Five months after fire, lawyers are back at work in rehabbed office; arson case is ongoing
More than five months after a fire that authorities say was set by arsonists swept through a New Jersey law firm, its attorneys are back at work in their original Vineland location.
Final touches on the renovation that followed the Jan. 28 fire are still being completed, but Helmer, Coney & Kasselman lawyers were eager to return to their new and improved home, the Daily Journal reports. As part of the renovation, the building was made handicapped-accessible, and an attorney whose office was severely damaged ordered a new copy of her law school diploma displaying her married name.
A neighboring law firm operated by Seymour Wasserstrum made room for the Helmer Conley lawyers to work there during the renovation, the article notes. Legal files had been backed up under Helmer Conley’s emergency plan.
Meanwhile, an arson case is ongoing against three individuals accused of setting fire not only to the law firm but the Cumberland County prosecutor’s office, in Bridgeton, the next day.
Little information has been reported about what may have allegedly motivated the suspects. However, one of the three had previously been represented by the law firm, the Asbury Park Press reported in March.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “3 charged with arson in fires at prosecutor’s office and law firm”
