Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Special Education Attorney - representing students who have been denied an appropriate and effective education

Education Law and Criminal Defense
New Jersery and Pennsylvania

Craig David Becker, Esquire practices Education Law and Criminal Defense. He practices Special Education Law, representing students who have been denied an appropriate and effective education. He also represents students in disciplinary actions. In addition, Mr. Becker represents adults and juveniles in all facets of criminal defense. He represents clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Craig David Becker, Esq. received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the recipient of a James Wilson Merit Scholarship. Mr. Becker began representing individuals while still attending law school and won his first not guilty verdict and suppression motion prior to graduation.

He is a former Assistant Public Defender for Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he represented defendants in high profile felony cases and other serious offenses. Mr. Becker also worked in the Public Defender Office's Juvenile Division, where he represented minors in all facets of juvenile criminal law. After leaving the Public Defender's Office, Mr. Becker worked as an associate for top New Jersey and Pennsylvania law firms, including one firm that represented several New Jersey school districts.

Mr. Becker is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Camden County Bar Association, the Burlington County Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Pennsylvania State Bar Association, the Pennsylvania State Bar Association's Legal Services for Exceptional Children Committee, the Cherry Hill Special Education Parent Teacher Association and the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey. Mr. Becker and his family live in Southern New Jersey. He is actively involved in the South Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania communities and with national and local issues regarding Special Education and Criminal Defense.

Mr. Becker has appeared as a guest on the television show Legally Speaking on the topics of Special Education Law and Criminal Defense.

In addition to maintaining his own firm, Mr. Becker is Of Counsel to the law firm of Gerstein Grayson & Cohen, LLP in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Mr. Becker represents clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Mount Holly, Voorhees, Marlton, Mount Laurel, King of Prussia, Media, Jenkintown, West Chester, and Philadelphia.

Craig David Becker, Esquire represents parents and students in special education and other disputes with public schools and private schools. He advocates on behalf of parents and students to ensure educational institutions provide the services necessary to accomplish students' educational needs. Mr. Becker is available to assist parents in the following areas:

All Special Education Issues
Individualized Education Programs ("IEP")
Extended School Year
Supplemental Services
IEP Team Meetings
Enforcing and Revising IEPs
Resolution Sessions
Mediations
Placements
School Transportation
Due Process Hearings
Duel Enrollment
Standardized Testing Accommodations
Student Disciplinary Hearings and Appeals
Suspensions
Expulsions
Bullying
Discrimination
Student Records

Mr. Becker also has experience working with top consultants and experts in education and special education.

In addition to maintaining his own firm, Mr. Becker is Of Counsel to the law firm of Gerstein Grayson & Cohen, LLP in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Mr. Becker represents clients throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Mount Holly, Voorhees, Marlton, Mount Laurel, King of Prussia, Media, Paoli, West Chester, and Philadelphia.

Mr. Sokol was admitted to the Bar in December of 1980, after having graduated from the Cumberland School of Law in May of 1980. In September of 1980, Mr. Sokol was employed with McOmber & McOmber, P.C. as a law clerk and upon passing the Bar in December of 1980, he became an Associate with the office, eventually being elevated to Partner in 1986.

In working at McOmber & McOmber, Mr. Sokol has been principally involved in commercial litigation and advising corporate and public clients on strategic approaches to commercial disputes. His commercial litigation emphasis has been focused on manufacturing issues, specifically, commercial code and warranty litigation, dealer agreements, termination and arbitration. Another portion of Mr. Sokol's practice involves both public and private employment litigation and arbitration. Mr. Sokol has represented public entities in employment litigation since 1980, both in the courts and through the various administrative processes in New Jersey. Mr. Sokol has defended both public and corporate clients against allegations of discrimination, whistle-blowing, workplace harassment and various other allegations. He also has experience in the field of education law in New Jersey, representing boards of education and an educational service commission in tenure proceedings, labor scope proceedings, labor arbitration, negotiations and other hearings before the Commissioner of Education.

Other areas of concentration include representation of contractors, architects and owners, both public and non-public, throughout the construction process, including the drafting of construction agreements, as well as construction litigation and arbitration, addressing issues such as change order disputes, scheduling disputes, delay damages, liquidated damages, latent and patent defects, contractor termination, professional malpractice and construction lien law.

Mr. Sokol has also developed expertise in the areas of real property litigation through his representation of title insurance companies. He advises and represents landlords in lease drafting and negotiation and in causes of action seeking possession and rent. Mr. Sokol has also represented zoning boards of adjustment and applicants for the development of gas stations, banks and other commercial projects. Finally, Mr. Sokol has experience in representing banking institutions in collection actions, including mortgage foreclosures, and has defended lenders against liability claims.

Mr. Sokol was born and raised in Monmouth County, specifically Freehold, its County seat, where his father was an attorney for approximately 30 years. He currently resides in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Mr. Sokol is a long time volunteer for Western Monmouth Habitat for Humanity as an attorney and also volunteers in representing the Colts Neck Reformed Church, where he is a member with his family.

Trial and Appellate Practice Areas:

Commercial Litigation and Arbitration, Prosecution and Defense
Primary Concentrations:

Construction:
Drafting and litigation of construction, architect and construction management contracts; litigation and arbitration addressing change orders, scheduling, delays, liquidated damages, latent/patent defects, termination, professional malpractice, liens.


Banking and Finance:
Note and personal guarantee defaults and collections; residential and commercial mortgage foreclosures; defense to lender liability claims.


Manufacturing:
Distributor/dealer agreements, dealer termination arbitration, warranty litigation, commercial code provisions applicable to purchase and sale of goods.


Title Litigation:
Boundary line disputes, competing title interests, conflicting lien priorities.


Employment Litigation and Arbitration:
Employment agreements, statutory protections, e.g. civil rights, conscientious employee, hours and wages, leave laws, workplace harassment.


Education:
Budget appeals, civil litigation, hearings before the Commissioner of Education, construction bidding, expulsion hearings, tenure charges, scope proceedings and hearings before the Public Employment Relations Commission, labor arbitration, appeals to the Appellate Division and Supreme Court of New Jersey.


Landlord/Tenant:
Summary dispossession actions, lease negotiation and drafting, rent collection.


Zoning, Planning and Land Use Development:
Counsel to land developers in connection with applications, including residential subdivisions and industrial and commercial projects; appearance before local Planning and Zoning Boards of Adjustment representing applicants, objectors and neighborhood associations; litigation on behalf of developers and objectors.


Non-Profit:
Representation of various non-profit organizations including religious institutions, civil education foundations, and philanthropic associations.

Mr. McOmber was admitted to the New Jersey and Federal District Court Bars and then served as a Judge Advocate General for three years in Washington, D.C. There he initially served as defense and trial counsel in many courts martial and thereafter as post Judge Advocate of Fort Leslie J. McNair in the southwest section of Washington.

Upon his honorable discharge from the Army, he joined the law firm of Giordano & Halleran. Upon his promotion to partner, the name of the firm was changed to Giordano, Halleran & McOmber. Thereafter, he left that firm to start a new firm with his wife, Adrienne H. McOmber. McOmber & McOmber opened their first office on Front Street in Red Bank, New Jersey and later moved to 90 Monmouth Street in Red Bank. Since 1980, they have practiced on the waterfront of the Navesink River at 54 Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank.

The McOmbers first lived in Fair Haven and thereafter in the Locust section of Middletown. They have two children, one of whom practices with the firm. Mr. McOmber served as a trustee and President for many years with Riverside Drive Association, a homeowners’ group representing some 240 families on the north side of the Navesink River in Middletown. He has also been involved in the Armenian community for many years and presently attends St. Stepanos Armenian Apostolic Church in Elberon, New Jersey.

Primary Practice Areas:

Business:
Formation and representation of business entities including corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships.

General counsel to one of the largest privately held recreational boat manufacturers in the United States and many smaller entities.


Construction Law:
Representation of architectural firms, engineering firms, and national development corporations.


Education:
Budget appeals, civil litigation, hearings before the Commissioner of Education, review of construction contracts, construction arbitration and litigation, expulsion hearings, tenure charges, opinion letters, labor negotiation, sending-receiving litigation, hearings before the Public Employment Relations Commission, strike litigation, appeals to the Appellate Division and Supreme Court of New Jersey.


Manufacturing:
Distributor/dealer agreements, dealer termination arbitration, warranty litigation.


Non-Profit:
Counsel to various non-profit organizations; preparation and revision of corporate by-laws, resolutions, negotiation and preparation of agreements between and among non-profits, municipalities, county and state governments and landowners; handling all real estate matters whether in fee or easements from contract negotiation and execution through closing, including all title, survey, environmental issues and financing.


Title Litigation:
Boundary line disputes, competing title interests, conflicting lien priorities.


Wills and Probate:
Will and living will development. Estate and probate administration.


Zoning, Planning, and Land Use Development:
Counsel to land developers in connection with applications, including residential subdivisions and industrial and commercial projects; appearance before local Planning and Zoning Boards of Adjustment representing applicants, objectors and neighborhood associations; litigation on behalf of developers and objectors.

Former counsel to Tinton Falls Board of Adjustment.

Counsel to residential developer in connection with change to the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law governing large tract developments in excess of 100 acres, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-45.2 et seq.

Matthew Stoloff, Esq. looks forward to working on cases involving:

*Individuals who have been discriminated against on the basis of disability, perceived disability, age, race, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, and/or national origin.

*Employees who have been discriminated against or sexually harassed by their employers or co-workers.

*Disabled individuals who have been denied reasonable accommodation.

*Disabled individuals with service animals who have been denied access to places of public accommodations.

*Students who have been bullied by their teachers and/or classmates.

*Students who have been denied a free and appropriate public education (including due process hearings).

Areas of focus include: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; Individuals with Disabilities in Education Improvement Act (IDEA/IDEIA); Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Pregnancy Discrimination Act; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA); and New Jersey civil rights law such as the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.

Ms. Carolla serves on the Board of Directors of the Good Looking Foundation, a Voorhees-based nonprofit organization established to promote and support the fight against autism in South Jersey. She is an adjunct professor at Temple University School of Law where she teaches Special Education Law. Ms. Carolla is also a past Chair of the Board of Trustees of Southern New Jersey Regional Early Intervention Collaborative (SNJREIC), a nonprofit organization that helps ensure a local voice in the implementation of the early intervention system for children with special needs 3 years of age or younger.