Alan Lowenstein, a civic leader and founder of one of the state's largest law firms, Lowenstein Sandler, died today. He was 93.

Born in Newark, Lowenstein chaired the city's charter reform movement, which restructured city government during the 1950s to root out corruption. In 1961, he founded his own law firm in Newark and saw it grow from five lawyers to 250, with offices in Roseland and New York City.

In 1999, he founded the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, which works through the courts and the Legislature to rebuild cities, help prison inmates rejoin society, fight poverty and discrimination and assure equal access to the courts.

Lowenstein also was active in the Essex County Council of Jewish Agencies, the Welfare Federation of Newark and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, on whose board he served.

"Alan Lowenstein's vision and leadership helped to create the firm that we are today: one that embraces the ideals of professional excellence, commitment to its clients' interests, civic duty and diversity,'' managing director Michael Rodburg said in a statement posted on the firm's Web page.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew L. Fish asked the judge to delay a prior court session because "the parties are very close to completing plea negotiations."

"The Government anticipates that both defendants will be ready to enter guilty pleas on May 10, 2007," Fish wrote.

The case is the largest yet in a renewed effort by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to root out fraud that puts average investors at a disadvantage in the stock market.

Securities enforcers are probing unusual trading patterns in many companies' stock and options shortly before merger and buyout offers. Dow Jones said last week that it had received inquiries from regulators interested in trades preceding News Corp.'s recent bid for the company.

The Collottas are among more than a dozen defendants nabbed in a widespread insider-trading ring in March. Law enforcement authorities singled out the Collottas because of their special role in protecting the integrity of investment banks and the market as a whole.

Randi Collotta once served as an associate in Morgan Stanley's global compliance division, where she had access to secret information about pending deals involving such clients as Macromedia, Catellus Development, and PacifiCare Health Systems, according to the grand jury indictment against her.

Rather than safeguard the information, however, Collotta passed it along to her husband, also a lawyer, who shared it with co-conspirators, prosecutors said.

Kenneth Breen, a lawyer for Randi Collotta, said yesterday that she would "address these charges in court." Brian Rafferty, a lawyer for Christopher Collotta, declined to comment.

In a joint report released by UN Watch and Freedom House, the organizations outlined a review of candidates to serve on the council, and listed candidate nations Angola, Belarus, Egypt, and Qatar as "not qualified" to serve based on the inadequate human rights records of the countries.

Belarus was included on Freedom House's 2007 list of "The Worst of the Worst", a report detailing the human rights records of the most repressive societies. Last month, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pressed member nations to work with the council, expressing hope that cooperation would help to end human rights abuses. The Human Rights Council was criticized for its limited successes in Israel and Sudan last year, when both countries refused to accept UNHRC investigative teams. In February, a UNHRC probe to the Darfur region was canceled when Sudan refused to grant a visa to one of the members of the investigation team. In September 2006, the US expressed disappointment with the work of the UNHRC for failing to adequately address violations in Darfur, North Korea, and China and has since refused for a second year to run for election to the body, created last year to replace the largely-discredited UN Human Rights Commission.

Attorney Judson A. Waltman of The Lanier Law Firm represented plaintiff George Coley along with co-lead counsel Chris Carver of Lubbock, Texas-based Gibson Carver, L.L.P.

Mr. Coley, 51, was severely injured on Dec. 31, 2003, when he was struck by an 800-pound casing pipe that had fallen from 30 feet above. The impact crushed his left elbow and caused multiple fractures in his left arm. Doctors say Mr. Coley will have limited use of the arm for the rest of his life.

Witnesses testified during trial that the pipe came loose from a nubbin that was being used to lift the pipe before striking Mr. Coley, a subcontractor employed by Lewis Casing Crews of Odessa, Texas.

In the lawsuit against Big Dog Drilling and Endeavor Energy Resources, Mr. Coley's attorneys said that managers with the two Midland, Texas, companies ignored Mr. Coley's concerns about the condition of the nubbin and told him to go back to work.

"This jury sent a clear message that worker safety comes first," says Mr. Waltman of The Lanier Law Firm. "The first response from the drilling company was to get the drilling operation restarted before caring for Mr. Coley's injuries. That kind of attitude is unacceptable in any work environment, and the jury felt compelled to react accordingly."

The verdict was reached on May 1 before state district judge Jay Gibson in Wood County. The award includes $1.58 million in actual damages and $4.92 million in punitive damages. Jurors assessed $420,000 in punitive damages against Big Dog Drilling and $4.5 million against Endeavor Energy.

With offices in Houston and New York, The Lanier Law Firm is committed to addressing client concerns with effective and innovative solutions. The firm is composed of outstanding trial attorneys with decades of experience handling cases involving pharmaceutical liability, asbestos exposure, business fraud, serious personal injuries, product liability, and toxic exposure.

Lanier Law Firm

CONTACT: Kevin Roberts of Lanier Law Firm, +1-713-659-5200

The American Bar Association has granted reapproval to Pennsylvania College of Technology’s legal assistant majors, one of only 14 programs in Pennsylvania to be recognized in that fashion.

The college’s School of Business and Computer Technologies recently was notified of the action by the ABA’s House of Delegates, which follows a successful site visit early last fall and a recommendation by the association’s Standing Committee on Paralegals.

“This notification reaffirms the high quality of the instruction, advising, work-based experiences and job placement provided by our paralegal studies faculty and college for our certificate and associate- and bachelor-degree-seeking students,” said Edward A. Henninger, dean of the school.

Penn College offers a bachelor’s degree in legal assistant/paralegal studies, an associate degree in legal assistant/paralegal and a certificate in nurse/health care paralegal studies. Its curriculum provides students with a mix of essential courses and instruction in specialized areas of the law, providing the background for successful employment in a rapidly growing field.

“American Bar Association approval of paralegal programs is a very rigorous process culminating in a two-day on-site review by an ABA team,” noted Kevin R. Derr, professor of legal assistant in the School of Business and Computer Technologies. “The process involves a thorough review of the paralegal program’s curriculum, faculty credentials, library sources, facility, student services and administration. The process is important to us as an indicator that we meet the very demanding standards set by the national organization, which reviews programs throughout the country.”

All paralegal courses in Penn College’s program, which has been ABA-approved since 1994, are taught by licensed attorneys. Students complete a required internship in a law firm, government agency or law-related office. (Paralegals work under the supervision of licensed attorneys and are prohibited from practicing law.)