When a dispute arises, it is essential that counsel assess the situation, recommend an advantageous course of action and implement the litigation strategy quickly and efficiently. Hartman & Winnicki's Litigation Department represents the firm's clients in Federal and State trial and appellate courts, in municipal courts, before administrative tribunals and in arbitration and other dispute resolution proceedings in both New Jersey and New York.

We advise clients on the most effective way to manage disputes, seeking to prevent them before they arise and, when they do arise, to resolve them in a timely, cost-effective manner consistent with the clients' objectives. Accordingly, we take pride in our skills both in trying cases, where appropriate, and in taking creative approaches to resolving disputes when our clients' interests would best be served by avoiding trial.

We live in an age of exponential technological change that can have unforeseen impacts upon business practices or legal strategy. Electronic communication and digital information storage and retrieval systems present increased layers of problem solving.  Evidence is now increasingly "E- Evidence" that can only be identified and considered by attorneys who understand the technology used in electronic commerce and transactions.  Litigation outcomes and cost effectiveness increasingly turn on the attorney's ability to understand a client or opponent's use of technology systems in business practices, pension, tax and/or estate matters, and personal home environments.

Technology used today for communication and business information storage is increasingly recordable, and, therefor, discoverable. As the recent case law around the nation demonstrates, all communication is at risk of being subpoenaed in the process of legal discovery and, potentially, used as evidence in litigation. New discovery practices are a powerful tool for those involved in litigation who can understand the technology and apply it to the lawyer's tasks for the client.

In the sphere of digital discovery there are few guidelines established. The better your lawyers understand the issues and associated risks, the better they will be able to use traditional legal skills to find the "smoking gun" you need to win your case, fend off an adversary's improper discovery demands, and make your viewpoint clearly understandable to Judge and Jury.   Hartman & Winniki, P.C. has a uniquely experienced team of attorneys who are proficient in both traditional litigation skills and the modern skills needed to achieve results for our clients in the digital information age and the electronic evidence needed to win in court.  Please review the biographies of our attorneys at the link below and contact us for more information on digital discovery and litigation in the age of electronic evidence.

Commercial Litigation

The firm's attorneys have represented traditional and "new economy" commercial entities, fiduciaries, charitable institutions and foundations, and government entities and individuals in a broad variety of business disputes.  Our experience includes contract litigation, shareholder and partner disputes, creditors' rights and bankruptcy, commercial landlord-tenancy matters, environmental disputes, securities matters, real estate and land use litigation, ERISA and employment matters, just to name a few. Our attorneys' appreciation of the subtleties and complexities of traditional and digital age business issues affords our clients the full benefit of a sophisticated commercial practice.

Our commercial clients have included publicly traded and closely held corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and other businesses entities and individuals in various industries, including banking, manufacturing, real estate development, environmental service, high-tech, retailing, construction, health care and various service industries. We have also represented many other types of entities such as trusts and condominium associations.

Trust and Estate Litigation

Because of the firm's strength and history in the fields of estate planning and estate administration, our litigators regularly handle trust and estate litigation, representing fiduciaries, beneficiaries and other interested parties in the full array of litigation matters that may arise in the course of trust and estate administration. Our litigators, in addition to having their own substantial experience in such matters, are able to draw upon the strength of our Tax & Estate Planning Department to provide the highest level of service in this area. Such matters include:

• Estate litigation involving Will contests and Will construction, defense of fiduciaries, spouse's elective share and creditors' claims.
• Trust litigation involving trust contests, trust construction, trust modification, revocation and termination, removal of trustees and actions to determine the distribution of income and/or principal.
• Guardianship litigation involving competency proceedings, and appointment and removal of guardians.

Any client may suddenly find him or herself faced with the prospect of having to wade through the bankruptcy process as a creditor. Because of this, the attorneys at Hartman & Winnicki are experienced in representing creditors in bankruptcy proceedings to ensure that clients' interests are protected throughout the bankruptcy process. Although our attorneys have represented bankruptcy creditors in a broad array of circumstances, our attorneys have developed a particular degree of experience representing commercial property owners. Because of the diverse nature of the firm's commercial practice, our clients who find themselves embroiled in bankruptcy proceedings as creditors benefit from the varied experience of the attorneys in each of our practice areas.

Other Litigated Matters

Because litigation in today's world can take on virtually any shape and form, our attorneys are prepared to handle a large assortment of other litigated matters, including, by way of example, employment related matters, white collar criminal defense (including computer and Internet  related criminal charges), prerogative writs and appeals from land use board or environmental agency real estate development applications, tax sale certificates, foreclosures, restrictive covenants, defamation, intellectual property, secured transactions, digital signature, and Uniform Commercial Code (U.C.C.) matters.

Appeals

Our attorneys have substantial experience representing litigants before appellate tribunals in both State and Federal Courts. The art of appellate advocacy can sometimes be an essential element in finally vindicating a client's legal rights. Because some attorneys do not handle litigation beyond the trial stage, some clients may find themselves having to seek new counsel if a matter proceeds to appeal. Hartman & Winnicki's experience in appellate litigation enables the firm to provide clients with the full complement of litigation services.

Alternative Dispute Resolution

In many instances the best, least expensive and most efficient way to resolve a dispute is to do so without resort to the courts at all. The attorneys at Hartman & Winnicki can advise clients as to the many alternatives to litigation, including such well known options as arbitration and mediation, as well as lesser known ADR techniques.
 
 

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    We handle a wide variety of litigation matters.  If you found us by searching for any of these terms we can help.  Advisers Act e-mail relevant.  What e-mail retention rules apply.  SEC examiners, and records maintenance issues.  Claims of privilege, creating privilege logs for email, e-mail production, deleted email, document production and management systems.

    Sever logs as evidence, blog, bloging and drafts as evidence.  Anonymous email and blog posting issues. Electronic surveillance involving ezpass toll system records.  Electronic surveillance by cell phone, gps (global positioning system) evidence, invasion of privacy, fourth amendment matters.  Paperless files, digital records, deleted files and computer forensics tools used in litigation.  Sanctions for destruction of electronic evidence.  Biased expert witness.  Denied database access, computer trespass.  Denial of service attacks.  Web site revenue agreement disputes.  Business losses due to spam, computer seizure by police.  Subpoena for computer or digital evidence.  Best practices for proactive electronic discovery matters.
 

    Prosecution and defense of lender liability claims on behalf of both public and private lenders and borrowers;
Representing banks and lending institutions in contract disputes, including pursuit of default obligations and restructuring of loan obligations;
Shareholder litigation where there have been disputes between members of partnerships and closely-held corporations, including attempts to involuntarily dissolve closed corporations on "deadlock" principles;

    Claims relating to the sale, purchase and operation of businesses, including breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation, breach of warranties and covenants, unfair competition and violations of restrictive covenants;
Insurance coverage disputes;

    Actions relating to equitable relief, including temporary and permanent injunctive matters;
Proceedings before federal and state regulatory and administrative agencies, and proceedings in court representing clients accused of environmental and other regulatory violations by various state and federal agencies;

    Representing corporations in bid protests, including hearings before the Office of Administrative Law;
Defending manufacturers in product liability litigation;
Representation of owners, general contractors and others in construction industry litigation and dispute resolution.