Shenkman, Fredric L.

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Joining Cooper Levenson in 1988, Fredric ‘Ric’ Shenkman has decades of experience in both transactional work and commercial litigation.

His transactional work includes the drafting of asset sales; cross-purchase and redemption agreements; asset based financing agreements; post-employment restrictive covenants; business separation agreements; PILOT Agreements (payment in lieu of taxes agreements) and work-outs.

He has litigated in both the State and Federal Courts in such areas as real estate, partnership dissolution; corporate dissolution; construction defects; oppressed shareholder/minority freeze-outs; condominium governance; corporate governance; public finance; state and federal taxation; FOIA; OPRA; title defense, environmental, ad valorem taxation, D & O and E & O defense, defense of legal malpractice, defense of lawyers in ethics proceedings, and foreclosures.

Ric also has lectured extensively on general equity and attorney ethics to various bar associations and Inns of Court. He served the District I of the New Jersey District Ethics Committee as a member and chairperson for four years, and as secretary for more than seven years.

Case Highlights

• Gottlob v. Lopez, 501 A.2d 176, 205 N.J. Super. 417 (App. Div. 1985) certification denied 517 A.2d 384, 104 N.J. 373 (1986)
• Atlantic City Convention Center Authority v. South Jersey Publishing, 647 A.2d 1261, 135 N.J. 53 (1994)
• Porta v. Klagholz, 19 F. Supp.2d 290 (D.N.J. 1998); and Delaware River and Bay Authority v. York Hunter, 781 A.2d 1126, 344 N.J. Super. 361 (Ch. 2001)
• Trs. of the Alpine Methodist Episcopal Church v. New Jersey United Methodist Church, 2016 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 1387, aff’d, 2017 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 3127 (App. Div. 2017), app. dis., 234 N.J. 195 (2018).

Recent Seminars

• Atlantic County Bar Association, “The Causes of Disciplinary Mistakes and How to Avoid Them”
• National Business Institute, “Legal Ethics of Email”
• Burlington County Bar Association: “Mediation and Pro Se Litigants”
• Middlesex County Bar Association, “Ethical Conundrums as to Discovery and Metadata”
• N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education: 2016 Environmental Law Forum: “Ethical considerations for Today’s Environmental Lawyers: The Procedural Aspects of Ethics”
• Atlantic County Bar Association: panelist at the Hon. Allen J. Littlefield Professionalism Day – “Advocacy with Civility and Ethics”
• N.J. Institute for Continuing Legal Education: “2016 Annual Review of New Jersey Environmental Law-Ethics”
• Middlesex County Bar Association, “Ethical Lapses and How to Avoid Them”
• “Legal Ethics: Top Mistakes that Lead to Malpractice”, Atlantic City, NJ
• Middlesex County Bar Association, “Ethical Considerations in Contested Divorce Matters”
• National Business Institute: Gun Law in New Jersey
• National Business Institute: Top 8 LLC Mistakes to Avoid in Everyday Business Practice
• National Business Institute: LLC Ethical Traps to Avoid

Education

Ric is a graduate of the University of Rochester (B.A., cum laude), and Temple University School of Law (J.D.; L.L.M. in Taxation). He is admitted to practice in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the United States District Courts of New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New York, Western New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States Tax Court.

Publications

• A Primer on Directors and Officers Insurance for Private Entities
• Attorney Ethics – A Primer CL Article
• Factors to determine whether to bring suit in Federal Court
• Tax Evaluation Methodology CL Alert
• Tax Appeals Make Sense CL Alert