NJ Appeals Court: NY Lawyer Unlicensed In NJ Representing Homeowners In Settling F'closure Cases Subject To NJ Jurisdiction In Legal Malpractice Suit

The New Jersey Law Journal reports:

• A New York lawyer who represented clients in a New Jersey real estate case [involving the representation of a couple who she knew to be New Jersey residents, for the purpose of settling pending or impending foreclosure actions in a New Jersey court for New Jersey properties] without crossing the Hudson is nonetheless subject to New Jersey's jurisdiction in a legal malpractice suit, a state appeals court said [].

• Overturning a judge below who "relied almost exclusively on the absence of credible evidence of defendant's physical presence in New Jersey," the Appellate Division said personal jurisdiction was warranted because the lawyer was hired to stop a pending New Jersey foreclosure action, pertaining to four properties in the state, which provided sufficient minimum contacts.

• What's more, subjecting the defendant to jurisdiction in New Jersey is reasonable because the minimal inconvenience she will experience is outweighed by the state's substantial interest in regulating the unauthorized practice of law within its borders, the court said in Halley v. Myatt, A-1378-09 (N.J. App. Div. May 3, 2010).(1)

For more, see N.J. Malpractice Suit Can Proceed Against Lawyer Who Did Work From New York.

(1) Reportedly, the couple was represented by Leena Khandwala, a clinical teaching fellow at the Seton Hall University School of Law, Center for Social Justice, a pro bono and clinical program designed to give its law students hands-on experience while providing pro bono legal services for economically disadvantaged residents in the region.