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Locks Law Firm is proud to announce that Partner, Jennifer Emmons, Esq. has been named managing partner of our Cherry Hill, New Jersey office.  The firm is fortunate to have the expertise and accomplishment behind Ms. Emmons, guiding our multi-practice area New Jersey law office through matters including medical malpractice, Benzene, nursing home abuse, personal injury, consumer and environmental claims, class action and multidistrict litigation.  

Locks Law Firm partner Andrew DuPont and his colleagues at JFON-DV  are hosting a CLE on Humanitarian Relief Available to Afghan Nationals Under the U.S. Immigration & Nationality Act. The CLE will take place on September 29th at 12:30 pm. Proceeds benefit JFON-DV's pro bono and low bono representation of immigrants in PA, NJ, DE and the Eastern Shore of MD. Please note that JFON-DV does not yet represent any Afghan nationals seeking relief from the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Every year, The Best Lawyers in America® list is published, recognizing attorneys for their work using a peer review survey. We are pleased to announce that 2 of our lawyers have been selected for inclusion on the 2022 list for their work:

By Warren Collins & Marc P. Weingarten

“World in motion – speed your changes. Close your distances, find your angels. Lose your fears and meet your dangers.”  Jackson Browne (1989)

Introducing the Plaintiff

Partner Andrew DuPont has joined the Board of Directors of Justice for Our Neighbors of the Delaware Valley (JFON-DV) and serves as the Co-Chair of the Finance and Development Committee. 

On Thursday, February 4, 2021 the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy for the House of Representatives published a staff report titled “Baby Foods are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury.” The Subcommittee, relying on internal company test results from Nurture, Beech-Nut, Hain and Gerber found that all tested baby foods contained concerning levels of heavy metals.  The Subcommittee noted that Walmart, Campbell and Sprout Organic refused to cooperate with the investigation and noted “their lack of cooperation might be obscuring the presence of even higher levels of toxic heavy metals in their baby food products than in their competitors’ products.”  The report focused on four heavy metals: arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury.  

Disputes over personal jurisdiction have become more and more commonplace in product liability cases in recent years. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has issued several seminal decisions addressing personal jurisdiction over the past decade, there is a specific jurisdiction issue in relation to which it has not rendered a decision but is expected to do so shortly. This issue is the interpretation of the oft-repeated language in the case law that plaintiff’s injury must “arise out of or relate to” defendant’s in state conduct for it to meet federal due process requirements. SCOTUS heard oral argument in two consolidated cases, Ford v. Bandemer and Ford v. Montana Eight Judicial District on October 7, 2020. Ford’s argument in both cases was that because the plaintiffs had each purchased their Ford vehicles second hand in another state, Ford’s in-state activities in Montana and Minnesota were irrelevant because the respective plaintiff’s injuries did not arise from those in-state activities. SCOTUS is likely to issue its decision soon on this matter.

"Good, wise leaders respect the law and basic values of their society"

- Nelson Mandela. 

"If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable" - Hon. Louis Brandeis. 

"Without appreciation and respect for other people, true leadership becomes ineffective if not impossible"- George Foreman.  

Partner Jennifer L. Emmons represented a little girl, now 7 years old, whose arm was injured during her birth. During the delivery and after the baby's head came out, her shoulder got stuck.  This is referred to in obstetrics as a shoulder dystocia.  There was evidence that the nurse midwife, who was the only obstetrical provider at the delivery, pulled on the baby in order to free her shoulder and get her delivered. This is not an appropriate maneuver nor an appropriate technique to free a shoulder that is stuck or impacted during delivery.  The standard of medical care required the midwife to avoid using improper downward, lateral traction on the baby's head in an attempt to deliver the baby in this situation.  As a result of the force used by the midwife to deliver this baby, Ms. Emmons' client suffered a particularly severe brachial plexus injury, or Erb's Palsy injury to her right arm, resulting in the tearing and permanent disability of 3 nerves that left her arm significantly dysfunctional and disfigured.  The client was awarded $4 million dollars after a week-long arbitration.  Caroline Bar was second chair and assisted Jennifer during the trial.