DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin, LLP, is pleased to announce that Guenther Waldow, Jr. has joined the firm as a Partner. He is a member of the Real Estate / Redevelopment and Public Entity practice groups.

Mr. Waldow joined the firm on March 7, 2022. Prior to joining DeCotiis, he spent 15 years serving as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the rapidly developing City of Newark handling all aspects of commercial, industrial, and multi-family development and redevelopment, including affordable housing. He was primarily responsible for providing legal advice to the City’s Department of Economic and Housing Development for complex transactions requiring public-private partnerships and the utilizations of government incentive programs. Mr. Waldow has a proven track record of identifying redevelopment issues and delivering solutions to help advance projects.

For the past seven years, Mr. Waldow has also served as the primary legal counsel to the City’s Department of Engineering by providing advice on public right of way agreements, street resurfacing contracts, street vacations, parking laws, street flow laws, and public bidding and procurement. He was recently responsible for carrying out mayoral priorities, managed/administered by the Department of Engineering, by establishing laws and regulations for the City’s outdoor dining, e-scooter/e-bike, and small cell wireless facilities programs.

During the course of his career at the City of Newark, Mr. Waldow has also been responsible for counseling all municipal departments with drafting ordinances, resolutions, professional services agreements, and municipal contracts. He also has experience in the areas of New Jersey Local Public Contracts Law, Open Public Meetings Act, and Open Public Records Act.

DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin, LLP, is pleased to announce that Kimberlin Ruiz has joined the firm as an Associate. She is a member of the Labor & Employment practice group.

Ms. Ruiz joined the firm on March 7, 2022. She received her J.D. from Rutgers Law School in 2020 and was awarded the G.A. Moore Prize at graduation for distinguished work in employment discrimination law. During her time in law school, Ms. Ruiz worked full-time as a paralegal at a law firm which concentrated in employment law.

Prior to joining DeCotiis, Ms. Ruiz worked at a boutique law firm where she gained experience in the area of family law. She also served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable James J. Guida, J.S.C. in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, in Bergen County.

DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin, LLP, is pleased to announce that Farah Hussain has joined the firm as an Associate. She is a member of the Business, Public Entity, and Labor and Employment practice groups.

Ms. Hussain joined the firm on February 22, 2022, and has experience in representing funds, portfolio companies, investment managers, and private clients in business law matters as a Corporate Attorney.

Previously, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Christine M. Vanek, J.S.C. in Hudson County. Her law clerk experience included analyzing summary judgment motions, motions to dismiss, and orders to show cause with commercial and individual parties. In addition, Ms. Hussain has handled a wide variety of litigation matters involving landlord-tenant law, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the Tort Claims Act, as well as medical, legal, and professional malpractice actions. She served as a mediator for various family and special civil matters.

Ms. Hussain earned her Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School, a master’s degree in Language and Special Education from Rutgers Graduate School of Education, and her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University. Throughout her law school career, she continued to work as a public school educator.