Stevens & Lee has extensive experience with New Jersey’s freedom of information law – the Open Public Records Act – as well as the state’s common law right of access. We have advised public entities in the review, analysis and response to records requests that can involve complicated and nuanced legal issues, including placing a significant burden on records custodians who are called upon to balance the competing interests of transparency and confidentiality.
Our objective is to ensure the public entity’s compliance with all applicable laws and minimize denial of access claims that result in burdensome and costly litigation. When litigation is unavoidable, our attorneys have considerable experience defending public entities before the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division and Government Records Council.
We also have advised numerous private entities who seek to challenge or defend the award of a public contract in drafting and submitting records requests to the contracting unit. Prior to the release of any bid, the contracting unit will afford the bidder an opportunity to object to the disclosure of certain trade secrets or confidential or proprietary information and mark them for redaction. Our attorneys have guided numerous clients through this process and have successfully defended against challenges to the disclosure of sensitive information.
