Retired Appellate Court Judge Joins Szaferman Lakind Law Firm

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J., Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Stephen Skillman, P.J.A.D., ret., a former Presiding Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, has become of counsel to the law firm of Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein & Blader, PC. 

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• Judge Skillman became a New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division Judge in 1986 and was appointed a Presiding Judge in 1998.  During his service, Judge Skillman wrote more than 3,000 opinions for the appellate court, more than 550 of which are published.  He retired from the bench earlier this year,
• In 1981, Judge Skillman was appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court.  For five years the Judge served as a Law Division and General Equity Judge in Middlesex County and as the specially assigned Mount Laurel Judge for northern New Jersey,
• Judge Skillman served in the New Jersey Office of Attorney General, as the Director of the Division of Law, from 1973 to 1981.  In that capacity, he argued over 125 cases in the Federal Appellate Courts (including the U.S. Supreme Court), the Appellate Division and the Supreme Court of New Jersey. 

While at the Attorney General's Office, Judge Skillman was the mentor for three of the original partners in the firm (Barry Szaferman, Arnold Lakind and Jeff Blumstein) as well as partner Nate Edelstein. 

"He taught many of us how to practice law, and hopefully, we passed on the lessons to the attorneys who later joined us.  The Judge is a brilliant thinker who will bring depth to our firm, working in our appellate and brief writing practice and on federal cases," says Arnold Lakind.  "He will be an invaluable asset for our complex litigation practice, and help train another generation of attorneys.  For us, it is rewarding and satisfying to work with the Judge again."

That prior relationship is one reason why he came to the firm, according to Judge Skillman.  That and the respect he has for the firm.  Judge Skillman will be helping clients and other attorneys with litigation and appellate matters in a number of ways: he will appear in federal court matters, edit and prepare briefs, advise on oral arguments and conduct moot court training to help attorneys prepare for arguments.  Judge Skillman will also offer arbitration services to attorneys and their clients. 

Szaferman Lakind is a full service law firm providing representation to clients in general, commercial and environmental litigation; family law and personal injury; commercial finance and employment law; tax and estate law; alternative dispute resolution and residential and commercial real estate, including land use development.  The firm can be reached at (609) 275-0400 or [email protected].  Our website is www.szaferman.com.

SOURCE Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein & Blader, PC