The Personal Injury Attorney in Franklin Lakes, NJ, You Can Trust

A state fund that is used to reimburse people defrauded by their New Jersey attorneys awarded over $75,000 to clients for 11 claims between January and March, officials said.

The Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection awarded a total of $75,267 in trust money, with 10 of those awards stemming from lawyers who were paid a fee but failed to do any of the services promised.

Several North Jersey lawyers were among that group. Martin S. Fishman, an attorney from Franklin Lakes, voluntarily surrendered his law license in October. In the first quarter, he was associated with the largest reimbursement claim, at $20,000. A press release from the state Supreme Court said Fishman misappropriated the money through the unauthorized use of real estate escrow funds.

Fishman failed to keep a couple's escrow deposit for a house in his attorney trust account, and when they went to be reimbursed, he admitted it was no longer available.

Additionally, the fund paid almost $3,000 for a claim involving Jersey City-based attorney Santo V. Artusa Jr. Artusa, who is suspended and whose law firm is closed, is accused of contacting clients online to ask for money to work on legal matters.

"The Supreme Court's suspension order bars Artusa from practicing law and representing law clients in any New Jersey forum," the release said.

The fund, created in 1961 by the New Jersey State Bar Association, uses money contributed by attorneys to help repay defrauded clients. It was expanded by the Supreme Court in 1969 to cover all attorneys in the state at the bar's request. Over 100,000 lawyers are allowed to practice in New Jersey, and since the fund's creation, 4,946 claims have been paid out against 906 lawyers.

A claimant can get up to $400,000 if a claim against an attorney is approved, and the fund is allowed to pay up to $1.5 million against one lawyer. With approval from the state Supreme Court, it can go past the aggregated $1.5 million.

Claims must be filed against a state bar member who was an attorney or fiduciary at the time of the alleged incident. The attorney must be disbarred or suspended from the bar or convicted of embezzlement or other misappropriation of property if they are not dead.

"Cases involving legal malpractice, negligence, or fee disputes are not compensable," the press release said.

Claim forms can be found at njcourts.gov/public/get-help/lfcp, by calling 855-533-3863 or by writing to New Jersey's Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection at Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, P.O. Box 961, Trenton, NJ 08625.

FRANKLIN LAKES — Eighty-eight acres of the Cigna/Express Scripts/IBM property have been formally transferred to developer SHG Franklin Lakes LLC, but there is no word yet on when plans for either of the housing projects proposed on the site will be presented, let alone built.

The borough's "Latest Buzz" April 30 newsletter announced the Englewood-based S. Hekemian Group has closed on the Parsons Pond Road property with Cigna, trading as SHG Franklin Lakes LLC. The property is zoned for 495 multi-family housing units, 62 affordable, plus 70,000 square feet of office/retail space.

"SHG has not yet filed an application, nor has it indicated when it would do so," the newsletter states.

In turn, SHG had donated 3.5 acres of that site to the borough for a 71-unit 100% affordable housing project. The borough has chosen the Montclair-based RPM Development Group to design and build the project. However, borough officials would only say RPM will be presenting a preliminary subdivision and site plan to its planning board "in the coming months."

Fair Share Housing Center advocated for 700 fourth round affordable housing units for the borough. The NJ Department of Community Affairs calculated the borough's obligation at 497 units, fourth in Bergen County behind Paramus (1,000 units), Mahwah (629) and Ramsey (503). The borough’s planner calculated their fourth round obligation at 463 units.

The borough ultimately settled challenges to its calculation and agreed to a present and prospective need of 480 units. Officials say the obligation will be further reduced based on lack of vacant and developable land.

The borough has joined a 27-municipality consortium headed by Montvale under the title "Local Leaders for Responsible Planning" in the latest in a long series of attempts to halt the state's affordable housing mandate. The consortium filed a new lawsuit in New Jersey federal court on April 24, seeking a halt after a Mercer County judge rejected two attempts at the regional level.

Representatives of SHG Franklin Lakes and RPM Development Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the impact the suit would have on their development plans.

A Franklin Lakes teen has raised money for the victims of a massive fire, including his classmate.

Caren Lissner, Patch Staff

|Updated Mon, Apr 14, 2025 at 1:55 pm ET

FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ — A teen from Franklin Lakes has helped raise $3,200 for victims of the California wildfires — including a teammate who lost his home.

Franklin Lakes native Cooper Snee, 18, attends Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and plays on the varsity hockey team. His teammate Sam Houston recently lost his home to the California wildfires.

Snee, along with teammates Josh Travaglino, 18, of Scarsdale, N.Y., and Indiana Grossbard, 17, of Wilton, CT, wanted to do something to help.

Teammate Houston, 18, hails from Pacific Palisades, Calif., where the worst of the fires hit. Nothing was left of Houston’s home after the fires burned through his neighborhood in January.

“It’s actually a pretty small town, and I love it so much," Houston said recently. "All the schools, the churches, they burned down, too. We’re going to try to rebuild because we don’t want to leave that place, but it’s going to take a long time.”

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Snee said, “Obviously, what he and his community have gone through is unimaginable. We just wanted to do what we could to help."

Snee, Travaglino, and Grossbard brought their idea of organizing a raffle fundraiser to Head of School Jim Detora, as well as Director of Athletics and Assistant Varsity Hockey Coach Geoff Barlow. Both approved.

“I didn’t ask for any of this,” said Houston recently. “The first I heard about it, the guys had already gotten approval from the school administration. They’ve really just overwhelmed me with support during a tough time.”

Prizes to be raffled off included authenticated signed items from sports legends across hockey, football, and basketball including a signed Shaquille O’Neal basketball and signed Mike Eruzione jersey. Tickets were sold for $5 each.

The raffle was held in mid-February and brought in several thousand dollars.

Proceeds from the raffle will go directly to families affected by the fires. Houston says his town has created a spreadsheet compiling what each affected family needs.

“My mom and I were both here in Avon, and my dad was visiting my sister in Colorado, so none of us were there," he said, "but we were getting updates from our neighbors."

“The news of the wildfires hit close to home and they wanted to help somehow,” said Coach Barlow. “They all came together."