For more than 30 years, Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein and Blader, P.C. has been a mainstay in Central Jersey law.
Based in Lawrence, the firm has been in the area since Barry Szaferman, Arnold Lakind and Jeffery Blumstein established it in 1977. The three men met while working what was at the time their mandatory three years in the New Jersey Attorney General’s office. In their third year, the men determined what their next venture would be.
“We started talking a lot about what we wanted to do with our careers,” Szaferman said. “We were talking about opening up our own firm. We didn’t have many clients, so it was more a matter of sharing expense than sharing revenue.”
The three partners primarily practiced public defender work when they opened the firm. Now, 27 attorneys and nearly 34 years later, the firm works through four major departments: general litigation, personal injury/worker’s compensation, matrimonial law and general business law. The firm also has attorneys who practice environmental law and intellectual property law.
The firm has a variety of practice areas, but Szaferman said the number of attorneys only increases at a rate of about one to two per year. “We don’t believe in growth for the sake of growth,” he said.
This philosophy has allowed the firm to avoid the spread out, impersonal format of larger firms common in areas like Philadelphia and North Jersey, Szaferman said.
“I think that what happens in a lot of the larger firms is people come to see the senior attorneys to handle their case, and a lot of the junior level attorneys do the work,” he said. “Here, everybody is hands-on. There’s nobody here whose major role isn’t representing clients.”
The attorneys at Szaferman Lakind apply that hands-on approach when it comes to being active in the community as well. The firm is active in organizations such as the American Cancer Society and SERV Behavioral Health System.
Recently, an attorney at the firm who serves in the National Guard was sent to Iraq, and the firm provided support for him and his family. For its efforts, the firm received New Jersey’s Pro Patria Award for Small Companies, which is presented to the “most outstanding military service employer” by the New Jersey Employed Support of the Guard and Reserve.
Szaferman said that giving back not only to the community but also to his clients is what being a lawyer is all about for him.
“When people come to you frequently with some of the most difficult problems that they have in their lives, and if you come up with a creative solution, they very much appreciate it,” he said. “It gives you tremendous satisfaction.”
Szaferman, Lakind and Blumstein have been practicing together since the firm was established, and Szaferman said the stability and familiarity is a key part of the firm’s success.
The principle of familiarity is something the partners stick with even when hiring new attorneys. They find potential recruits without the use of a “headhunter” and often stick to lawyers they know or have seen practice.
“We’ve seen how they handle cases, and we know that they’re going to do a good job for our clients,” he said.
Szaferman said there are no plans to radically increase the size of the practice or number of attorneys.
“Consistency and stability work for most of the partners here,” he said. “It’s nice to be a part of a community.”
Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein and Blader, P.C. is located at 101 Grovers Mill Road, Suite 200, in Lawrence. Phone: (609) 275-0400. On the Web: szaferman.com.
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