N.J. Private Attorney Not Eligible for State Pension Plan

A New Jersey private practitioner who also served as a town prosecutor isn’t eligible for the state’s public employee pension plan, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division ruled March 5.

The attorney was ineligible because he was an independent contractor working under a professional services agreement, the court found.

Thomas Lanza is a private practice attorney who also serves as a municipal prosecutor in the New Jersey towns of South Plainfield and Piscataway. Lanza enrolled in the state employee’s pension system when he was first appointed municipal prosecutor in South Plainfield in 1994. Lanza was also appointed municipal prosecutor ...