Fernando M. Pinguelo Print E-mail

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Areas of Practice

Bar Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • District of Columbia
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  • U.S. District Court
    • District of New Jersey
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    • Southern District of New York
    • Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals
    • Second Circuit
    • Third Circuit
    • Federal Circuit

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Education

  • Boston College Law School
    • J.D., 1997
  • Boston College
    • B.A., magna cum laude, 1994

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • Third Circuit Bar Association
  • New Jersey State Bar Association
  • New York State Bar Association
  • District of Columbia Bar Association
  • Beverly Hills Bar Association
  • Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
  • Radio-Television News Directors Association
  • The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
  • International Radio & Television Society Foundation
  • Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

Current News

Publications

Click here for a complete list (32 items)

Press Coverage, Quotes and Interviews

Presentations

Languages

  • Portuguese

Fernando M. Pinguelo, a member of the firm and Co-Chair of its Response to Electronic Discovery and Information Group, devotes his practice to complex litigation with an emphasis on business disputes, electronic discovery, and media and employment matters.

Fernando has experience in all facets of litigation (trial, mediation, arbitration, and appellate) in both federal and state courts. As a former prosecutor, he tried numerous cases. Today, Fernando handles a broad spectrum of disputes including copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, fraud, breach of non-compete covenants, discrimination, and business torts; and he knows how to address a rapidly evolving crisis or emergency.

Fernando sits on federal and state court committees, including the Third Circuit Bar Association Committee on Rules of Procedure and the Supreme Court of New Jersey Committee on Minority Concerns, where he actively contributes to court rule revisions and policy changes. He clerked for the Honorable Edwin H. Stern, currently the Presiding Judge of Administration for the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

A leader in the emerging area of electronic discovery, Fernando works with business owners, C-level executives, in-house counsel, and human resources, information technology, and risk managers to develop strategies to manage business and legal issues related to electronic documents. He recognizes that complex contract and statutory considerations impact the evolving business environment. This understanding enables him to help clients comply with the broad array of laws that regulate document management. Fernando focuses on preventing claims and pursues strategies that enhance a client’s ability to manage electronic documents because he is keenly aware of the financial and public relations fallout that can result from high-profile electronic discovery abuses and negligence.

Notably, Fernando was involved in New Jersey’s first case addressing its new electronic discovery rule amendments, and has lectured numerous times on the topic, including at the Judicial College of New Jersey which provides judges with a wide range of academic programs to keep on top of developments in the law. He has designed a state-of-the-art electronic discovery law course and teaches one of only a handful of such courses in the country at Seton Hall University School of Law. Fernando has created e-lessons Learned, an educational blog about e-discovery and technology best practices

Recently, the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship international exchange program, designated Fernando a Fulbright Specialist for his work in eDiscovery, and he will engage in a collaborative project at a university in one of over 100 participating countries worldwide. Fernando was invited to be a member of The Sedona Conference® Working Group Series, a prestigious series of think-tanks consisting of leading jurists, lawyers, experts and consultants brought together by a desire to address various "tipping point" issues in each area under consideration. Specifically, Fernando joins The Sedona Conference Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production, which is dedicated to the development of principles and best practices recommendations for electronic document retention and production.

As Chair of the firm’s Entertainment Law Group, Fernando counsels a host of diverse talent. He represents television personalities, including Emmy Award-winning talent, music performers, and writers on a variety of legal issues. Fernando serves as a judge of the Emmy Awards®, sponsored by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, New York Chapter; and is an active member of the entertainment and media sections of the New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Beverly Hills Bar Associations.

Fernando publishes extensively and has lectured on a variety of topics, including electronic discovery, contracts, employment law, copyright, and entertainment law. He has appeared on television as a legal commentator on various high-profile trials. He has also been quoted and cited in newspapers and magazines and on radio and television reports regarding cases he has handled.

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Recent Successes

  • Overturning an adverse ruling implicating free speech and right-to-assembly principles
  • Achieving national media attention in a published decision overturning an adverse ruling on important policy issues related to veterans and minorities
  • Brokering a settlement in an insurance fraud/breach of contract matter which had spanned the course of more than six years (having been filed in one form or another in four different courts and administrative agencies), and implicated dozens of parties
  • Successfully defending against a statewide consumer fraud action filed by the Attorney General
  • Settling a right-to-publicity case on behalf of a client against a television network
  • Settling a copyright infringement case on behalf of a screenwriter against a television network
  • Successfully prosecuting DUI and criminal matters
  • Representing a singer/actress in a music and video production deal with a five-time Grammy award-winning producer
  • Representing an LPGA professional golfer in a television production deal
  • Representing a singer who was a contestant on a previous season of American Idol, regarding a production agreement with a noted producer
  • Representing a trio of screenwriters, who found success by selling their screenplay, "Midnite Special," to actor/director Craig Sheffer, who used scenes from their script to write and produce his own movie, American Crude, starring Michael Clark Duncan, Rob Schneider and Ron Livingston
  • Negotiating the story rights to a former NBA player's life
  • Negotiating a distribution transaction for an International Master of Chess

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Current News

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Publications

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Press Coverage, Quotes and Interviews

  • Los Angeles Times
  • Seton Hall University School of Law
  • Market Dispatches MSN - Money
  • KansasCity.com
  • The Business Insider
  • Metropolitan Corporate Counsel
  • New Jersey Law Journal
    • Penn. Firm Sued Over Shaky Grasp of N.J. Lien Law, Henry Gottlieb, August 21, 2009
  • New Jersey Law Journal
    • Devoted to the Law: Richard Norris to get Justice O'Hern Award, August 21, 2009
  • GC Mid-Atlantic
    • Tami Kamin-Meyer, April 2009
  • The New York Times
    • John Sullivan, March 21, 2007
  • The Star Ledger
    • Article by Claire Heininger, April 19, 2007
    • Article by Ralph R. Ortega, March 21, 2007
    • Article by Ted Sherman and Josh Margolin, February 16, 2007
    • Article by Nyier Abdou, September 26, 2006
    • Article by Claire Heininger, August 29, 2006
    • Article by Matthew Reilly, May 23, 2006
    • Article by Jennifer Weiss, February 28, 2006
    • Article by Nyier Abdou, December 16, 2005
  • New Jersey Law Journal
    • Article by Charles Toutant, September 27, 2004
  • New Jersey Lawyer
    • NJSBA Report, May 21, 2007
    • "Quick Takes," March 21, 2005
    • Article by Robert G. Seidenstein, March 15, 2004
  • National Public Radio (WBGO and WHYY)
    • December 18, 2007
  • 1010 WINS
    • March 20, 2007
  • Asbury Park Press
    • Article by Associated Press, March 21, 2007
    • Article by Larry Higgs, May 1, 2004
  • City Belt Magazine
    • Article by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, September 29, 2006
  • Courier News
    • Business Section, July 10, 2007
    • Article by Kara L. Richardson, May 11, 2007
    • Article by Pamela Sroka, March 21, 2007
    • Article by Christa Regalini, August, 2005
    • Article by Associated Press, January 22, 2005
  • First Amendment Center
    • Article by Associated Press, November 28, 2006
  • Gloucester County Times
    • Article by Associated Press, March 21, 2007
  • Home News Tribune
    • Article by Christa Regalini, August 2005
  • Jaffe Legal News Service
    • Article dated December 5, 2007
    • Article dated July 11, 2007
    • Article dated May 23, 2007
  • Today’s Sunbeam
    • Article by Associated Press, March 21, 2007
  • Hunterdon County Democrat
    • Article by Blair Barbieri, March 22, 2007
    • Article by Editor, November 9, 2006
    • Article by Blair Barbieri, March 2, 2006
    • Article by Blair Barbieri, December 22, 2005
  • The Express-Times
    • Article by Andrea Eilenberger, March 21, 2007
  • The Montclair Times
    • Article by Paul Brubaker, March 24, 2005
    • Article by Paul Brubaker, April 22, 2004
  • New York Newsday
    • Article by Jeffrey Gold, March 20, 2007
  • The Trentonian
    • Article by Associated Press, March 21, 2007

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Presentations

  • "Hot Topics in Venue Construction, Licensing and the Challenges Presented by Instant News," Sports Media & Entertainment Law Panel at the Third Annual Corporate Counsel Roundtable, November 17, 2009
  • "E-Discovery: Trends and Development Two Years After the New Rule," Hispanic National Bar Associations Annual Convention, September 4, 2009
  • "eData & Information Security: Friend of Foe?" Association of Corporate Counsel and Meritas, August 19, 2009
  • "The Rise of eDiscovery," Annual Educational Conference & Business Show of the Insurance Accounting & System Association, June 7-10, 2009
  • "E-Discovery and its Impact on Corporate Governance and Litigation," Rutgers University School of Law Symposium, April 2, 2009
  • "E-Discovery: Forging Client Relationships Through Technical Expertise," MERITAS Law Firms Worldwide, Orlando, Florida, April 24, 2009
  • "The Rise of E-Discovery," The Insurance Accounting & Systems Association, Orlando, Florida, June 8, 2009
  • "E-Discovery: Trends and Development Two Years After the New Rule," Hispanic National Bar Association, September 4, 2009
  • "Fernando Pinguelo Delievers eData Security Lecture To Association of Corporate Counsel," Association of Corporate Counsel, August 19, 2009
  • 2008 Sports & Entertainment Law Symposium: From the Arena to the Streets: The Pressures Placed on Athletes, Entertainers and Management, Seton Hall University School of Law, Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law, November 7, 2008
  • E-Discovery - What You "Technically" Should Know and More, Mercer County Bar Association, November 6, 2008
  • "2008 Hot Topics in Labor & Employment Law," Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A., Bridgewater, New Jersey, June 17, 2008
  • "The Impact of Law in Today's Music Industry: Digital Downloading and What It Means for the Future of Music," Seton Hall University School of Law, March 13, 2008
  • "What You 'Technically' Should Know and More," Mercer County Bar Association, February 13, 2008
  • "Electronically Stored Information: Where Technology Meets The Law - If It Hasn't Been In Your Courtroom Yet, It Will!" The Judicial College of the Administrative Office of the Courts, New Jersey Superior Court, November 20, 2007
  • Podcast: "9 Things Businesses Need to Know About Jury Waiver Clauses in Employment Contracts," Lawline.com, November 19, 2007
  • "E-Discovery: Is Your Business Ready To Navigate Through The Minefield?" HalfMoon Seminar, November 1, 2007
  • "E-Discovery Federal and State Rule Amendments: What To Expect and How To Prepare," Construction Law Section Meeting, New Jersey State Bar Association, October 17, 2007
  • "E-Discovery: Is Your Business Ready To Navigate Through The Minefield?" Norris McLaughlin & Marcus Seminar, September 19, 2007
  • "Drafting and Reviewing Legal Documents," HalfMoon Seminar entitled New Jersey Legal Assisting Fundamentals, August 29, 2007
  • "Nine Things Businesses Need to Know About Jury Waiver Clauses in Employment Contracts," Association of Corporate Counsel, July 12, 2007
  • "E-Discovery: What Is It and What It Should Mean To You?" The New Jersey Educational Opportunity Fund, 2007 Legal Program, Seton Hall Law School, June 29, 2007
  • "E-Discovery: Action Plan: What to Expect and How to Prepare," Annual Meeting of the National Association of Water Companies, New Jersey Chapter, June 22, 2007
  • "Contract Basics: What every journalist should know before you sign," South Asian Journalists Association's 2007 SAJA Convention and Job Fair, Columbia University, June 19, 2007
  • "E-Discovery Federal and State Rule Amendments: What To Expect And How To Prepare," New Jersey State Bar Association, June 6, 2007
  • "Real Life: You’re A Lawyer," Student Bar Association of Widener University Law School, March 22, 2006
  • "A day in the life of an entertainment & sports law professional," Seton Hall Law School Entertainment & Sports Law Society, Spring 2004

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