The bottom line (whatever that translates to in Latin) is that New Jersey’s law firms that assist in amicus curiae — or, in English, friend of the court — take that work very seriously.
As an explainer: When there’s a major legal case that bubbles its way up to the Supreme Court of New Jersey, advocacy groups often ask to become involved as amicus curiae to provide their perspective on the potential implications of a judicial decision.
Those in this role look to law firms for counsel. And those involved in this work perhaps have the best idea of how to get the shoe to drop on issues that hold the utmost significance for New Jersey businesses that have to reckon with the state and federal laws.
Among the many legal sector rank-and-file with experience in this area are attorneys at McCarter & English LLP and Lowenstein Sandler LLP.
Edward Fanning Jr., immediate past chair of a group focused on product liability, mass torts and consumer class actions at McCarter & English in Newark, explained that the idea is for amicus support to articulate the position of an organization that is not involved in the case.
“Because a decision may have an impact outside of that individual case that these groups are either arguing for or against,” Fanning said. “We do that for the business community, for important industry sectors here in New Jersey.”