R. Jeffrey Hartlaub Honored for Excellence in Real Estate Law

    SUMMIT, NJ, February 25, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- R. Jeffrey Hartlaub, managing partner of Hartlaub, Dotten & Mezzacca, PC, has been recognized for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in real estate law.

Mr. Hartlaub passed the bar in 1972 and, after five years as an associate in a local firm, went out on his own and established Hartlaub and Dotten, which formed the foundation for today's firm of Hartlaub, Dotten & Mezzacca, PC. He is known for his experience and knowledge in all aspects of transactional real estate, having closed more than ten thousand transactions over the course of his career. Rated by Martindale-Hubbell as an AV attorney, the highest ranking of proficiency and ethics that they award, he has served as a lecturer on broker-client relationships, environmental pitfalls in residential real estate transactions, and other related topics, and has appeared before gatherings of real estate professionals, on local television broadcasts, and before the general public. He has also served numerous times as a consultant in court cases involving residential real estate transactions. In addition to his real estate practice, Mr. Hartlaub offers estate planning and estate administration services to his clients. Mr. Hartlaub received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Franklin Marshall College, and his JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law. He was recently inducted into Worldwide Registry and also maintains affiliation with the New Jersey State Bar Association and the Summit Bar Association. Mr. Hartlaub is joined in his practice by real estate partner Matthew Coppolecchia, Esq., and litigation partner Michael D. Mezzacca, Esq.

Mr. Mezzacca is an alumnus of the Virginia Military Institute, and earned his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1992; he gained admission to the New Jersey and Federal District bars the same year. A career trial attorney, he earned his certification by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Certified Civil Trial Attorney in 2003. He has since been recertified in 2009 and again in 2013. Since joining the firm in 2003, Mr. Mezzacca has continued and expanded his active commercial litigation practice. He has practiced extensively in state and Federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. Although his experience includes handling all kinds of general commercial litigation, including breach of contract claims between businesses and intra-company disputes among owners, the focus of his practice is real estate-related litigation, including title disputes, title insurance claims and defense, breach of contract, fraud, residential and commercial construction claims, and related Consumer Fraud Act matters. In addition to his extensive trial practice, Mr. Mezzacca has substantial experience in the Appellate Division and has numerous published opinions to his credit. He is a member of State, Union County and Summit Bar Associations.

Mr. Coppolecchia graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Resource Management, and received his JD from Pace University School of Law in 2002. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in 2004; he was also admitted to the United States Tax Court in 2006. He served as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Patricia Del Bueno Cleary, J.S.C., in the Monmouth County Superior Court, where he was trained as a Mediator through the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts. His practice focuses primarily on transactional real estate, including sophisticated residential and commercial acquisitions and sales, commercial refinance, and general contract and business formation for individual and business clientele. He has complemented his practice concentration with experience in landlord/tenant disputes, municipal court matters, guardianship and conservatorship applications, consumer fraud-related actions, estate litigation and general Chancery Division matters.

In addition to his practice at Hartlaub, Dotten & Mezzacca, PC, Mr. Coppolecchia teaches paralegal courses on real estate mortgages, and estates, wills and trusts as an adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He also previously served as a member of the Township of Wayne Environmental Commission. He is a member of the Worrall F. Mountain Inn of Court in Morris County, the Summit Bar Association, and the New Jersey State Bar Association.

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