Some Law Firms and Courts in Storm-Ravaged Areas Remain Closed
Some law firms, law schools and courts in areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy planned to be closed again on Wednesday.
K&L Gates in Newark, N.J., has closed its 44-lawyer office indefinitely, the National Law Journal reports. The office is located in an area where transportation is difficult because of fallen trees, downed power lines and nonfunctioning traffic lights. Lawyers who need to use a conference center can go to a nearby Hilton where the firm has rented space.
Law firms in lower Manhattan fared worse than those in Midtown, the story says. Firms that stayed closed on Tuesday included the downtown offices of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; it’s unclear whether they will be open again today. The NLJ was unable to reach two other law firms—Sullivan & Cromwell and Cahill Gordon & Reindel—because phones were not working.
Meanwhile, federal bankruptcy and trial-level courts in New Jersey and the Southern District of New York announced they will remain closed Wednesday, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will also be closed on Wednesday, according to its website.
Also slated to stay closed on Wednesday are New York University School of Law, New York Law School, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and Rutgers School of Law at Camden, according to the NLJ and a school website. Meanwhile, Seton Hall University Law School in Newark, N.J., plans to stay closed all week.
