, said she wanted “to excel in our practice area and give our clients 100 percent, leaving them satisfied with the estate or Medicaid planning process.” In addition, she said, “we would like to give more seminars to sections of the community that deserve to be taken care of, like nurses, firemen, policemen and women.”
We also received comments from many members and section chairs on what they anticipate will be the most pressing issues of the coming year. Here is a selection of those responses.
As a corporate lawyer, the most pressing concern is how tax reform will affect everything from business entity selection to M&A transactions.
-- Gianfranco A. Pietrafesa, Archer Law
On the horizon is the decision regarding the DACA recipients…There is hope that 2018 will bring a positive resolution to the so-called "Dreamers" and allow them to integrate into America culture with proper documentation.
-- Michael Noriega, Chair-Elect, Immigration Law Section; Bramnick, Rodriguez, Grabas, Arnold & Mangan
In 2018, significant issues likely to affect attorneys engaged in the practice of labor and employment law include anticipated legislative responses to the systemic problem of repeated predatory behavior in the workplace, such as outright bans on or penalties on the use of confidential settlement agreements, and the wild card of the United States Supreme Court’s anticipated decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop, a case in which the Court is being asked to recognize a First Amendment right to discriminate in violation of state law.
-- Lisa Manshel, Chair, Labor and Employment Law Section; Manshel Law
In the area of estate planning, will people stop getting their wills or other foundational documents because of the higher exemption limits? If so, they could be jeopardizing the smooth transition of assets over to the family. Moreover, the objectives of how the kids should use the money could be defeated if all of the assets passed via intestacy.
-- Rekha Rao, Rao Legal Group
My most pressing concern is how the current administration’s immigration, tax and health care policies are going to affect the Hispanic community where I practice.
-- Norberto A. Garcia, Co-Chair, Diversity Committee, Javerbaum Wurgaft
Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins
Where there used to be a plausible deniability, DNA testing has confirmed that we're getting it wrong a lot. In other words, we're convicting hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of innocent people. I just read a recent newspaper article "Man in prison for 39 years for crime he didn't commit” This whole thing is out of control.
-- Martin D. Matlaga, Criminal Defense Lawyer
I anticipate continued increased scrutiny of all employment-based petitions and applications for temporary and permanent work visas in the United States under President Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order of April 18, 2017. Under the same Executive Order, I also anticipate an increased number of workplace site visits by USCIS FDNS and HSI/ICE of employers who utilize the H-1B and L-1B visa programs in an increased effort to combat visa fraud and abuse.
-- Scott R. Malyk, Chair, Immigration Law Section; Meyner and Landis