Laura Siclari provides sophisticated and strategic Outside General Counsel Solutions™ with concentrations in the areas of environmental, employment, and education law. Highly experienced in and out of the courtroom, Laura litigates in state and federal courts and before state and local regulatory boards and agencies. Both public and private sector clients frequently turn to Laura for her sound legal counseling and keen risk-management ability.
Laura’s environmental practice includes all aspects of environmental law with particular emphasis on assisting clients through the remediation process under both federal and state laws and programs, as well as pursuing and defending litigation seeking recovery of remediation costs. In addition, Laura routinely advises clients on environmental and safety compliance, including permitting, compliance audients, and defense of clients in enforcement actions commenced by regulatory agencies. Laura is skilled at managing clients’ business risks and opportunities in accordance with state and federal environmental laws, with extensive experience assisting clients through due diligence reviews. Laura’s environmental clients range from New Jersey municipalities to a Fortune 500 petroleum corporation, large and small gas station owners, real estate developers, and businesses across various industries.
In her employment practice, Laura provides employment and labor law solutions for public and private employers of all sizes. Responsive and proactive, Laura helps employers avoid legal liabilities before they emerge. Clients trust Laura to provide prompt and effective advice to help them comply with their legal obligations – minimizing their risk of legal exposure and positioning themselves to successfully defend labor and employment litigation that may arise. Laura counsels and provides litigation defense on issues such as severance, employee discipline, discrimination, wrongful discharge, whistleblower retaliation, workplace harassment/EEO issues, retaliation/discrimination, disability accommodations (ADA/FMLA), wage-and-hour laws, and restrictive covenants. Laura understands the importance of protecting an employer’s relationships, trade secrets, and confidential information, and she regularly drafts company policies and employee handbooks, employment contracts, non-compete agreements, non-solicitation agreements, non-disclosures, and other restrictive covenants. Laura is routinely requested to provide training to employers and human resource personnel on a variety of labor and employment law matters and also serves as an outside EEO investigator for some of her clients.
Laura also chairs the firm’s Education Law Group, providing upfront and honest assessments and a personalized, compassionate approach to her disabled and non-disabled student clients’ situations. She provides effective and unflagging advocacy – whether it is in the courtroom or at a school district meeting – on all types of student issues, ranging from special education, Section 504, student discipline, HIB/bullying, and truancy. Laura also maintains a higher education practice focused on college and graduate/Ph.D.-level student issues, such as disability accommodations, honor code/academic integrity violations, campus/housing code of conduct issues, Title IX investigations, and expulsion/due process hearings. Laura also serves as a Title IX Hearing Advisor for an Ivy League university. Laura also represents petitioners and serves as court-appointed counsel in guardianship proceedings.
Deeply involved in community groups benefiting individuals with disabilities and mental health issues, Laura was for many years the chair of the Board of Trustees of Care Plus, NJ, Inc., a Bergen County-based community health and housing clinic. Laura currently serves as a member of the Care Plus Bergen Board of Trustees, which is the operating board for the Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, the largest hospital and licensed nursing home in NJ and the fourth largest publicly-owned hospital in the nation.
A sought-after and engaging public speaker, Laura frequently presents continuing legal education (CLE) seminars to her peers and industry professionals on a variety of topics in her practice areas, such as employer best practices, emerging environmental contaminant issues, and hot topics in education law.
Laura’s accomplishments are widely recognized by her peers and colleagues, as demonstrated by her inclusion on the New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars© list in 2018 and 2019 and the New Jersey Super Lawyers© list every year since 2021. Laura is also proud to maintain a perfect 10 rating on Avvo.com.
* The Super Lawyers list is published by Thomson Reuters; its selection methodology is here. Avvo.com’s rating methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Bar Admissions
- New Jersey
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
Education
- Clerkship, Hon. Theodore A. Winard, Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County
- Rutgers University School of Law-Newark, Juris Doctor
- Clinical law student, Special Education Clinic, representing indigent families in school-district matters; production editor, Rutgers-Newark Women’s Rights Law Reporter
- The College of New Jersey, B.S., Law, and Justice, cum laude
Career Highlights
Professional Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Asperger Syndrome Education Network (ASPEN)
- New Jersey State Bar Association, Young Lawyers and Women in the Profession Sections
- New York Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Essex County Bar Association, Young Lawyers and Juvenile Concerns Sections
- New Jersey Special Education Practitioners, Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
- Learning Disabilities Association of American, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
- National Center for Learning Disabilities
- New Jersey Women Lawyers Association
- New York County Lawyers Association
- Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)
- Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of New Jersey (SPAN)
Professional Activities
- Autism Speaks New Jersey, Grants Committee
- Alpine Learning Group, Human Rights Committee
Community Involvement
- Board of Trustees, New Bridge Medical Center
- Board of Trustees, Care Plus NJ, Inc., a provider of comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services in northern New Jersey, chair
- Rutgers University School of Law-Newark, Alumni Mentoring Program
- NJ LEEP, student mentor