Mr. Fernandez has 31 years of experience in labor and employment law and commercial litigation and has also served as Essex County Counsel, Assistant Union County Counsel and Union Township Municipal Prosecutor. He is a former member of the District Ethics Committee and The New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority.
Mr. Fernandez has tried bench trials, jury trials and cases before a Binding Arbitrator including Labor and Employment, Personal Injury, Commercial Litigation, Matrimonial and Criminal cases. He maintains an active litigation practice in labor and employment matters and has represented corporate clients and plaintiffs in the courts of New Jersey, New York and abroad. Mr. Fernandez also provides commercial litigation services to corporate clients focused on restrictive covenants and employment disputes. Mr. Fernandez is a member of the New Jersey State and Federal Bars.
Mr. Fernandez is fluent in Spanish.
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
Member, New Jersey State Ethics Commission NJ Educational Facilities Authority – Member, 1996 – 2004
Member, Council on Litigation Management (CLM)
PRACTICE AREAS
Appellate
Business Litigation
Complex Litigation
Fiduciaries & Court-Appointments
Health Care
Labor & Employment
Law Firm Defense
Municipal and Local Government
White Collar Defense and Investigations
ADMISSIONS
State of New Jersey
U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
EDUCATION
Creighton University School of Law (J.D.)
Kean College (B.A. Political Science)
MICHAEL (MIGUEL) GARCIA
Michael (Miguel) Garcia’s practice is dedicated to insurance defense, mass tort, criminal defense and municipal work. Mr. Garcia participates in the defense of clients’ interests in all phases of litigation. He also conducts corporate and municipal investigations regarding allegations of employee misconduct, harassment and/or discrimination. Additionally, he works with Township Administrators and Business Administrators, Town Councils and Department Heads to draft Ordinances and Requests for Proposals.
Prior to creating this firm, Mr. Garcia was Of Counsel to O’Toole Scrivo. Mr. Garcia was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He was assigned to the Public Protections Unit and was the liaison to the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice. He also prosecuted mail fraud, social security fraud, passport fraud and narcotics cases. Mr. Garcia is a member of the NJ, NY, and PA Bars.
Mr. Garcia is fluent in Spanish.
NOTABLE REPRESENTATIONS
Third Circuit Decisions: Hernandez v. City of Union City, 264 Fed. Appx. 221 (3d Cir.2008) United States v. Castro, 66 Fed. Appx. 331 (3d Cir. 2003)
Appellate Division Decisions: In re Ortiz, 2010 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1296 (App. Div. June 15, 2010) In re Trust Under Agree of Vander Poel, 396 N.J. Super. 218 (App. Div. 2007)
HONORS & AWARDS
Syracuse University College of Law Dean’s List, 1992 – 1994 U.S. Law Week Award, 1994 Charles H. Revson Fellowship, 1992
Syracuse University Graduate College Graduate Teaching Assistantship/Fellowship, 1993 – 1994
Dartmouth College 1927 Joseph P. Dallet Memorial Prize, 1991 Academic Citation, 1989 – 1991