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Brian M. Hak, Esq.
Practice Areas:
-Municipal and Government Law
-Sewerage Authorities Law
-Education Law
-Land Use Law
-Litigation
Biography
Brian M. Hak, Esq. has spent more than thirty (30) years of legal practice specializing in the representation of public, quasi-public and private entities throughout the State of New Jersey. Mr. Hak has served as general and special counsel to numerous public entities, including municipalities, counties, sewerage authorities, school boards, and independent authorities, such as redevelopment agencies and parking authorities. Mr. Hak has served as municipal attorney to some of the State’s largest municipalities and was general and special litigation counsel to a large regional sewerage authority for many years. Mr. Hak has also served as special counsel, tax counsel and litigation counsel to dozens of other public entities throughout New Jersey. During the course of his career, Mr. Hak has developed a deep level of experience in the representation of public entities and is intimately familiar with all statutory and regulatory schemes affecting them including, but not limited to, the Open Public Meetings Act, the Open Public Records Act, the Local Public Contracts Law, the Local Lands and Buildings Law, the Local Budget Law, the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, the Sewerage Authorities Law, and alcohol beverage control laws and regulations.
Mr. Hak has successfully litigated cases in the Federal, State and administrative law courts, as well as in arbitration proceedings. Mr. Hak has regularly represented both public and private clients in a wide range of complex litigation matters, including disputes involving public contracts, construction claims, environmental liability, condemnation, real property tax appeals, land use, workplace discrimination, wrongful discharge and First Amendment rights. Mr. Hak has extensive experience in defending public entities against claims brought under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination (LAD) and the Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA), as well as Federal claims brought under Title VII and §1983. Mr. Hak has also represented public entities in environmental cases under the New Jersey Spill Act and CERCLA and cases involving large construction disputes.
Mr. Hak’s legal experience began with a clerkship for a State Tax Court Judge and continued with his employment as an associate with McKirdy & Riskin, P.A., a firm dedicated to condemnation/eminent domain and real property taxation matters. Thereafter, prior to joining Eric Bernstein & Associates, LLC as Of Counsel, Mr. Hak was an associate and then a partner at the Weiner Law Group LLP, where he was a member of the firm’s Government and Public Entity Law Department and Manager of its Tax Appeal Division. As the Manager of Weiner Law Group’s Tax Appeal Division, Mr. Hak was responsible for representing numerous municipalities as special tax counsel.
In his spare time, Mr. Hak enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters.
Education
New York Law School, New York, New York, J.D. - 1988
University of Hartford, B.S./B.A. - 1985
Admissions
New Jersey, 1988
U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, 1988
Published Works
"Real Property Tax Update – The Business Retention Act,", New Jersey State Bar Association Local Government Law Section Newsletter, 1995
"Special Improvement Districts – Effective and Fair,", New Jersey Municipalities Magazine, May, 1997
Representative Cases
State by Commissioner of Trans. v. Morristown, 129 N.J. 279 (1992)
Town of Morristown v. Women’s Club, 124 N.J. 605 (1991)
Calton Homes v. West Windsor Twp., 15 N.J. Tax 231 (Tax Ct. 1995)
Classes/Seminars
Powers & Duties of Governing Body Officials, Rutgers University
Presenter, New Jersey Association of County Tax Board Commissioners and Administrators
Presenter, New Jersey League of Municipalities
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