Announcements

Twelve of our Firm's attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America^© 2023 and One Attorney Named “Lawyer of the Year”

 Lum, Drasco & Positan LLC – 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” Recipient

•   Bernadette Hamilton Condon - Litigation – Construction

Lum, Drasco & Positan LLC – The Best Lawyers in America^® 2023

Dennis J. Drasco (2001), was named in the fields of Appellate Practice, Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation - Construction, Litigation - Insurance, Litigation - Real Estate, Litigation - Trusts and Estates. 

Wayne J. Positan (1993), was named in the fields of Appellate Practice, Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment.  Wayne Positan has over forty years of experience representing management and defendants in labor and employment matters, including discrimination, whistleblower, and non-compete litigation, as well as traditional labor practice in the private and public sectors.

Paul A. Sandars III (2005), who was named in the fields of Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation – Construction, is a member of the firm. He concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation as well as construction law and litigation. He is a frequent lecturer on construction law issues, and has been certified as an American Arbitration Association Construction Arbitrator.

Kevin J. O'Connor (2015), who was named in the field of Commercial Litigation, concentrates his practice in the area of civil litigation with a focus on commercial litigation, insurance law, eminent domain, land use law, and life, health and disability insurance law.

Gina M. Sorge (2019), who was named in the field of Family Law, has been certified as a Matrimonial Law Attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court since 2013. She presently serves as a Bergen, Essex and Morris County Family Court appointed Early Settlement Panelist.

Bernadette Hamilton Condon (2015), who was named “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of Litigation – Construction and further named as a Best Lawyer in the fields of Construction Law, Litigation – Construction, is a member of the firm’s litigation department. She concentrates her practice in commercial and business litigation.  Bernadette handles a wide variety of contract, construction and shareholder disputes.  She also has extensive experience representing condominium and homeowners’ associations in transition litigation and general governance matters.

Daniel M. Santarsiero (2016), who was named in the fields of Employment Law - Management, Labor Law – Management, represents management and individuals in defense litigation and counseling in connection with various labor and employment matters including discrimination claims, harassment claims, whistleblower, public policy claims as well as wage and hour claims and collective bargaining.  Daniel also provides counseling in connection with various employment disputes including employee grievances other workplace issue in both the private and public sector.

Jack P. Baron (2021), who was named in the field of Corporate Law, is a member of the firm, concentrating his practice in commercial transactions, including acquisitions, sales and reorganizations of businesses; commercial real estate matters, and asset based financing. In addition to counseling clients in business matters, Jack has an in depth knowledge of estate and trust law, and assists his clients in estate and succession planning.

 Scott E. Reiser (2015), who was named in the field of Commercial Litigation, litigates a broad array of commercial disputes, business ownership matters, various commercial cases, and estate and trust matters.

Richard C. Camp (2019), who was named in the fields of Family Law Arbitration, Family Law Mediation, Mediation, is a retired Superior Court judge.  He handles both family and civil cases and serves as a Discovery Master in complex matters.

 Elizabeth Moon (2016), who was named in the field of Employment Law – Management, represents employers and individuals in litigation against claims of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, breach of contract, defamation, and other employment-related claims in cases alleging violations of federal laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act as well as violations of state laws including the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act, and the New Jersey Family Leave Act.  Ms. Moon also defends governmental entities and their employees against claims arising under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Cynthia A. Matheke (2003), who was named in the fields of Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, is concentrating on both office and hospital based cases of negligence and malpractice, including ancillary departments of pathology, nursing, pharmacy, and radiological imaging.  She has expanded her practice to include cases of nursing home neglect.

About Best Lawyers®

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers^® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Almost 108,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received over 13 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2021 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America^©, 9.4 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 67,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.

Dennis J. Drasco served as a panelist at the Trial Advocacy Seminar sponsored by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education in conjunction with the American College of Trial Lawyers. Dennis, who is a Fellow of the College, participated in a segment addressing the direct and cross examination of expert witnesses.  The Seminar took place on July 14 -15, 2022.

Kevin F. Murphy served as a speaker during the National Business Institute's "Estate Planning in New Jersey: From A to Z" program held virtually on June 29, 2022.  Kevin presented on the topic "Essential Tax Tactics".

Steven Eisenstein was inducted as Chair of the Business Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association at the Annual Meeting of the Bar in May of 2022. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the Section.

WAYNE J. POSITAN was reappointed to the Medal of Honor Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation by NJSBF President Kathleen Fennelly, Esq. 

PAUL A. SANDARS, III presented a program at the Construction SuperConference on December 7, 2021. The title of the Program was “The More the Merrier: Trials and Tribulations of Presenting and Defending Construction Claims”. His presentation focused on Condominium Association Transition Litigation.

DENNIS J. DRASCO participated in a program of the American College of Trial Lawyers at Rutgers Law School on September 29, 2021 entitled “Professionalism in Trial Practice” with 2 other New Jersey Fellows and New Jersey United States District Court Judge Zarid Quraishi, in an effort to educate law students on Civility and Professionalism in trial practice.

Steven Eisenstein chaired a panel in the 1^st Annual New Jersey Data Privacy Summit on November 16. The panel was on data privacy legislation. The following is a link to register for the program: NJSBA Inaugural Data Privacy Summit Nov 16 Info & Registration.

The Firm is pleased to announce the following attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 2021 listing of New Jersey Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters which is published in New Jersey Monthly Magazine:

Wayne J. Positan  for Employment and Labor (Top 100 Lawyers)

Paul A. Sandars, III  for Construction Litigation

Kevin F. Murphy for Estate Planning and Probate (10th year on list)

Kevin J. O'Connor  for Business Litigation

Christina Silva  for Employment and Labor

Daniel M. Santarsiero for Employment and Labor

Edward M. Callahan, Jr.  for Construction Litigation

Arthur M. Owens for Civil Litigation Defense Dennis J. Drasco  for Business Litigation (Top 100 Lawyers) Additionally, we are pleased to announce that the following attorney from the Firm has been selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters listing of New Jersey Rising Stars for 2021:

Alexandra Morgan for Family Law

These selections were based on a statewide survey, an evaluation process and a peer review by a blue ribbon panel of attorneys. The methodology for selection can be found at http://www.superlawyers.com/.

On March 25, 2021, Scott E. Reiser presented on a CLE panel, Hot Topics in Chancery Practice, on behalf of the Essex County Bar Association. The panel discussed litigating in New Jersey’s General Equity courts, and covered such topics as Orders to Show Cause, Corporate Divorces, Shareholder Actions, and other current topics.

Sixteen of our Firm's attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America© 2021:

Dennis J. Drasco (2001) - Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation - Construction, Litigation - Insurance, Litigation - Land Use and Zoning, Litigation - Real Estate, Litigation - Trusts and Estates

Wayne J. Positan (1993) - Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law -Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment

Paul A. Sandars III (2005) - Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation – Construction

Donald J. Volkert, Jr. (2018) - Arbitration

Kevin J. O'Connor (2015) - Commercial Litigation

Scott E. Reiser (2015) - Commercial Litigation

Edward M. Callahan, Jr. (2015) - Construction Law, Litigation – Construction

Bernadette Hamilton Condon (2015) - Construction Law, Litigation – Construction

Jack P. Baron (2021) - Corporate Law

Elizabeth Moon (2016) - Employment Law – Management

Daniel M. Santarsiero (2016) - Employment Law - Management, Labor Law – Management

Christina Silva (2011) - Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment

Gina M. Sorge (2019) - Family Law

Richard C. Camp (2019) - Family Law Arbitration, Family Law Mediation, Mediation

Arthur M. Owens (2020) - Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants

Cynthia A. Matheke (2003) - Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

About Best Lawyers®
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Over 105,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and they have received over 11 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.  Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

Dennis J. Drasco participated in a 2 day TRIAL ADVOCACY INSTITUTE sponsored by the NJ Institute for Continuing Education on July 16 and 17, 2020.  All panelists for the program were Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL).   Dennis is a Fellow and member of the New Jersey state committee of ACTL. His panel dealt with the preparation and examination of expert witnesses at trial.

At the Annual Meeting of the Business Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association Steven Eisenstein was elected Secretary of the Section. He was also reelected to the Section Board of Directors for a new three year term. He continues to be the President of the Morris Essex Inn of Transactional Counsel which is associated with the Business Law Section.

Scott Reiser has been appointed co-chair of the Special Events Committee for the Seton Hall University School of Law Alumni Council for 2019-2020.

Sixteen of our Firm’s attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America® 2020:

Dennis J. Drasco - Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Insurance, Litigation - Land Use and Zoning, Litigation - Real Estate, Litigation - Trusts and Estates

Wayne J. Positan - Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment

Paul A. Sandars III - Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation - Construction

Gina M. Sorge - Family Law

Kevin J. O'Connor - Commercial Litigation

Christina Silva - Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment

Bernadette Hamilton Condon - Construction Law, Litigation - Construction

Daniel M. Santarsiero - Employment Law – Management, Labor Law - Management

Arthur M. Owens - Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants

Scott E. Reiser - Commercial Litigation

Elizabeth Moon - Employment Law - Management

Richard Camp - Family Law Arbitration, Family Law Mediation

Donald J. Volkert, Jr. - Arbitration

Cynthia A. Matheke - Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs

Philip L. Chapman - Corporate Law, Real Estate Law

Edward M. Callahan, Jr. - Construction Law, Litigation - Construction


In addition, the following attorneys are 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” recipients:

Dennis J. Drasco - Litigation – Insurance in Newark

Christina Silva - Labor Law – Management

Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas.  They are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional expertise, and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.  For additional information about methodology, please visit: https://www.bestlawyers.com/methodology

Kevin F. Murphy  served as a speaker during the National Business Institute's "LLCs From Start to Finish" program held on November 4, 2019 in Cherry Hill.  Kevin presented on the topics "New Jersey Legislative Update, Recent Trends and Developments in LLCs" and "The Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (RULLCA): What You Need To Know".

Dennis J. Drasco was reelected to a 3 year term as Section Delegate of the ABA Section of Litigation at the Annual Meeting of the ABA in San Francisco on August 9. Dennis has served in the House of Delegates since 2003 first as Essex County Bar Delegate  and since 2013 as Section of Litigation Delegate. Prior to serving as Section Delegate in the House of Delegates, Dennis served as Chair of the ABA Section of Litigation, the ABA’s largest Section.

Steven Eisenstein spoke at the New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Convention in Atlantic City on Business Law Aspects of the Tax Cut & Jobs Act of 2017. Mr. Eisenstein appeared on a panel with members of the Business Law Section and Tax Law Section of the State Bar. He continues to serve as Vice-Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association Business Law Section.

Kevin F. Murphy  served as a speaker during the National Business Institute's "Estate Planning from A to Z" program held on June 12, 2019 in Hasbrouck Heights.  Kevin presented on the topics "Basic Tax Planning and Updates" and "Documenting Long-Term Care, Incapacity and End-of-Life Decisions".

Wayne J. Positan was honored by the Boston University Alumni Council for his years of service as a member and President of the Council, and President of the BU Alumni Association at a dinner at the Dahod Family Alumni Center at The Castle during BU Commencement Weekend in May.

Scott E. Reiser served as Meeting Co-Chair for the ABA Section of Litigation’s recent Regional CLE Program entitled “Discover Yourself: Navigating the First Years of Litigation Practice”, which was held at the Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, New Jersey on March 26, 2019. Scott helped organize the event, which consisted of three legal education panels focused on helping newer attorneys address various issues that arise in daily litigation practice, and also was the Moderator of the panel “How to Keep Your Ethics When Things Go Sideways”.

The Firm is pleased to announce the following attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 2019 listing of New Jersey Super Lawyers  by Thomson Reuters which is published in New Jersey Monthly Magazine:

Dennis J. Drasco  for Business Litigation (Top 100 Lawyers)

Wayne J. Positan  for Employment and Labor (Top 100 Lawyers)

Paul A. Sandars, III  for Construction Litigation

Kevin F. Murphy for Estate Planning and Probate

Kevin J. O'Connor  for Business Litigation

Christina Silva  for Employment and Labor (10^th year on list)

Daniel M. Santarsiero for Employment and Labor

Edward M. Callahan, Jr.  for Construction Litigation

Additionally, we are pleased to announce that the following attorney from the Firm has been selected for inclusion in Thomson Reuters listing of New Jersey Rising Stars for 2019:

Arthur M. Owens  for Civil Litigation Defense

These selections were based on a statewide survey, an evaluation process and a peer review by a blue ribbon panel of attorneys. The methodology for selection can be found at http://www.superlawyers.com/.

Wayne J. Positan completed 25 years as organizer and moderator at NJICLE’s Annual Labor and Employment Law Forum at the NJ Bar Center on February 27, 2019. Positan moderated and spoke on programs involving Legal Ethics:  “Lessons From The Trenches:  The Things Lawyers Do That Get Them In Trouble And How To Avoid Them”; “Labor and Employment Law in the 21^st Century:  Where We Came From And Where We Are Going:  An Historical and Prospective Look At Law Against Discrimination”; and “The Art of Settlement in 2019:  How To Settle Cases In Unsettled Times”. 

Steven J. Eisenstein has been named Vice-Chair Legislation of the Business Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Christina Silva has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of New Jersey Management Attorneys (ANJMA).  The Academy, in which there are presently only 27 Fellows, consists of the top labor and employment lawyers in the state who exclusively represent management/defendants in such matters.

Dennis J. Drasco was recognized as a “Band 2” Commercial Litigation lawyer by Chambers USA “Leading Business Lawyers”.  Chambers USA stated as follows:  “Dennis Drasco of Lum, Drasco & Positan, LLC has a broad commercial disputes practice, with particular expertise in construction and malpractice claims. A market peer praises his written work, noting: ‘He writes the most impressive letters, and can fit into one-and-a-half pages what other lawyers can't fit into ten.’ The interviewee also comments: ‘He is a forceful litigator and that's represented in every aspect of his practice.’”

Wayne J. Positan was recognized as a “Band 1” Labor and Employment lawyer by Chambers USA “Leading Business Lawyers” for the 15th straight year.  Chambers USA stated as follows:   “Sources say Wayne Positan is 'a legend' and 'hands down one of the best labor and employment lawyers in the US.' He is knowledgeable across the full spectrum of employment issues, and has taken on very high-profile cases including wage and hour disputes and noncompete matters.”

Scott Reiser has been elected a member of the New Jersey Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.

Wayne J. Positan has been re-elected to a third term as the New Jersey State Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates from August, 2017 until August 2020.