From left: Attorneys Elnardo J. Webster II, Joao F. Magalhaes, Jodi M. Luciani and Joni H. Noble McDonnell have joined Connell Foley LLP’s real estate team in Newark. Webster and Luciani join as partners, while Magalhaes and McDonnell serve as of counsel. — Courtesy: Connell Foley
By Joshua Burd
A team led by prominent real estate attorney Elnardo Webster II has moved to Connell Foley LLP, helping to deepen the practice group and the firm’s Newark office.
Both Webster and Jodi M. Luciani join Connell Foley as partners, while Joni H. Noble McDonnell and Joao F. Magalhaes arrive as of counsel. They most recently were with Parsippany-based Inglesino, Webster, Wyciskala & Taylor LLC and are now part of a team of nearly two dozen attorneys based in the state’s largest city.
“Strategically adding to the Connell Foley family will help us maintain our competitive advantage and offer our clients an even greater depth of service to address their legal needs,” said Tim Corriston, the Roseland-based firm’s managing partner.
Webster concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate, regulatory and government affairs, with clients such as health care providers, regulated utilities, insurance companies, developers and business and entrepreneurial companies, according to a news release. He has also served as general counsel to government agencies and on the Rutgers Board of Overseers, Independent College Funds of New Jersey, Team Walker, St. Peter’s Prep School board, Crossroads Theater and Cathedral Healthcare System.
Connell Foley added that Webster, who was recruited to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers after college, is the co-founder of Sports Futures, a nonprofit for inner-city youths. Active in Democratic politics, he served as treasurer and finance chair to Sen. Cory Booker’s mayoral campaigns in Newark.
Webster received his J.D. and MBA from Rutgers University.
“I am familiar with Connell Foley’s well-established reputation and have known the talented attorneys for years,” Webster said. “My team and our clients will benefit greatly from the firm’s broad experience in corporate, real estate and remarkable litigation and trial experience.”
Luciani’s practice focuses on land use and zoning, redevelopment, municipal law and regulatory and government affairs, the news release said. She counsels public and private clients, public entities, corporations and real estate clients, bringing extensive insights into local, state and federal regulations and public procedures, as well as corporate and commercial matters, including litigation.
She received her J.D. from New York Law School and her B.A. from the University of Michigan, while she is admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York and the United States District Court of New Jersey.
McDonnell, for her part, practices in the areas of government affairs, municipal law, regulatory affairs and land use, Connell Foley said, with clients including the state’s water and sewer utilities and other public and state agencies. She advises and counsels on compliance with local, state and federal statutes and regulations, while her experience includes representing the Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties, serving as assistant town attorney for the town of Morristown and advising the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority.
The Seton Hall University School of Law and Douglass College graduate is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.
Additionally, Magalhaes represents public and private entities in commercial transactions and litigation, corporate structuring, general counseling, bankruptcy and regulatory affairs, the news release said. He works with accountants, engineers, financial analysts and other professionals, having also been appointed by the state Supreme Court to serve on the District XB Ethics Committee.
What’s more, Magalhaes is a coordinating editor for the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal. He received his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law and his bachelor’s from Villanova University.
