Honorable James J. DeLuca, J.S.C.
Biography

Judge DeLuca was appointed to the Superior Court in February 2015. Judge DeLuca initially served in the Civil Division. In July 2018, he was reassigned to the Chancery Division, where he serves with Judge Edward A. Jerejian, the Presiding Judge of the Chancery Division. Judge DeLuca handles general equity (C-Dockets), probate and guardianship matters (P- Dockets) and foreclosures (F-Dockets).

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge DeLuca was a partner with the law firm of Okin, Hollander & DeLuca in Fort Lee, NJ, where his practice focused on business litigation, bankruptcy, commercial and business transactions and arbitration. From 1979 to 1986, he was associate counsel and general counsel at Yegen Associates, Inc. in Paramus, NJ, a commercial and consumer lender. Judge DeLuca initially worked in New York City handling commercial litigation and securities litigation.

Judge DeLuca received his B.A. from Queens College (City University of New York) and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Thomas J. Herten is equally effective in and out of court. Over the years, he has earned a reputation for successfully handling litigation in the federal and state courts for the firm’s business clients, and a distinctive record of successfully representing his clients in business planning, negotiations and skillfully handling complex corporate management matters. He has substantial expertise in commercial and residential land use projects and governmental law, interfacing with municipal, county, and state governments.

Mr. Herten’s extensive experience in commercial and corporate law, zoning, planning and land use issues, environmental regulations, water resource law, business partnerships, corporate insurance matters, bankruptcies and chancery litigation, as well as his representation of various New Jersey cities and towns, enables him to provide a wide range of seasoned advice to the firm’s many and diverse clients.

Mr. Herten was honored with the Lawyer Achievement Award for 2006, presented annually by the Bergen County Bar Foundation. This award recognizes an attorney whose endeavors have served to encourage and promote local, state and national efforts to improve and modernize our legal system.

A civil trial attorney, Mr. Herten has received appointments as a Special Master in commercial litigation from both the Federal District Court and the New Jersey Superior Court. A mediator, Mr. Herten has been chosen on numerous occasions by the United States Bankruptcy Court, by the Superior Court of New Jersey and by litigants themselves to aid in resolving complex commercial matters. He has been selected by his fellow lawyers to render opinions on matters relating to the professional conduct and ethics of attorneys in New Jersey and has been appointed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey to serve on the local attorney Ethics Committee. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the United States District Courts for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, as well as the New Jersey and the New York Supreme Courts. Mr. Herten served as Senior Law Clerk to the Honorable Frederick B. Lacey, U.S.D.J. Mr. Herten is AV-rated* by Martindale-Hubbell.’

Hon. Edward A. Jerejian, P.J.Ch., was sworn in as a Superior Court Judge in 2006.

This past July, he was named the Presiding Judge of the Bergen County General Equity Division where he had been serving since January 1, 2016.

He previously served in the family division for more than three years and the Criminal Division for more than seven years.

In addition to his regular assignment, in 2016, he was appointed by the Chief Justice as the statewide "Special Master" to oversee the almost 8,000 cases arising out of the alleged improprieties at the State Police Forensics Laboratory in Little Falls, New Jersey for which he continues to serve.

Victoria R. Pekerman is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Department. Her legal experience includes such areas as commercial business litigation, estate litigation, partnership and shareholder disputes, insurance coverage and employment disputes.

Victoria is a cum laude graduate of Binghamton University and Temple University School of Law. Victoria is a former law clerk to the Honorable M. Faith Angell, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Victoria is admitted to practice before both the state and federal courts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She is also a member of the American Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, Bergen County Bar Association and Bergen County Women’s Lawyer’s Association.

William I. Strasser was formerly the Managing Partner of Donohue, Donohue, Costenbader & Strasser, a well-respected firm located in Nutley, New Jersey, from the period of 1974 to 1994. In 1994, Bill established Strasser & Associates, P.C. and moved his practice to Paramus, New Jersey where he currently serves as the Principal of the Firm.

Mr. Strasser’s practice emphasizes corporate/business litigation involving primarily banking, commercial real estate, litigation, and estate matters. His representative clients include lenders, developers, landlords and lessors, investors, individuals, and corporations. In the course of Mr. Strasser’s career, he has argued cases in the trial and appellate courts of New Jersey and has argued a number of cases before the New Jersey Supreme Court.

Mr. Strasser is admitted in New York and New Jersey and the Federal District Courts and including admission to the US Supreme Court. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, President-Elect of the Bergen County Bar Association, Chair of the Equity Committee of the Bergen County Bar Association and former Chairman of the District IIA Ethics Committee.

Strasser & Associates, P.A. is a Martindale Hubbell AV-rated law firm and Mr. Strasser has been selected as a Super Lawyer for several years.