Tomkiel, Stanley A.

Mr. Kovacs received his B.A. degree in Political Science from the State University of New York at Albany in 1977 and received his J.D. degree with High Honors from Rutgers University School of Law in 1980. He served as Notes Editor on the Law Journal and won the American Jurisprudence Most Scholarly Contribution To The Law Award. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Kovacs spent three years as a Trial Attorney for the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He represented Executive Agencies in defense of constitutional challenges to government programs and earned the Attorney General's Special Achievement Award for Excellence.

From 1985 to 1995 Mr. Kovacs was an attorney at Lowenstein, Sandler, Kohl, Fisher & Boylan, ultimately becoming a Director in the Firm's Litigation Department. While there, Mr. Kovacs represented a mix of small family-owned companies, mid-sized businesses and Fortune 500 companies in employment, product liability and commercial matters. He joined Purcell, Ries, Shannon, Mulcahy & O'Neill as a partner in 1995.

Mr. Kovacs has extensive trial experience in a wide variety of matters. He has successfully tried numerous cases involving claims of wrongful discharge, discrimination and harassment. He has represented school boards as special litigation counsel; banks in lender liability actions; and businesses in breach of contract and related commercial matters. Mr. Kovacs also has substantial trial experience in personal injury, workers compensation, toxic tort and product defect litigation.

Mr. Kovacs is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney. He served for six years as a Master and Bencher in the Joseph Halpern American Inn of Court working closely with new lawyers in developing trial skills in the region. Mr. Kovacs was the President of the Somerset County Bar Association (2002-2003). Mr. Kovacs was a member of the Board of Directors of Somerset Sussex Legal Services Corp for over ten years and in 2001 he was awarded the Equal Justice Medal by Legal Services of New Jersey for his pro bono efforts.

 Mr. Kovacs has been certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Civil Trial Attorney since 1992.  Only a small percentage of New Jersey lawyers are Board Certified.  It requires demonstrated trial experience, recommendations from Judges and adversaries, extensive legal training and a passing grade on a rigorous exam.  Because of his status as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney, a former President of the Somerset County Bar Association and his demonstrated skills, many lawyers in the area frequently refer cases to him for handling.

 For six straight years, from 2006 to 2011, Mr. Kovacs was selected as a New Jersey Super Lawyer, as published in the New Jersey Monthly magazine, in the practice areas of Personal Injury and Employment Law.  Super Lawyer designation is achieved through an independent survey and peer review process.  Less than 4 percent of New Jersey lawyers are designated Super Lawyers.  Mr. Kovacs also has been given the highest rating for quality and ethics by Martindale Hubble, a leading attorney service company.

 Mr. Kovacs has served on the Board of Trustees for Somerset Sussex Legal Services, as an Ethics Investigator for the Vicinage XIII Ethics Committee and as an Arbitrator for the Somerset County Court.  He was awarded the Legal Services Equal Justice Medal in 2001 and the Best of Branchburg Award from the Branchburg Rotary Club for his community service.

 Mr. Kovacs has taught Business Law at Middlesex County College.  He has also been a barrister in the Joseph Halpern Inns of Court training new lawyers in trial techniques.  He has served as a coach for several local high schools participating in statewide moot court competitions.  Mr. Kovacs has been a frequent speaker in seminars hosted by the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, The Somerset County Bar Association and various insurance companies and groups.

 Mr. Kovacs has taken on difficult cases and won them.  For example, in Jane Doe v. the XYZ Corp., 382 N.J. Super. 122 (App. Div. 2005), Mr. Kovacs sought to hold an employer responsible for its employee’s use of his workplace computer for posting photos on the internet that he had clandestinely taken of a young girl.  The lower Court threw the case out but on appeal, the Court reversed opening the way for compensation for the young girl and other such victims.  The case has gained nationwide attention as setting new obligations on employers to help fight child pornography.
 
 In Accardi v. EnviroPak, 317 N.J. Super. 457 (App. Div. 1999), Mr. Kovacs’ client was injured while working on a storage lot owned by a separate company.  Because he was under the control of his employer, however, the Defendant was successful in having the case dismissed at the end of the trial.  Rather than give up, Mr. Kovacs appealed.  The Appellate Division, in a precedent setting decision, reversed and concluded that the neighbor company could be responsible leading the way to retrial and a verdict for Mr. Kovacs’ client in excess of two million dollars.

 Mr. Kovacs has taken on a health insurance carrier who refused to pay for medical treatment for cancer, a life insurance company which refused benefits, a large employer that had condoned sexual harassment and fired the woman who complained and bars that had served visibly intoxicated customers who later injured other innocent drivers.  He obtained one of the highest punitive damage verdicts in the State against an employer that had fired three employees because of their age.

 Mr. Kovacs has handled complex commercial litigation.  He is experienced in all types of personal injury, automobile accident, product liability and premises liability claims.  He has represented employees and employers in discrimination, wrongful discharge and breach of contract actions.  Mr. Kovacs has also represented injured employees in Workers’ Compensation Court obtaining for them benefits wrongfully denied by insurance carriers.