Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski, P.C. is proud to announce that Craig A. Domalewski has been selected for inclusion in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers®, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.
About Best Lawyers®
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. A listing in Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by his or her peers. For more than three decades, Best Lawyers lists have earned the respect of the profession, the media, and the public, as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski, PC, is pleased to announce that Brandon Minde, a partner with the firm, was elected Secretary of the Criminal Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association for the 2017-2018 term at the NJSBA Annual Meeting. This places Mr. Minde on track to be Chair of the Criminal Law Section for the 2020-2021 term. The Criminal Law Section deals with information and education concerning the improvement of the criminal justice system, and takes an active role in responding to developments which affect its membership and in suggesting methods through which the legal system can more effectively serve the interests of section members and their clients.
On May 24, 2017, Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski hosted a breakfast for the Union County Bar Young Lawyer’s Division. More than 25 young lawyers joined us for coffee and bagels. We were thrilled to have such a wonderful crowd of young attorneys and to spend time discussing different issues affecting the practice of law, as well as catch up on some of the victories won by the group. The YLD hopes to make these types of breakfasts a regular occurrence and Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski looks forward to hosting everyone again sometime soon.
Brandon D. Minde will be the speaker on Criminal Trial Preparation at the PLI’s New Jersey Basic CLE Marathon 2017. The PLI Basic CLE Marathon is designed to help newly admitted New Jersey lawyers comply with their New Jersey mandatory continuing legal education requirements. Mr. Minde’s presentation will serve as a general introduction for attorneys practicing in criminal defense matters, seeking to learn about New Jersey Criminal Trial Preparation, including handling matters related to Arrest, indictment and arraignment.
The presentation will take place at the PLI New York Center on May 8, 2017.
For more information or to register: New Jersey Basic CLE Marathon
In Cho vs. Trinitas Regional Medical Center, a significant medical malpractice case reported at 443 NJ Super. 461 (App. Div. 2015), Mr. Dughi recently retried the case before the Hon. Thomas Walsh in Union County. The Appellate Division had overturned a prior dismissal at trial on the basis that in limine motions were improperly utilized as dispositive motions by the defense. After the second trial, which concluded on February 2, 2017, the outcome remained the same with the defense prevailing.
The widely commented upon appellate decision regarding the use of in limine motions is now seen as a bar to the use of in limine motions when a summary judgement motion could have been filed regarding previously known facts and issues. Although it appears that the Appellate Division believed this ruling would avoid motion practice at the time of trial, it will likely have the opposite effect by forcing defense lawyers to hold their application for a dismissal until after plaintiff has rested its case at trial.
As many trial judges permit plaintiffs to reopen discovery to cure defects (even after the discovery end date) raised by the filing of a summary judgment motion, the in limine motion was an effective tool when used to frame the issues for dismissal at a time when the case was on the threshold of trial and no further discovery would be permitted in the usual circumstance. Now, the defense lawyer must carefully weigh whether to bring a summary judgment motion before trial or await the empanelment of a jury and the presentation by plaintiff before raising the dispositive motion which will likely result in many more questionable cases going to trial.
Mr. Dughi has tried over 230 cases over the course of his career and has successfully tried to a second no cause for action defense verdict other highly publicized cases including, Komlodi vs. JFK Medical Center reported at 217 NJ 387 (2014) overturning a prior defense verdict on the basis of an improper application of the Scafidi pre-existing injury doctrine and Canesi vs. Wilson reported at 149 NJ 139 (1997) overturning a prior dismissal regarding a congenital limb reduction defect failure to warn case determining the weight of Physicians’ Desk Reference and FDA warnings.
Trying complicated and difficult medical malpractice cases is his specialty and winning the same cases again after the appellate courts have reviewed them demonstrates an additional level of expertise.
Attorney Profile: Louis John Dughi, Jr.
Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski is proud to announce that partners of the firm – Louis John Dughi, Jr. and Craig A. Domalewski – have been named by New Jersey Super Lawyers magazine as among the top attorneys in New Jersey for 2017. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
In addition, the firm is also proud to announce that Brandon D. Minde and Kristin M. Capalbo were named to the 2017 New Jersey Rising Stars list. Each year, this designation is given to less than 2.5 percent of New Jersey attorneys recognized as the top up-and-coming attorneys who are 40 years old or younger, or who have been practicing for 10 years or less.
Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit SuperLawyers.com.
On March 10, 2017 John Dughi gave a presentation to trial lawyers regarding video depositions, their use, strategy and tactics. The program has been webcast and can be viewed on the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education website link reproduced here: NJICLE: Video Deposition Strategy and Tactics
Mr. Dughi reviewed the relevant statutes, case law and rules of evidence pertaining to video depositions both for discovery purposes and trial testimony sharing his vast experience with this modality of discovery and presentation of evidence. He reviewed the benefits and potential pitfalls of the use of video such as the possibility of adverse testimony by a retained expert at a de bene esse deposition being used by an adversary under Fitzgerald v. Roberts, Inc., 186 N.J. 286 (2006) and provided many useful practice points to the audience.
Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski, P.C. is pleased to announce that Craig A. Domalewski will be a featured speaker on a panel discussion presented by NJBIZ regarding President Trump’s First 100 Days and its impact on business in New Jersey. The panel will focus on President Trump’s blueprint to rebuild America’s infrastructure and how that plan will benefit New Jersey. The panel discussion will take place at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.
Additional content to the NJBIZ panel discussion “Trump’s First 100 Days and its Impact on Business in New Jersey“: The First 100 Days: Logistics
Dughi, Hewit & Domalewski, PC, is pleased to announce that Brandon Minde, a partner with the firm, has been selected as one of the 2016 NJBIZ Forty Under 40. NJBIZ is New Jersey’s premier business news publication. The NJBIZ Forty Under 40 awards program honors men and women under the age of 40 who have been making headlines in their field and who share a commitment to business growth, professional excellence and the community. The firm is very proud of Brandon’s achievements and this well-earned recognition by NJBIZ.
For more information or to register please click here: NJ BIZ Forty Under 40
