Bastarrika, Soto, Gonzalez & Somohano, L.L.P.

Bios

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  Jose I. Bastarrika

  Partner / Head of Family Law Department

  Jose I. Bastarrika concentrates his practice in the area of Family Law. Jose served as a Judicial Law Clerk in the Family Division in Passaic County. He has been a Court Appointed Guardian Ad Litem in complex child custody, child abuse and neglect actions. A Rule 1:40 Qualified Matrimonial Mediator, Mr. Bastarrika is a panel chair of the Passaic County Matrimonial Early Settlement Panel, a Trustee in the Justice Clifford American Inns of Court and a member of the Northern New Jersey Family Law Inns of Court. He has been appointed to the Child Custody and Parenting Committee of the Family Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association and is a former member of the New Jersey State Bar Family Law Executive Committee. He was selected by the New Jersey Supreme Court to serve as Section Chair of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and is a former member of the District XI Fee Arbitration Committee. Most recently, he served on the Supreme Court Ad Hoc Committee on domestic violence. Mr. Bastarrika sat on the Executive Committee of the Hispanic Bar Association for over 6 years and has lectured regularly at the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education on the issue of Professional Responsibility. He has appeared as a Legal Commentator on Court TV, Univision and Telemundo and was selected to the Rising Stars list by the Super Lawyers publication and was included in the Super Lawyers list by the same publication from 2012 through the present day. Mr. Bastarrika is fluent in Spanish and routinely volunteers his services to the Passaic County Battered Women’s Shelter and various other charitable organizations.

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  Link: Jose I. Bastarrika

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  Franklin G. Soto

  Partner

  Mr. Soto concentrates his practice in the areas of personal injury, criminal defense, bankruptcy, commercial and civil litigation. He also handles all aspects of commercial and residential real estate matters, including but not limited to zoning, planning, acquisition and financing. While in law school, Mr. Soto served as an intern for the Honorable Anne E. Thompson in the United States District Court of New Jersey, as well as, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Mr. Soto began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office. There he was charged with the prosecution of felonies, misdemeanors and violations of the law from the point of arrest through to conclusion. Mr. Soto has tried numerous civil and criminal matters before juries of New York and New Jersey. Mr. Soto has handled many personal injury matters and has successfully recovered millions of dollars for clients who have suffered injury as a result of the negligence of others. In addition to his civil and criminal practice, Mr. Soto handles numerous matters before the Bankruptcy Court. He assists individuals and small businesses to navigate through insolvency proceedings as well as reorganization. Mr. Soto also handles commercial and consumer real estate matters. He has tried these matters from partition to partnership disputes before the Chancery Courts of this State. Mr. Soto is fluent in Spanish and lectures regularly at seminars focusing on the purchase and sale of residential properties, bankruptcy and criminal law and has a regular featured column in a local periodical. Mr. Soto has been featured as a commentator on local radio stations and sat for television interviews for stations such as Univision. Mr. Soto is passionate about his profession and thrives on his ability to positively impact his client’s lives. Outside of the office, Mr. Soto enjoys spending time with his lovely wife and three sons.

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  Link: Franklin G. Soto

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  Jerard A. Gonzalez

  Partner

  Jerard A. Gonzalez manages our Hackensack, New Jersey Office and is the partner responsible for the firm's immigration practice. Mr. Gonzalez has served as the Chair (2007-2009) and Vice Chair (2005-2007) of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association ("AILA"). He previously served on the AILA National Liaison Committee to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (2009-2010). Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Gonzalez was partner with Meyner & Landis LLP, Newark & Hackensack, New Jersey where his practice concentrated exclusively in the areas of immigration and criminal law (2001-2009). Mr. Gonzalez is a former Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor (1993-1997) and a former Assistant District Counsel with the United States Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service in Newark, NJ (1998-2001). As Assistant District Counsel, Mr. Gonzalez handled asylum cases, criminal alien cases and complex cases of national security before the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Federal District Court of New Jersey. Mr. Gonzalez also served as the Assistant Public Defender and Prosecutor for the Borough of Ridgefield, New Jersey. Mr. Gonzalez' practice has a special emphasis on providing a defense in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Federal Courts. In addition to handling criminal cases, Mr. Gonzalez has successfully consulted with other defense counsel in negotiating pleas in criminal court that would permit the respective foreign national client to legally remain in the United States. Mr. Gonzalez has successfully vacated convictions of foreign nationals who were not properly apprised of the immigration consequences of their guilty pleas. Mr. Gonzalez has lectured on the immigration consequences of criminal activities on behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Federal Bar Association, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education ("ICLE"), the New Jersey Hispanic Bar Association and the Bergen County Bar Association. In addition to criminal & removal defense, Mr. Gonzalez represents victims of crimes and domestic violence. He also handles employment- based immigration and employer sanction matters. Mr. Gonzalez was voted to the 2006 Super Lawyers Rising Stars list in the area of Immigration Law by New Jersey Monthly Magazine consecutively since 2009. In 2013, Mr. Gonzalez was also listed as a top lawyer in Bergen County in the area of Criminal Law in (201) Magazine. Mr. Gonzalez is fluent in Spanish.

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  Link: Jerard A. Gonzalez

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  John T. Somohano

  Partner

  John T. Somohano is a partner with the firm Bastarrika, Soto, Gonzalez & Somohano, LLP since 2008. He joined the firm on August 2004. He is a member of the BSGS Criminal, Municipal Court, and Worker's Compensation practice groups. Mr. Somohano represents clients in various areas of criminal law including, homicide/manslaughter, sex assault, drug offenses, and white collar crimes. He also represents injured workers suing their employers or complex DWI / driving offenses in municipal courts all throughout the State of New Jersey. He has extensive civil and municipal court trial experience, and has persevered through several high profile criminal matters as well. Mr. Somohano has proudly served as assistant municipal public defender in the Passaic and Paterson Municipal Courts. More recently, Mr. Somohano has begun to represent those injured at work to ensure their fair treatment in New Jersey through his Workers Compensation Practice. Mr. Somohano received his B.S. from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1996. He attended and graduated the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing Michigan where he earned his J.D. in September 2000. He is a lifelong New Jersey resident and was recently married in 2007. Mr. Somohano was born to Cuban parents and is fluent in Spanish.

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  Link: John T. Somohano