Meredith Stoma & Colin Hackett Speak with NJLJ About New Newark Team

Newark, N.J. (December 12, 2019) – Newark Partner Meredith Kaplan Stoma and Managing Partner Colin P. Hackett recently spoke with the New Jersey Law Journal (NJLJ) about her team’s recent move to Lewis Brisbois, which was announced in a December 10 press release. In the article, titled “Lewis Brisbois Adds 6 to Newark Office,” Ms. Stoma explained what drew her to the firm.

“[A] lot of clients are looking for a national platform, and Lewis Brisbois offered an excellent opportunity for that,” said Ms. Stoma in a phone interview with the NJLJ. She also noted the firm’s Women’s Initiative, which was founded in 2009, as another important aspect of her decision to move.

“[Lewis Brisbois] has a great women’s initiative program and there are several women in leadership roles in the firm, which was very attractive to me,” Ms. Stoma said.

Mr. Hackett also spoke of the firm’s large national footprint and the importance of having ‘go-to’ people in each region.

“A lot of what we do is send clients to colleagues all across the country,” said Mr. Hackett. “We have a go-to person for clients in New Jersey. If a client is having a problem in Texas or Minnesota, we have an office there, and now we have a group that does ‘X’ and ‘Y.’ They get the person they know.”

Ms. Kaplan backed up this sentiment, stating that “[a]nother client just called me and was looking for help [with finding another attorney] in another state. That kind of national footprint and resources [are] what this firm offers.”

Ms. Kaplan also noted that her team’s transition to Lewis Brisbois has been “very smooth,” adding “I am very happy the team joined me. I could not do it without my whole team.”

Speaking of the firm’s culture, Mr. Hackett told the NJLJ that “[e]veryone is treated very fairly. It’s not the top cats taking it all. You can’t have that kind of sustained growth and bring this type of talent without that type of culture. When [laterals] see that, they want to be a part of it. It is a sharing culture.”

“We know who we want, like Meredith,” added Mr. Hackett, “and when we explain to them how the firm works, it works very well for them. When you can get people to understand our business model, it is the rare one that doesn’t see [it] as an opportunity for them and more importantly, for their client.”

You can read the full NJLJ article here (subscription may be required).