Partner
I am a business, employment, and insurance law attorney with over 22 years of experience and co-founder of Carcich O’Shea. My practice concentrates on business litigation, employment contracts, wage and hour disputes, restrictive covenants, partnership and commercial disputes, appellate matters, and mediation and arbitration. Within employment law, I handle legal matters involving contract disputes, unpaid commissions, discrimination, medically necessary workplace accommodations, and post-employment restrictions.
“Nobody ever comes to a lawyer because all is well. People come in because there’s a problem. I am here to help them through difficult times and to advise and assist.”
I Charted a Different Course to the Courtroom…
My path toward the legal profession initially began on the seas. I attended the State University of New York Maritime College and served as a Third Officer in the United States Merchant Marine.
Prior to law school, I sailed as a Third Officer for Mobil Oil and Maritime Overseas Corporation, developing a background that has been invaluable as an employment lawyer. My maritime career provided me with insider knowledge and a comprehensive understanding of employment cases from both sides of the aisle. I regularly represent both workers and employers, which is somewhat uncommon for most employment lawyers.
I fell into law by chance but embraced it. I wanted to do something different, something that challenges me every day, and practicing employment and business law challenges me in more ways than I ever expected. But what truly drives me is the opportunity to help people. Nothing is more rewarding than guiding someone through one of their most difficult experiences and seeing them emerge into something much better.
It’s Time to Focus on Your Future…
Losing a job is probably one of the top five most significant experiences in a person’s life and impacts people in very significant ways. People do not lose just a job; they lose income and the ability to provide for their family, sometimes profoundly. Losing a job creates a ripple effect, spreading to numerous areas of someone’s life, and it is understandably emotionally devastating for many people.
On the flip side, employers can be just as devastated when employees or former employees try to take advantage or accuse them of unfounded wrongdoing or rights violations. As a business owner, a tarnished reputation can affect the entire business – the bottom line, create additional employee concerns, workplace morale, and the high costs of defending yourself legally, to name just a few.
As an employment lawyer, I can help people bridge the gap or move on to something new and, in most cases, a better position than before. That is essentially the goal – to secure the compensation they need to bridge that gap. Working with clients through the difficult moments to bridge that gap, and a few months later, they have a new job they like even better than the one they lost, usually earning more money, and are happy and looking forward to a better future. That is the home run.
“I tell all of my clients that I know it was a traumatic event, but your job now is to focus on what is ahead of you, not what happened to you. That is my job. I will focus and deal with your past and will right the injustices you experienced, and you focus on your next endeavor.’”
The Benefits of Choosing a Small Firm
At Carcich O’Shea, clients speak to a lawyer directly and one-on-one when they want to. We are an intentionally small staff, open and available to clients, and maintain regular communication and updates on our strategies, progress, and accomplishments.
We have an open and honest relationship with clients, and no decisions are made without their support and approval. We wholeheartedly believe in personalized service and treat clients like members of our own family—in fact, they become family.
Bar Admissions
Professional Associations
- New Jersey Bar Association
- New Jersey Bar Association Appellate Practice Committee
- Bergen County Bar Association
- Bergen County Bar Association Ethics Committee
Honors & Awards
- Super Lawyers, 2017 – 2024
- Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2010, 2012 – 2015
Education
- Seton Hall Law School
- State University of New York Maritime College
