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The Road So Far

The Road So Far

Posted by: Kevin Costello

Welcome to my first blog entry. This feels strange, I have to admit. Even given as much writing as I've done professionally and in expression of my personal muses, I have to admit that the idea of authoring a blog still seems odd to me. In time, I'll get used to the idea. My sense of humility tells me that no one else besides my family and friends will be interested in my thoughts on the law and how the law relates to society. Yet clients and referring attorneys have asked so many questions so often, and suggested I author this blog so often, that I've given in.

My intention in the Journey to Justice is to talk about the law. For the most part, I plan to focus both on the specific areas in which I concentrate my trial practice, and more specifically, as to New Jersey, the state in which I maintain my practice. Yet I also plan to raise awareness about the law generally, and the state of our society and culture as a reflection of the law, and as affected by the law.

In talking about my areas of concentration in the practice - employment discrimination, workplace harassment, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, failure to accommodate, sexual orientation discrimination, gender rights discrimination, workplace retaliation, wage and hour, whistleblower law - I plan to talk about the cases, the changes in the law as it evolves, the people affected by those changes, and what this critical area of the law says about us here in New Jersey and in America.

When I address the law generally, I hope to correct misapprehensions about the law, and to restore respect for it, and faith in it, as the best means by which we can resolve disputes. It'll never be perfect - nor will any other institution conceived by the minds of human beings - but our goal ought to be to make it as fair, and as good, as we can. That's not just the job of the legislatures, it's the job of every one of us as citizens. We're responsible for the people we elect and what in turn those people do; we're not blameless when we vote for the wrong people and when those people harm the electorate with their actions. We're also responsible for the examples we set, so we're responsible for how we talk about the law, and whether we instill in the next generations respect for it and faith in it. If we treat it with disdain and hostility, then we deserve what we get.

To punctuate that last point, I'll close with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, who was also human and therefore far from perfect. He said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

If we all remembered that not only when we interact with the law, but when we relate to others, we'd be doing a great deal better than we are.

Something upon which to meditate until we can talk again.

JOURNEY TO JUSTICE

DISCLAIMER: This web log is not legal advice, nor should it be construed to be legal advice or the offering of legal advice. It should not be read as guaranteeing or suggesting any particular outcome in any Court will occur in any particular case. It is not, and should be read as, a complete or authoritative analysis of the state of law, which is constantly subject to change.

"Journey to Justice" - The Web Log of Civil Rights Trial Lawyer Kevin M. Costello, Esq. (www.costellomains.com).