Director

Lisa Z. Slotkin,CIPP/US

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267.765.7343
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267.223.2461
Lisa Z. Slotkin,CIPP/US

Lisa Z. Slotkin is the managing shareholder of Zarwin Baum’s Northern New Jersey office located in Jersey City and the Co-Chair of the Casualty & Professional Liability Defense Practice Group. Her primary area of practice is professional liability, including defending lawyers in malpractice claims, defending negligence claims against insurance agents and brokers, overseeing the defense of employment practices liability claims, as well as defending a whole host of other professionals such as realtors and title agents and searchers. She is board certified in Privacy and US Data Protection (CIPP/US). Lisa has extensive experience defending various businesses in everything from fall down incidents to complex construction site accidents. She has defended countless bars and restaurants in liquor liability actions. This continues to be a very large part of Lisa’s defense practice. In addition to being retained by insurance companies to defend their insureds, Lisa also is often retained by insurance companies to represent insurers with respect to disputes over the existence of insurance coverage. Her experience includes litigating in state and federal courts throughout New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania. She is also licensed to practice law in New York.

In 1994, Lisa graduated from Temple Law School and joined Zarwin Baum just after taking the bar examination. She has been with the firm for her entire career, starting in our firm’s Philadelphia office then opening the firm’s Jersey City location in 1999. Originally the sole attorney in the office, Lisa’s presence has helped the firm to grow its New Jersey practice to include six lawyers in that satellite office. Lisa Slotkin was selected for inclusion in “New Jersey Super Lawyers” as published in New Jersey Monthly from 2006 through 2009, and in 2006 and 2007 she was recognized as one of the top 50 female lawyers in New Jersey. She was also featured in the New Jersey Monthly “Ask Super Lawyers” section of the publication in April 2008. Lisa lives in New York City with her family. In her “spare” time she loves to try new foods, visit new places and read fiction, though she avoids legal thrillers. She also heads to the beach any chance she gets.

Representative Matters

Professional Liability

Obtained summary judgment in a legal malpractice case in which a client sued his lawyer for alleged negligent representation in the purchase of a small business. Plaintiff claimed that his lawyer did not perform the appropriate due diligence before allowing the Plaintiff to close on the purchase. Throughout discovery in the case, maintained the defense position that the lawyer had not breached the standard of care a lawyer owes to the purchaser of a small business. Plaintiff submitted and filed a very detailed Affidavit of Merit in order to comply with the Affidavit of Merit statute, but Plaintiff never served an expert report as to the standard of care. Argued that the case was not one which could go to a jury without an expert opining as to the appropriate standard of care and whether the attorney client had breached that standard, and that a mere Affidavit of Merit was insufficient. The court agreed and granted summary judgment dismissing the case against the lawyer.

Professional Liability

Slotkin Granted Dismissal with Prejudice in Professional Liability Action Lisa Slotkin successfully obtained a dismissal with prejudice in the defense of a professional negligence in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, in Somerset County. Plaintiffs, small business owners, sought damages against their insurance brokers for allegedly improperly advising them to obtain insurance coverage which Plaintiffs claim was inadequate. Plaintiffs failed to provide an Affidavit of Merit to Defendants and the Court, despite being required to do so under the Affidavit of Merit statute and despite an extension of time within which to produce the Affidavit. Defendants moved to dismiss the claim with prejudice. In an unsuccessful attempt to continue the litigation, Plaintiff instead implored the Court that the negligence claims against the Defendant insurance brokers fall within the “common knowledge” of a juror, and therefore, no Affidavit of Merit from a like professional is required. After Plaintiffs’ reply, Slotkin proceeded to oral argument. Slotkin persuaded the Court that Plaintiff’s failure to comply with the Affidavit of Merit requirement was fatal to the claim. The Court’s decision enforces the common defense position in similar cases that a claim based on deviation from the standard of care applicable to an insurance broker necessitates an Affidavit of Merit. The Court granted Slotkin’s motion, and dismissed the Plaintiffs’ complaint with prejudice.
News
& Events
Presentations and Events

June 2023 Master of Ceremonies and Co-coordinator of Themis Mock Trial Event in Richmond, VA

May 2022 Hosted and coordinated the Women of Themis 2022 Leadership Summit in Jersey City, NJ

March 2022 South Jersey Paralegal Association’s Educational Symposium, Presenter, “Top Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Paralegals”

February 2022, Themis Advocates Annual Conference, The Life of a Claim: Six Components Detailed by Industry Experts, Moderator, “Diversity Presentation”

March 2020 New Jersey State Bar Association’s Seminar for Continuing Legal Education, Panelist 2019 Legal Malpractice Update CLE

April 2019 United States Liability Insurance’s Hospitality Customer Conference, Speaker, “Trends in Liquor Liability – An Attorney’s Perspective”

March 2019 New Jersey State Bar Association’s Seminar for Continuing Legal Education, Panelist, 2019 Legal Malpractice Update CLE

May 2018 United State Liability Insurance’s Hospitality Customer Conference, Speaker, “Trends in Liquor Liability – An Attorney’s Perspective”

January 2018 THEMIS Annual Conference, Panelist, “Claims That Hit Close to Home in More Ways than One: What Every Insurance Professional and Defense Lawyer Needs to Know”

April 2017 WOMEN OF THEMIS Leadership Forum, Moderator

January 2017 THEMIS Annual Conference, Moderator, Professional Liability Panel

August 2016 WOMEN OF THEMIS Leadership Forum, Moderator

January 2016 THEMIS Annual Conference, Moderator, Professional Liability Panel

January 2015 THEMIS Annual Conference, Panel Member, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (aka: The Firm, the Auditor and the Industry) – Understanding, Navigating and Living with Clients’ Use of Billing Vendors”

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Credentials
Court Admissions

New Jersey District Court

New Jersey Supreme Court

New York Appellate Division

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Third Circuit Court of Appeals

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Bar Admissions

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Memberships

Defense Research Institute

Hudson County Bar Association

New Jersey Bar Association

New Jersey Defense Association

Professional Liability Defense Federation

Professional Liability Underwriting Society

Education

Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, J.D.

University of Maryland, B.S.

Certifications

2015 – Present, International Association of Privacy Professionals Certified Individual Privacy Professionals/United States (CIPP/US)