Carmel J. Decker is a Partner with Harwood Lloyd, practicing in its Insurance Defense Litigation and Commercial Litigation Departments. Ms. Decker concentrates her practice in employment law, civil rights violations, construction law, corporate and contract law and insurance law. Ms. Decker’s employment law practice includes complex litigation in state and federal courts involving wrongful termination, sexual harassment/hostile work environment, discrimination, retaliation, breach of contract, corporate and business law, common-law claims, ERISA, CEPA, the New Jersey Law against Discrimination, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, hiring practices, restrictive covenants, employee handbooks and workplace torts. Ms. Decker represents companies, public entities and public employees in matters involving civil rights violations, negligence and police conduct. Ms. Decker also handles matters involving directors’ and officers’ liability, particularly employment and civil rights disputes. Ms. Decker lectures on employment matters including sexual harassment/hostile work environment discrimination, hiring practices and litigation of employment issues. Ms. Decker drafts employee handbooks, counsels clients on risk management and regulatory compliance and provides preventive counseling to employers on employment issues. Ms. Decker also appears in matters before the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ms. Decker’s construction law practice includes complex multi-party litigation involving claims of construction defect, professional liability of architects and engineers and construction site accidents. As part of her construction defect practice, Ms. Decker handles matters involving claims of deficiencies in construction and design, latent construction defects, building code violations, breach of contract and insurance. Ms. Decker’s construction law practice encompasses matters arising on public, private, commercial and residential projects. Ms. Decker received her B.S., cum laude, in Business Administration from Montclair State College in 1978 and her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1981. Ms. Decker is admitted to practice before the courts of the State of New Jersey (1982), the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (1982) and the courts of the State of New York (1989). Ms. Decker is a member of the Federal Bar Association, the Bergen County Bar Association and the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.

Eric M. Mark is the founder of the Law Office of Eric M. Mark based in Newark, NJ. Since 2010, the firm has focused on immigration law throughout the United States, criminal defense in New Jersey, New York and federal courts, and specifically the criminal-immigration intersection. What makes Eric unique is his approach to the law. While many lawyers limit themselves to strategies based on existing law, which is, of course, important and essential, Eric is not afraid to try to make new law or challenge existing laws. Many lawyers find a specific niche that is comfortable for them; Eric’s niche is the complicated cases that many other lawyers do not want or cannot handle. These cases require not only knowledge and experience, but also creativity. It is the creative strategies and solutions that make Eric unique and that he is most proud of. From 2006 through 2009, Eric was an assistant prosecutor in Somerset County. Eric graduated from the Pepperdine University School of Law and completed his undergraduate degree at Rutgers University. Eric is a member of the New Jersey Association of Justice, the Essex County Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the National Immigration Project. He is a former chairperson of the New Jersey chapter of AILA. He has participated on CLE panels for the New Jersey Association for Justice, the Federal Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Essex County Bar Association and has been a guest lecturer at the Rutgers University School of Law.