About Our Attorneys

The attorneys and staff of Hanlon Niemann & Wright have more than 300+ years of legal experience. Trusted by clients spanning over 4 decades, we are here for you today.

Take a minute or 2 to read about each of our attorneys, then call or email us today.

Attorneys of Hanlon Niemann & Wright

Christopher J. Hanlon, Esq. | VCard

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Christopher J. Hanlon is a founding partner at Hanlon Niemann & Wright, P.C. and the head of the firm’s litigation department. He is a passionate and tireless advocate for his clients, willing to work long hours to champion their causes and rights.

He is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Civil Trial Attorney and a frequent speaker/lecturer before state associations and organizations on a number of topics in the law.

Hanlon Niemann & Wright Attorney Named to 2021 NJ Super Lawyer’s List
Christopher J. Hanlon, Esq. of Hanlon Niemann & Wright was named to the 2021 New Jersey Super Lawyer’s List. He was also named to the New Jersey Super Lawyer’s List in 2020, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2005.  Only five percent of New Jersey attorneys are chosen each year based on the multi-phase selection process.

Mr. Hanlon’s significant cases include:
  • Multi million dollar class action settlement against one of the world’s largest retailers.
  • $1,000,000.00 settlement in a wrongful death case involving a motorcyclist.
  • $735,000.00 settlement to resolve a compensatory and punitive damage claim against a major insurance company based on bad faith.
  • $265,000.00 settlement after jury selection of a dram shop claim involving a motorcyclist.
  • Allocation of 100 percent contribution from a tenant in favor of a landowner for the cost of leaking oil tank remediation under the provisions of New Jersey’s Spill Act.
Christopher J. Hanlon has been practicing law since 1977.

Most of his experience is in the formal prosecution and defense of claims on behalf of clients. He has litigated cases in the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Federal Claims, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, United States District Court, and the New Jersey Supreme Court. He has a wealth of experience, having litigated dozens of cases in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey, as well as every Trial Level Court throughout the State, the Office of Administrative Law, Tax Court and Workers Compensation Court.

He is an arbitrator for the United States Federal District Court and has been involved in numerous mediations and contested arbitration matters representing clients. He also represents clients before Municipal Boards of various types, including Planning, Zoning and Rent Control. Most of his litigation has focused on personal injury, real estate related litigation, constitutional law, rent control, (including Mount Laurel issues), and commercial litigation.

He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Seton Hall Law School. He has served his community, Manalapan Township, where he lives with his wife and four children, by serving as their Municipal Court Judge, and as counsel to the Manalapan Township Zoning Board of Adjustment.

Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. | VCard

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Fredrick P. Niemann is a founding partner at Hanlon Niemann & Wright, P.C. He offers his clients over 40 years of accomplished practice in the law.

He is a past member of the New Jersey Institute of Local Government Attorneys, a present member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the Guardianship and Conservatorship Committee of NAELA, the Monmouth County Probate and Estate Committee, and the Monmouth County Chancery Practice Committee.

Mr. Niemann Counsels Clients Throughout New Jersey

He counsels clients (individual and corporate) at all economic levels in business and real estate transactions, estate planning for tax reduction and wealth preservation, wills, trusts and probate including probate litigation, contested family and estate disputes, will contests, guardianships and nursing home planning for Medicaid qualification, particularly for clients and families dealing with dementia, Alzheimer’s Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, stroke and other health-related issues affecting our aging population.

He manages the firm’s extensive elder law and disability practice area on behalf of clients seeking Medicaid long-term care and Veterans benefits, Medicare coverage and continued benefits, eligibility for state-funded programs for health and medical benefits. Mr. Niemann also manages the firm's extensive guardianship, special needs and disability practice. He litigates denials of benefits by governmental agencies at fair hearings, administrative law proceedings and direct appeals to the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. He speaks at seminars and conferences on nursing home and community-based alternatives to institutional care, the Nursing Home Reform Law and Veterans' benefits.

In his earliest career, Mr. Niemann represented clients as a seasoned and highly sought-after attorney in land use transactions (including commercial and residential real estate) and redevelopment law, zoning, planning and subdivisions, condemnation, regulatory compliance, development permits, Federal and State court Appellate practice.  All totaled, he has represented in excess of twenty (20) public entities in matters described above.

Mr. Niemann has served as an approved civil mediator by the Supreme Court of New Jersey  mediating contested business and civil cases filed in the Superior Courts throughout the State of New Jersey.

In addition, Mr. Niemann was one of the earliest accredited attorneys by the US Veteran’s Administration to prepare, counsel, and assist veterans and their families in Aid and Attendance pension benefits. Mr. Niemann has been listed as a “rated” attorney in the State of New Jersey in the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review List and in Avvo as a 9.5 rated attorney.

Mr. Niemann has served as the lead attorney in many significant cases in New Jersey which have been the subject of published decisions in the official law books of this State.

An experienced trial attorney, Mr. Niemann is the co-managing partner of the firm and resides in Wall Township where he has offered his time to many organizations. He is also a member of the Monmouth County and New Jersey State Bar Associations, the U.S. Federal District Court of New Jersey, and the U.S. Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Bonnie M. Wright, Esq. | VCard

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Bonnie M. Wright is a partner at Hanlon Niemann & Wright, P.C. She is a graduate of St. John’s University and holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration.  She received her Juris Doctor degree from Seton Hall University School of Law and is a member admitted to the New Jersey State Bar and the United States District Court of New Jersey.

Ms. Wright is an active member of the American Bar Association, the New Jersey Bar Association and the Monmouth County Bar Association.  Ms. Wright has been a member of the Firm since 2002. She became a partner of the firm in 2014.

Ms. Wright is experienced in all aspects of transactional law, which includes residential and commercial real estate, landlord-tenant actions, business sales and purchases, business formation, bank and loan representation for lenders and borrowers, contract preparation, review and negotiation. Ms. Wright has regularly represented parties, as both challenger and defender, in guardianship and estate litigation, including claims of fraud and duress in the making of a will, lack of or diminished capacity in the making of a will or other estate planning document, and breach of fiduciary duty by another family member. She also regularly practices in the areas of estate administration and guardianship.  She has been selected by the Chancery Courts of both Monmouth and Ocean Counties to serve as Court Appointed Counsel to many complex and contested matters.

Richard C. Sciria, Esq. | VCard

Richard Sciria, Esq.

Richard C. Sciria is a partner at Hanlon Niemann & Wright, P.C.  Mr. Sciria is a graduate of the University of Richmond earning his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies in 1994, and a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law earning his Juris Doctorate in 1999.  After graduating from Law School, Mr. Sciria clerked for the Honorable William P. Gilroy, J.S.C., the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division in the Monmouth County Superior Court.  Mr. Sciria is admitted as an attorney to the New Jersey State Bar and the United States District Court of New Jersey, and a member of the New Jersey State Bar and Monmouth County Bar Associations. Mr. Sciria is also a member of the Monmouth County Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Committee.

Prior to joining Hanlon Niemann & Wright, Mr. Sciria had his own private practice as a trial lawyer specializing in employment and general litigation matters, and has been nominated as a SuperLawyer for 5 consecutive years.  Mr. Sciria has extensive experience representing employees and employers in wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment claims. Mr. Sciria also has significant experience in drafting and negotiating employment contracts, severance agreements, and non-compete clauses.  Mr. Sciria’s civil litigation experience additionally includes cases in business law, breach of contract, consumer fraud, and personal injury.

 

Mr. Sciria also focuses his practice with a real estate background in land use matters including planning and zoning board applications.  Mr. Sciria has previous experience as a Land Use Board attorney representing the North Brunswick Zoning Board and appearing before Planning/Zoning Boards throughout the State of New Jersey.  

Mr. Sciria further handles municipal court matters previously serving as the Freehold Township Public Defender and representing clients in municipal courts throughout the entire State.  

 

Nicole C. Tomlin, Esq. | VCard

Nicole C. Tomlin, Esq.
Nicole C. Tomlin is a partner at Hanlon Niemann & Wright, P.C. She focuses her practice on estate planning and estate administration for families who have a family member with a disability, creation of first party special needs trusts and third party supplemental benefits trusts, guardianship, and accessing services from the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Division of Developmental Disabilities.

Ms. Tomlin serves as a court appointed attorney to those alleged to be incapacitated and Court Appointed Guardian ad Litem.

While in law school, Ms. Tomlin volunteered with the Domestic Violence Project and served as the Associate Managing Editor of the Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion. As a City Year Greater Philadelphia AmeriCorps Member, she spent a year tutoring in inner city schools. She volunteers her time with the Monmouth County SPCA.

Ms. Tomlin is a graduate of Bucknell University and Rutgers University School of Law. She holds an L.L.M. in Taxation from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. She is an Adjunct Faculty member of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Graduate Tax Department. She is also a member of the Elder Law Section and Disability Section and the Tax Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association, a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and a member of the Monmouth County Bar Association Chancery Practice Committee.

Ms. Tomlin frequently lectures on a variety of disability-related legal topics.

Education

B.A. 2004 Bucknell University

J.D. 2008 Rutgers School of Law

L.L.M. 2021 Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law

Christopher Balioni, Esq. | VCard

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Christopher Balioni is a senior litigation member of Hanlon, Niemann & Wright, P.C. where his practice includes business, landlord-tenant, employment law, estate/probate litigation, and contested guardianship.

Mr. Balioni has experience in hundreds of state and federal cases including jury trials and appellate work.  Mr. Balioni brings to the firm a unique perspective on the practice of law gained from a history of litigating constitutional cases.

Mr. Balioni is admitted to practice before the state courts of New Jersey and New York and, on the federal level, before the United States District Court of New Jersey and the Eastern, Southern, and Northern District Courts of New York. Prior to joining Hanlon, Niemann & Wright, Mr. Balioni was associated with several prestigious law firms in New Jersey and New York.

Mr. Balioni received his undergraduate degree from New School University and studied law at New York Law School while working full time at MTV Networks.  In law school, he was awarded the Sylvia D. Garland award for Excellence in Civil Litigation.

He resides in Manalapan Township with his wife (also an attorney and former classmate) and children.

Stephen W. Kornas, Esq. | VCard

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Stephen W. Kornas is an associate attorney with Hanlon Niemann & Wright, P.C.  He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2012 from the College of New Jersey and his Juris Doctorate in 2015 from the Rutgers School of Law in Camden.  Mr. Kornas concentrates his practice in the fields of Real Estate, Estate Administration, Elder Law, and transactional work.  He also is heavily involved with assisting the firm’s litigation attorneys in several major practice areas.
Mr. Kornas is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and Monmouth County Bar Association.  He also serves as Marshal for the New Jersey Alumni Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta, an international lawyer fraternity dedicated to mentoring law students and promoting professional and public service.  A former Emergency Medical Technician, Mr. Kornas is a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award.  He also was an elected representative for both his college and law school’s student governing bodies, and served as Parliamentarian for each organization.

Eric Lee, Esq. | VCard

Eric Lee, Esq.

Eric D. Lee is an Associate in the litigation practice group of the firm.

Prior to joining Hanlon Niemann & Wright, Mr. Lee regularly defended public entities in complex civil litigation matters before State and Federal courts in New Jersey.  Mr. Lee also represented clients in litigation matters involving municipal law, land use, and criminal law.

Prior to his career in private practice, Mr. Lee served as an Assistant Prosecutor at the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Mr. Lee began in the Domestic Violence Unit before joining the Trial Team.  Mr. Lee prosecuted cases charging indictable offenses, disorderly person offenses, and violations of domestic violence restraining orders. Additionally, Mr. Lee presented cases before the grand jury, conducted plea negotiations, and participated in criminal investigations.

Before joining the Prosecutor's office, Mr. Lee served as law clerk to the Honorable Michael A. Petrolle, J.S.C., and the Honorable Alfonse J. Cifelli, J.S.C., in the Superior Court in Essex County--Criminal Division.

Mr. Lee received his Bachelor of Science degree, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Maine--Orono. While at Maine, Mr. Lee was a full scholarship athlete on the university's football team and in 2009 was a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. The trophy recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the country for their academic success, football performance, and exemplary leadership. Thereafter in 2013, Mr. Lee earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Centenary University.

Mr. Lee received his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law. While in law school, Mr. Lee appeared as a student attorney in the inaugural criminal defense clinic. Since graduating law school, Mr. Lee volunteers as a mentor with the law school's Office of Career Services.

Mr. Lee is a member of the Board of Trustees for Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts.