When lawyers at Lowenstein Sandler get stuck on a tricky case, they don’t always turn to a legal database. Sometimes they walk down the hall and ask a judge.
Freda Wolfson, the former Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, said it’s been that way since she joined the firm in January 2023 — about six months after former N.J. Supreme Court Justice Barry Albin arrived.
“It’s not just the work we were doing to service clients, but what we are doing internally,” she said. “Not just junior lawyers, but more experienced attorneys would come and say, ‘We’ve got this issue, how do you think the judge will react to this if we present it this way?’ It gave a very different perspective.”
Even senior partners, Wolfson said, regularly seek out her read on how a judge might approach a matter.
“I think it’s a good mentoring role,” she said.
That mentorship just added another voice.
Last week, the Roseland-based firm added retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Hammer to its Alternative Dispute Resolution practice — giving Lowenstein what appears to be the only New Jersey office with a former federal magistrate judge, a former federal district chief judge and a former state Supreme Court justice under one roof.
Chris Porrino, who chairs Lowenstein’s litigation department and previously served as New Jersey’s 60th Attorney General, said having this trio is invaluable.
“I don’t know if it’s been three or four years now,” he said. “All I know is I constantly say, ‘How did we manage without them?’”
The three judges bring different specialties to the same building.
Hammer’s 15 years as a magistrate judge centered heavily on discovery and settlement — the day-to-day grind of most modern litigation. Albin, who authored more than 400 opinions during two decades on the state’s highest court, brings appellate and complex constitutional law experience, along with two decades of private practice and government service before that. Wolfson’s more than 30 years on the federal bench, capped by her tenure as chief judge, cover the full range of federal civil and criminal litigation.
“We really have all of the bases covered there,” Porrino said. “Magistrate judges focus on discovery and settlement. Judge Hammer is an expert on that. And that’s so much of what occupies litigation activity today.
“When we have matters that are appellate matters, complex state law matters, trial issues — Justice Albin and Freda Wolfson bring 30-plus years of experience on the bench. It’s just incredible.”
The benefits go both ways.
Lowenstein is known for having more former prosecutors and public officials than any other firm in the state, including former State Comptroller and federal prosecutor Matthew Boxer; former Murphy chief counsel Parimal Garg; former chief of the New Jersey Bureau of Securities Christopher Gerold; and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Shontae Gray. The roster also includes several former Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Deputy Attorneys General across New Jersey and New York.
Hammer said that lineup made his decision easy.
“Lowenstein was actually a natural choice for me because I’ve known and deeply respected a number of attorneys here for much of my legal career,” he said.
Respect is nice; results are another.
The judges bring a unique dimension to Lowenstein’s Alternative Dispute Resolution practice, a growing practice that extends well past New Jersey’s borders. The demand for experienced neutrals is strong, Wolfson said.
“We serve a unique role that is wanted nationally, not just in our back door,” she said.
Experience on the bench is a big part of the reason.
“Judge Hammer not only has settled many cases, the lawyers really respected his views,” she said. “He’ll be able to draw upon that and use that.”
Wolfson said that respect stays even when the robe gets put away.
“Even though you don’t have the robe anymore, there’s a lot of credibility still that goes along because of the experience we come with,” she said.
