Firm News

Recently, Capehart Scatchard sponsored a local adult ice hockey team that played in a tournament conducted by the national charitable organization “Checking for Charity.”  Checking for Charity was founded in 2009 by a passionate group of hockey players with a shared love for the game and a desire to make the world a better place.  Since its inception, that organization has raised more than $400,000 for local, national, and international charities via hockey tournaments on both coasts.  Teams play for a sponsored charity, and the moneys raised by that team go directly to that team’s charity.  The local charity benefited by the Capehart sponsored team was Snyder Youth Hockey.

Thirty-two Capehart Scatchard attorneys achieved recognition by their peers as “Top Attorneys” in the current issue of SJ Magazine.   The magazine’s annual list of Southern New Jersey’s best lawyers is the result of comprehensive polling of members of the Southern New Jersey legal community.

The Capehart Scatchard Top Attorneys are:

Alternative Energy – Alan Fox

Banking & Finance – William Wright

Brownfields – Anthony Drollas, Jr.

Business – Vincent Cieslik

Closely Held Business – Yasmeen Khaleel

Commercial – Laura Ruccolo

Communication – Sanmathi “Sanu” Dev

Corporate – Charles Rizzi, Jr.

Criminal – Michelle Corea

Debt Collection – Sergio Scuteri

Divorce & Family – Amy Goldstein

Domestic Violence – Linda Payne

Eminent Domain – John Fiorilla

Employee Discrimination – Carmen Saginario Jr.

Family Mediation – Melissa Mignogna

Franchise & Distribution – Mary Ellen Rose

Government – Evan Crook

Healthcare – Sheila Mints

Insurance – Alyson Knipe

Intellectual Property – Denise Sanders

Labor & Employment – Ralph Smith, 3rd

Litigation – Gina Zippilli

Malpractice – Christopher Hoare

Product Liability – Stephen Alexander

Public Finance – Thomas Hastie, Jr.

Real Estate – Kelly Ann Dugan

Regulatory Government – Primitivo Cruz

School/Special Education – Joseph Betley

Trial – Betsy Ramos

White Collar Crime – William Burns

Workers’ Compensation – Ian Zolty

Zoning & Land Use – Kelly Grant

Capehart Scatchard is pleased to announce that effective July 1, 2018, Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. will be the firm’s new Hiring Shareholder.

Ms. Dev is replacing Mary Ellen Rose, Managing Shareholder, who was the firm’s Hiring Shareholder for eighteen years.

A Hamilton resident, Ms. Dev concentrates her practice on school law and labor and employment law.  She is experienced in representing, advising, and defending boards of education and charter schools in all areas of school law including: labor and employment, special education, Section 504, student discipline and civil rights.  She leads Capehart Scatchard’s School Law Blog, which focuses on cases, court decisions, and current developments affecting education law in the state of New Jersey.  Ms. Dev is the Chair of the Firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which seeks to facilitate the Firm’s efforts to achieve and maintain a diverse and inclusive workplace at every level of our organization.  She received her law degree from Rutgers Law School at Camden and her B.A. degree from Boston University.

Capehart Scatchard Shareholders, Carmen Saginario Jr. and Nicholas A. Dibble are scheduled to speak at the 38^th Annual SEAK, Inc., National Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Medicine Conference to be held in Cape Cod, Massachusetts on June 20-22, 2018.

In his presentation titled, “Fighting FMLA Abuse,” Mr. Saginario will discuss the most costly ways employees abuse FMLA.  He will provide practical suggestions for employers in creating and enforcing FMLA policies and practices.

In his presentation titled, “The Biggest Mistakes Employers Make in Workers’ Compensation Cases: How to Avoid Them,” Mr. Dibble will discuss inadequate reporting and investigation, late engagement of defense counsel, and poor selection of workers’ compensation cases to litigate and settle.

Mr. Saginario, a Cinnaminson resident and Chair of the Firm’s Labor and Employment Department, focuses his practice on employment counseling and litigation. He regularly counsels clients on litigation avoidance, personnel policies, and procedures including those associated with the FMLA, ADA, and Fair Labor Standards Act. He also handles employment discipline, layoffs, terminations, and internal investigations, and regularly appears before Federal and State courts and administrative agencies regarding employment matters.

Mr. Dibble, a Haddonfield resident, represents insurance carriers and employers in the defense of workers’ compensation claims at all stages of litigation. He has written and lectured extensively on worker’s compensation issues.

On June 6, 2018, Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. co-presented a seminar entitled, “Best Practices for Handling Student Residency & Homelessness Issues” to attendees of the 2018 Annual Conference of the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials. Co-presenting with Mr. Morgan were Evon DiGangi, Business Administrator for Mt. Holly Township School District, and Lisa Giovanelli, Business Administrator for Rancocas Valley Regional High School District.

Capehart Scatchard is pleased to announce that Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq. was installed as Trustee for the Southern District of the New Jersey Association of School Attorneys during the New Jersey School Boards Association’s annual Spring School Law Forum held on June 12th.

Ms. Tedesco, a Gladwyne, PA resident, concentrates her practice on the representation of boards of education and charter schools in all areas of school law including: labor and employment, special education, Section 504, student discipline, FERPA, Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, student residency, civil rights, tenure, OPRA, OPMA, and teaching staff tenure matters under TEACHNJ and ACHIEVENJ.

Ms. Tedesco conducts training and seminars, drafts policies and manuals, and provides strategic advice to school administrators regarding school law issues.

Ms. Tedesco received her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law in Camden and her B.A. degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland.  Upon law school graduation, Ms. Tedesco worked as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Anthony M. Pugliese, in the New Jersey Superior Court, Camden County Vicinage. She is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.