Law Partner Who Wanted Out of New Jersey Firm Hit With Fees (1)

Efforts to cash out of a boutique law firm partnership backfired on a New Jersey intellectual property partner when Tuesday a more than $800,000 judgment against him was largely upheld by a state appeals court.

The court found that inventor and patent lawyer Andrew Zidel breached his fiduciary duty to his partners by soliciting business for a new firm during a business trip paid for by his former firm, Cranford-based Lerner David LLP. Zidel shouldn’t get a payout of his ownership stake despite there being a lack of clarity in a written partnership deal, the court said, and sent the ...