Family Law

• Divorce
• Premarital Agreement
• Guardianship
  As a Partner at Shapiro, Croland, Apfel & Di Iorio, LLP, Eric’s varied litigation and transactional experience includes a concentration in Cannabis Law, Business & Partnership Divorces, Estate/Probate Litigation and Contested Guardianships. His burgeoning expertise in these areas of law has earned him recognition as a Rising Star in Business Litigation by New Jersey Super Lawyers, a distinction awarded to no more than 2.5% of practicing attorneys in New Jersey. He has also been the recipient of several court appointments, most recently as counsel and guardian ad litem for the alleged incapacitated. Additionally, He is a candidate for judicial appointments in complex commercial litigation matters as a special fiscal agent, receiver and provisional director. A graduate of the University of Michigan and Rutgers School of Law, Eric was admitted to practice before both the federal and state courts of New Jersey and New York.

Criminal Law

• Theft
• Restraining Order
  The Chair of our Cannabis Law Group, Eric Reiser, has been counseling clients in the cannabis industry since 2016. Eric’s initial involvement in the cannabis legal space involved his representation of a Canadian company in a theft of trade secret lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order to enjoin a NJ company from proceeding with its Medical Cannabis themed ETF before the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Internet Crimes
  Glenn Reiser’s varied litigation and transactional experience includes a concentration in complex commercial litigation, attorney ethics defense and probate litigation. Glenn also focuses his practice on bankruptcy and bankruptcy court litigation, foreclosures, and debt collection matters. Additionally, Glenn represents clients in closely held business disputes, emergent relief cases, fraudulent asset transfers and internet law cases. Glenn regularly appears before the trial, federal and appellate courts in New Jersey.

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  Our firm has extensive experience with a variety of issues relevant to the cannabis industry including: general business counseling, industry due diligence, land use and zoning, corporate formation, FDA compliance, crafting operational policies, corporate governance and structure, intellectual property, litigation, banking and finance, real estate issues, compliance and regulatory matters, and state/local licensing. We make it a point to stay informed on all industry developments so that we can give our clients a competitive edge when it comes to their businesses.
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  ShapiroCroland corporate attorneys have represented clients in negotiating and structuring a wide variety of domestic and international financial and strategic mergers and acquisitions and divestiture transactions. We assist our clients in structuring, negotiating and consummating the transaction both from the “buy” side and the “sell” side. Our services range from handling all legal aspects of the transaction to working in coordination with our clients’ in-house counsel. Our experience encompasses many industry groups and includes both negotiated and contested transactions. Recognizing that business combinations are often critical to our clients’ business objectives, we pride ourselves on consummating transactions through a combination of legal acumen, business judgment and creativity.
• Business Disputes
• Business Transactions
  ShapiroCroland corporate practice offers clients a combination of comprehensive legal expertise and practical business counseling that enables our clients to set goals, analyze, evaluate and find solutions, and achieve the desired results no matter the nature or complexity of their business transactions.
• Limited Liability Companies
  Our attorneys assist clients in evaluating and selecting the right form of entity for a new business venture. Strategic planning and counseling becomes critical in our clients’ evaluation and understanding of the tax liabilities and obligations of the business and its owners and the amount of after tax cash realized by the owners upon exiting the business. We work closely with a client base of entrepreneurs in start-up companies and established businesses in selecting among limited liability companies (LLCs), partnerships, S corporations and C corporations.
• Trade Secrets
• Intellectual Property
  Eric’s varied litigation and transactional experience includes a concentration in: partnership and shareholder disputes;  corporate derivative actions; restrictive covenant disputes; actions involving temporary and preliminary injunctions; fraudulent transfer litigation; probate litigation and contested guardianships; cannabis licensing, business counseling,, regulatory compliance and litigation; intellectual property law protection and litigation;, bankruptcy filings, bankruptcy court litigation and corporate dissolutions;, and trial & appellate practice in state and federal courts.
• Unfair Competition

Employment Law

• Employment Litigation
  Victoria R. Pekerman is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Department. Her legal experience includes such areas as commercial business litigation, estate litigation, partnership and shareholder disputes, insurance coverage and employment disputes.
• Non-compete Agreement
  I worked with Victoria in a complex case in federal court involving disputes over ownership of intellectual property and violations of non-compete agreements. She is a very capable attorney, and was well versed in the federal rules of civil procedure and the local rules of the federal court in New Jersey where the case was venued. It was a pleasure to work with her. Victoria and her firm acted as local counsel and assisted our firm in representing the Plaintiff in the litigation, which resulted in a settlement in favor of our mutual client.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  David is a member of the Commercial Litigation and Bankruptcy departments. His practice encompasses all areas of commercial litigation, real estate litigation, complex foreclosures, construction and insolvency matters in both the state and federal courts. David has appeared extensively in the state courts of New Jersey and New York, as well as the United States District Court and Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. He has litigated all types of business disputes and bankruptcy court adversary proceedings for the District of New Jersey.
• Real Estate Transactions
  We handle a variety of matters including complex Business Litigation, Partnership and Shareholder Disputes, Trusts, Estates and Wealth Management, Appellate Practice, Municipal Law and Land Use, Taxation (corporate and individual), Bankruptcy and Creditor’s Rights, Cannabis Law, Commercial Real Estate transactions, and more.
• Eminent Domain
  When the state or one of its municipalities takes private property, New Jersey’s law of eminent domain requires that just compensation, or the fair market value of the property as of the date of taking, be paid to the property owner. Fair market value under New Jersey law is determined by the price to which a willing and knowledgeable buyer and willing and knowledgeable seller would agree, neither being under any compulsion to act. When considering the question of fair market value, the property’s “highest and best use” or the use that produces the highest value—provided it can be legally and physically achieved—is taken into account. Under certain circumstances, the highest and best use asserted by a landowner may be premised on a prospective zoning change, but only if there is a reasonable probability that such zoning change could be achieved.
• Land Use and Zoning
  The experience of the attorneys at ShapiroCroland in the area of local government law spans more than forty years. During that time, the firm and its members have acted as general and special counsel to municipalities and planning and zoning boards. Our experience is equally expansive in the representation of local government officials and boards in matters relating to their public charge.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  Victoria Pekerman is sharp and focused and she gets it! Victoria helped my family to successfully defend a severely inflated personal injury suit which could have completely wiped out the family’s assets. She has always been an advocate and advisor on many other legal issues ranging from personal to business. She is sensitive to the people involved – yet is firm and steadfast and the results speak for themselves with 100% success!

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  ShapiroCroland Trusts, Estates and Wealth Management Department has a long-standing history of providing quality estate planning services to our clients, their families and their businesses. Our clients include entrepreneurs, executives, corporations, partnerships, private foundations, charitable organizations, families and high net-worth individuals. Our lawyers are committed to coordinating all aspects of our clients’ financial planning, which includes asset protection planning. In so doing, we work closely with clients, as well as their accountants, investment advisors and financial planners, to develop personalized plans that incorporate their values and goals, including wealth preservation, asset protection planning, international planning and the resolution of potential family conflicts. At the same time, we strive to minimize gift, estate, generation skipping and other taxes.
• Wills
  ShapiroCroland represents beneficiaries, executors and trustees in the resolution, through both negotiation and litigation, of disputes involving estates and trusts. Examples of such matters include will contests, construction and interpretation proceedings for wills or trust agreements, objections to accountings, administration and removal of fiduciaries. We also represent the estate and its beneficiaries in the event that the Internal Revenue Service or state tax agencies allege a deficiency in the payment of taxes on behalf of the estate.
• Trusts
  Our Trusts, Estates and Wealth Management attorneys also provide succession planning services to owners of closely held business as a means of protecting family wealth. We regularly restructure businesses to place our business owner-clients and their families in the most tax advantageous position. These services extend not only to the family business, but to business investments with unrelated partners and co-shareholders. We work to ensure that our clients’ heirs receive the same return on the business investment that our owner-client received during his or her lifetime. In order to achieve these results for our clients, our attorneys implement creative long-term business succession plans to minimize the adverse effects of death taxes. Such plans may include the creation of partnerships, long-term irrevocable trusts, the use of shareholder agreements and/or the acquisition of insurance.
• Power of Attorney
  Our attorneys incorporate a myriad of planning vehicles to design a personalized, integrated plan, including wills, trusts, family partnerships and limited liability companies. We also advise clients regarding long-term care arrangements and insurance, living wills, health care proxies and the use of durable, springing and standing powers of attorney. We help our clients focus on the financial considerations of their future, while recognizing the sensitivity with which the area must be addressed.
• Probate

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
  ShapiroCroland bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice is renowned for its ability to handle virtually all aspects of complex commercial and individual bankruptcy matters and bankruptcy litigation. We have extensive experience representing debtors, creditors, trustees and other interested parties in such varied matters as complex Chapter 11 reorganizations, business liquidations, out of court workouts and bankruptcy litigation matters. In addition, members of our firm have been selected by state court judges as receivers, provisional directors and fiscal agents of numerous entities.
• Foreclosure
• Tax Law
  ShapiroCroland provides complete individual income tax consulting services and has experience with structuring investment transactions, planning for the tax consequences of marital settlements and minimizing tax exposure to the alternative minimum tax. Our tax attorneys provide valuable counsel regarding private and commercial annuities, various insurance products and programs, split-dollar agreements and dealing with involuntary conversions and like kind exchanges. We regularly advise both creditors and debtors of troubled companies and have experience with the consequences of cancellation of indebtedness income and the reduction of tax attributes. We also frequently advise business owners, senior executives of public and private companies, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and high-net worth individuals on tax issues related to business and investment holdings.
• Debt Collection