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On October 19, 1977, the Supreme Court decided Polillo v. Deane, 74 N.J. 562 (1977).  That decision is still the leading case under the New Jersey Sunshine Law, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6, otherwise known as the Open Public Meetings Act.  There, the Supreme Court, by a 4-2 vote, held that the Sunshine Law was applicable to Faulkner Act charter commissions.  Justice Pashman wrote the majority opinion, in which Justices Mountain, Sullivan, and Schreiber joined.  Justices Clifford and Handler were the dissenters. Justice Pashman wrote what was, for him, a typically lengthy and scholarly opinion.  In...

Balducci v. Cige, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2018).  This opinion by Judge Nugent today affirmed a trial level decision, after a plenary hearing, that voided a retainer agreement between the defendant attorney and the plaintiff client for defendant to bring suit under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq. (“LAD”).  Such cases are normally handled on a contingency, but the agreement at issue here went well beyond that.  Every attorney, even those who do not handle LAD or other contingent matters, can learn from this opinion, which tackles ethical...