An Established Firm With the Energy for Today's Legal Problems.
Serving Clients, Personally and In Business, Since 1913.
Call (201) 488-7211
The law firm of Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi, LLP has served in Metropolitan New York and northern New Jersey since 1913. Our firm’s legal excellence and commitment to client satisfaction has produced many longstanding relationships with the individuals, businesses, associations and government entities we represent.
Based in Hackensack, New Jersey, with offices in New York City our eleven-attorney firm represents clients in New York City and New Jersey including Bergen County, Hudson County, Passaic County, Essex County, Middlesex County and statewide. We practice in many areas of the law, including residential and commercial real estate, business law, employment law, land use and governmental law, estate planning and elder law, tax planning and probate administration, civil and commercial litigation and appeals, mental health law, entertainment law and many services.
Business Litigation
An experienced lawyer and a smart business owner or manager will work together to discuss legal risks, prepare necessary documents and assure compliance with the laws and regulations that affect the client’s business. It’s good business to avoid or minimize legal risks, including “closing loopholes” that can cause lawsuits. It’s also good business to save legal expenses and precious time by attempting to negotiate or mediate business disputes, before they become lawsuits.- But sometimes a business dispute, or a violation of a business’s rights, is so serious that it must go to Court, including cases where immediate review by a court is required. In those cases, an experienced and aggressive trial lawyer is necessary to protect and defend a business client’s rights and interests.
Employment Law
Keeping costs under control, dealing with vendors and customers and complying with laws and regulations make owning or starting a business a 24/7 job. But the toughest part is managing employees. Many issues can be handled without talking to a lawyer. Others should not be. Courts and government agencies frequently issue new rules and create new employee rights . As a result, there’s been a growth of lawsuits with large awards, including lawyer’s fees. Checking with an experienced employment law lawyer who’s successfully represented both employees and businesses can help, with the tougher decisions of what and what not to do.
- Mike Farhi also represents employees and students who are victims of discrimination and harassment. Why? Because even in this 21st Century, decades after creation of civil rights laws to protect against race, gender, national origin, religion and handicapped discrimination, it still happens in some workplaces. And there are still employers who blatantly violate wage and hour laws and their very own policies, procedures, handbooks and contracts. We are very selective in our choice of these cases, because there are disgruntled employees who will claim discrimination, where none exists. After more than 25 years in Employment Law, we can tell the difference.
Experienced in Complex Business Issues
As business and commercial law attorneys, we serve private companies and non-profit corporations throughout northern New Jersey in complicated transactions, commercial litigation, employment law and negotiations, and tax and financing issues.
Redevelopment and Land Use
We represent local government entities, developers and environmental groups in land use and municipal law issues, including redevelopment and the power of eminent domain.
Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi, LLP offers big firm services with small firm accountability, reliability, personability and integrity. Contact our Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi, LLP law firm today for more information or schedule your initial consultation with one of our attorneys.
HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS
Homeowners facing foreclosure because of job losses, an illness or disability, or higher monthly payments are now getting some help from New Jersey's Courts and other government-sponsored programs.
If a foreclosure lawsuit has been filed against you, the Courts offer a mandatory mediation program with a neutral person, who will sit down with you and your lender to negotiate better terms, so that you can save your home.
Even if you've ignored the lawsuit up to now, or feel you can do nothing to stop it, you still have the mediation option up to the time that your property is listed for a Sheriff's Sale.
"The worst thing a homeowner facing foreclosure can do is nothing," said the New Jersey Judge who created the program. Over the past 12 months, there has been a 46% increase in home foreclosure filings. In September 2008 alone, the filings over the same month last year almost tripled. If you're in foreclosure and want to learn more about the mediation program, call 609-292-8470.
If you're in default of your mortgage payments or soon to be, it's important that you contact the financial institution serving your mortgage as soon as possible and explain your situation. Doing this in writing will give you a record of your attempts to resolve the problem. You may be able to negotiate a lower monthly payment or a period of forbearance to give you some time to get a new job or overcome your illness or disability.
You may want to consult with or hire a lawyer to help you with the negotiations, either before or after a foreclosure suit has been filed. But you can also look for help yourself from the New Jersey Home Ownership Preservation Effort (NJHOPE) (1-800-NJ-HOUSE) or the new HOPE for Homeowners program, created by the US Congress that started on October 1. (1-800-FHA-5342). If your mortgage is held by "Fannie Mae" or "Freddie Mac," a new federal government plan which starts on December 15, you may be eligible for help if you are at least 3 months behind on your home loan and owe at least 90% of your home's present value. Solutions include reducing interest rates or extending the length of a loan.
Condo and Co-op Law
We represent both large and small condominium associations and co-op corporations throughout northern New Jersey, including Horizon House in Fort Lee.
Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi, LLP
190 Moore Street, Suite 306
Hackensack, New Jersey 07601
Phone: 201-488-7211 Fax: 201-488-1210
The Hackensack real estate lawyers of Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi, LLP represents clients in Newark, Elizabeth, Union City, Paterson, and all of northern New Jersey, including Hoboken, Woodbridge, Wayne, Montville, Morris, Chatham, Troy Hills, Hanover, Milburn, Montclair, Jersey City, East Rutherford, North Haledon, Fairfield, Clifton, Alpine, Fair Lawn, Englewood Cliffs, Cedar Grove, Fort Lee, Weehawken, and Lodi. We serve clients in Bergen County, Hudson County, Passaic County, Sussex County, Monmouth County, Middlesex County, Union County, and Essex County.