Congratulations to Brian Neary and Aedan Neary for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for the New York Metropolitan Area.
Brian Neary was recognized for Criminal Defense Law: General Practice, Criminal Defense: White-Collar and DUI/DWI Defense.
Aedan Neary was named to the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America list for Criminal Defense: White-Collar.
Neary Law continues to be a leader in the defense of driving while intoxicated cases in New Jersey’s municipal courts.
Founding attorney Brian J. Neary is again named in the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers in America – the nation’s premier resource for legal excellence – in driving while intoxicated defense. Learn more about the selection process for Best Lawyers. Mr. Neary is a founding member of the National College of DUI defense in Atlanta, GA (ncdd.org). He has also lectured on DWI issues for many years – including teaching both judges and lawyers.
Mr. Neary has received certifications on the administration of New Jersey’s alcohol breath test – the Alcotest – by Draeger, the instrument’s manufacturer. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Contact us at (201) 801-4334.
Attorney Brian J. Neary is a proud alumnus of the University of Notre Dame and is committed to giving back to the Notre Dame community both within and outside Indiana.
In June, Brian J. Neary and Neary Law helped to sponsor the 6th Annual Notre Dame Lawyers Reception at the Union League Club in New York. The reception featured speaker Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, and a 1984 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School. Over 200 alumni, current students, and admitted students of Notre Dame attended to hear Mr. Moynihan’s remarks.
More recently, Brian J. Neary returned to South Bend, Indiana, in August to participate in the University of Notre Dame Law School’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program for law students. Led by Law School faculty, the program is energized by the volunteer participation of several experienced and respected litigators and judges, many of whom are themselves alumni of Notre Dame.
During the trial advocacy program, 63 law students had the opportunity to receive constructive feedback from the professionals who witnessed their opening statements, direct and cross-examinations, presentation of evidence, and closing arguments. Following the one-week intensive, the students will participate in ongoing training and mock trials during the academic semester.
The program is available to rising second-and third-year law students, whether or not they intend to pursue a career as litigators. The trial advocacy program fosters skills critical for the success of all attorneys, including:
The students are not the only ones to benefit from the program. Brian J. Neary observes,
“I love teaching at Notre Dame. I get to work with a national faculty of top advocacy teachers and students from all over the United States. This experience complements my advocacy program at Rutgers with new ideas and techniques.”
Neary looks forward to future opportunities to work with Notre Dame alumni, students, and faculty, whether in South Bend or beyond. Contact us at (201) 801-4334.
Major changes, due to take effect in January 2017, are afoot in New Jersey with respect to how bail is set for criminal defendants. One of the most important things for criminal defendants to know when bail reform takes effect is that it will be very important—much more so than before—to be represented by an attorney before the first court appearance, which takes place very shortly after the arrest.
Across the country, states have come to recognize that their existing bail systems are not working as intended, and a few, like New Jersey, have taken steps to make the system work in a way that is more consistent with its goals.
The purpose of having a bail system in the first place is twofold: first, to ensure public safety, and second, to make certain that criminal defendants will return to court. In most states, the system, as it stands, is an imperfect fit for those goals and has a host of unintended consequences.
Most states have a resource-based bail system: a judge sets an amount of bail depending on the circumstances of the criminal matter at hand. If defendants can post the amount ordered, they are released pending their next court date. If not, they languish in jail. The majority of people currently in local jails haven’t been convicted of any crime; they are waiting for the disposition of their cases.
Most of these people are awaiting trial on nonviolent offenses. Many are in jail not because they represent a danger to public safety or a flight risk, but because they were financially unable to post bail. Keeping these defendants locked up pending trial costs local governments across the country billions of dollars per year.
Not only is there a financial impact on communities, but there is also a huge cost to the individual defendants and their families. Criminal justice experts note that for defendants who are employed, pretrial jail time often costs them their jobs. This in turn hampers their ability to support their families.
And the only difference between these defendants and other defendants accused of identical crimes is that some have the money to make bail, and some don’t. Those who don’t may pose no greater risk than those who do, but they suffer disproportionately.
Conversely, there are defendants whose history shows that they pose a risk to the public or specific others if released. Under the old bail policy in New Jersey, it’s possible that a dangerous offender who has the resources for bail would be released while a defendant with no criminal history, charged with a non-violent crime, would be detained due to financial inability to post bail.
New Jersey is one of a handful of states that have elected to shift from a commercial or resource-based system to a risk-based system. This change is expected to have a number of advantages. First and foremost, eligible defendants will be granted release, or not, depending on an objective, standardized risk assessment. The risk assessment tool evaluates the likelihood of a defendant being arrested for a new crime or for a new violent crime or failing to appear in court.
Following the risk assessment, an eligible defendant may be:
There is also the possibility that a defendant will not be released but remain in detention. This would happen only following a motion by the State and a hearing on the motion, not simply at the court’s request. The new law puts legal protections in place for defendants in the event of such a motion and the detention hearing that would follow.
Have an Attorneys RepresentationThese protections include the right to be represented by counsel and to cross-examine witnesses. In these cases where a defendant’s release or detention hinges on the outcome of a detention hearing, it is going to be especially critical to have an attorney’s representation as soon as possible.
In the months leading up to New Jersey’s new bail policy taking effect, we will continue to post information about the changes in the law, including who is an “eligible defendant,” and details on the risk assessment process, the various types of release, and the process for granting release or detention.
Attorney Brian Neary has been instrumental in educating New Jersey attorneys on this sweeping reform, including speaking at the 2016 New Jersey State Bar Convention and before the Hudson County Bar Association. He has also served as a faculty member for NJICLE’s “New Jersey’s Comprehensive Bail Reform Law: 2016 Update.” Contact us at (201) 801-4334.
The New Jersey Bar Association Board of Trustees recently named its new appointees for the 2016-2017 term. Attorney Brian J. Neary was one of two attorneys newly appointed to the Board.
This appointment is the latest example of Brian’s involvement in State Bar activities, which include serving as a speaker at the Annual Convention, a member of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee, and the State Bar’s representative on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Committee on Judicial Education. He will be eligible to serve for up to eight one-year terms on the Foundation Board.
The New Jersey State Bar Foundation was founded in 1958 as the philanthropic and educational arm of the State Bar. The Foundation’s mission is to increase awareness and appreciation of the law and legal system among New Jersey residents of all ages, as well as to give attorneys an opportunity to serve the public. Through its efforts, the Foundation also strives to serve as the statewide resource for public education on the law and violence prevention.
More than 20,000 New Jersey residents benefit from the free legal education programs that the Foundation provides at various locations, including the New Jersey Law Center and at numerous public schools. Millions more have ready access to practical legal information online through the Foundation’s website.
Programs for school-age students include a highly-regarded statewide high school mock trial competition, as well as a Law Adventure program and Law Fair designed to interest middle school and elementary students in the law and how it affects them. The Foundation also provides training for school safety and climate teams on teasing and bullying issues and leads:
The Foundation’s services for the general public include the Senior Citizens’ Law Day Conference, a Foreclosure Defense Clinic, a Special Education Training Series, as well as programs on the estate and tax planning and law and disability.
The Foundation also prepares and distributes a variety of education publications on areas of the law that are of particular interest to the general public, such as domestic violence, starting a business, and serving on a jury. A longtime participant in legal education programs for students and the public, Brian looks forward to being active in the Foundation’s programs and serving the citizens of New Jersey. Contact us at (201) 801-4334.
Brian J. Neary loves to practice law as a criminal trial lawyer. As he celebrates his 40th year as a lawyer, he continues to follow his other great passion in the legal profession – teaching the bench and bar on various criminal law and trial advocacy topics. This dedication burns brightest in teaching the next generation of trial lawyers at some of the nation’s top law schools.
For over 30 years, Brian has served as an adjunct law professor at Rutgers Law School in Newark. His courses have ranged from legal writing to trial presentation to criminal motions practice. He now teaches Intensive Criminal Trial Advocacy – a practice course for second and third-year students.
For five full days both the spring and fall of 2015, law students are first instructed – and then perform – various trial skills. A trial “boot camp”; the classes now join several generations of trial advocates taught by Brian – including:
Brian also serves the national legal community as an instructor at the Notre Dame Law School’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program. He returns to his undergraduate alma mater every summer and winter to participate and teach Notre Dame second and third-year students trial techniques.
Led by long time Notre Dame Professor (and internationally renowned) James Seckinger, Brian is scheduled to teach in snowy South Bend again in January 2016.
Brian continues to teach the legal community throughout New Jersey on various criminal law and advocacy topics. This year’s course included:
Brian has received the 2014 Distinguished Service Award for the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education. Contact us at (201) 801-4334.
Neary Law is proud to again be recognized both nationally and locally for its work in criminal defense. U.S. News and World Report have named Neary Law as a leading law firm for 2016. The Law Firm is ranked Tier 1 for Criminal Defense: Non-White Collar and DUI/DWI Defense and Tier 2 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar.
This is the fourth straight year for this designation – since the inception of U.S. News & World Reports’ ranking of national law firms. The Best Law Firms lists are issued by U.S. News and Best Lawyers. Learn more about the selection process for this honor.
Founding attorney, Brian J. Neary is being honored as the first recipient of the Hudson County Bar’s Association 2015 Criminal Lawyer of the Year. The award recognizes Brian’s long history in the Hudson County legal community – as a law clerk in a Hudson County law firm, as a:
While he enjoys a national reputation, Brian prides himself as a local lawyer in Hudson County and Bergen County. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Contact us at (201) 801-4334.
Brian has once again been named to the “Irish Legal 100” as awarded by the Irish Voice newspaper, a leading publication for news and issues on all things Irish. The ”Irish Legal 100” honors lawyers and judges throughout the United States of Irish-American descent who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession.
On October 22, 2015, an award reception was held at the home of the Irish Ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C. Hosted by Ambassador Ann Anderson, Brian joined the other honorees in celebrating their accomplishments.
Brian J. Neary has once again been named as a leading lawyer in New Jersey. He has been named for the 25th straight year in Best Lawyers in America and as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in New Jersey. Brian’s 25th year in Best Lawyers in America again places him in three separate categories:
He is the only North Jersey lawyer in all three categories of criminal defense (and one of two statewide). Learn more about the selection process for Best Lawyers.
Brian J. Neary has been named to Super Lawyers Top 100 list of New Jersey attorneys for the tenth straight year. An annual research poll conducted by Thomson Reuters is used to select 100 lawyers out of over 80,000 lawyers in New Jersey. Brian J. Neary has been named to the Top 100 for every poll since its inception in 2005. Learn more about the selection process for Super Lawyers. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Contact us at (201) 801-4455.
