Justin practices in the areas of medical malpractice, nursing home liability and state board disciplinary actions. He became a shareholder in 2007, and he is one of only approximately 300 attorneys in the United States who also holds a pharmacy degree. Justin is a licensed pharmacist in Iowa (1986) and Illinois (1987), and his knowledge of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, physiology and anatomy are well utilized in the firm's Health Care Liability Practice Group.
Justin has handled several hundred medical malpractice matters and has taken nearly 120 cases to trial. Ninety percent of all verdicts were defense verdicts, and roughly 30 of his cases ended in a verdict or mid-trial settlement significantly below the settlement demands. He has represented a considerable number of physicians and pharmacists at state board disciplinary proceedings. He successfully obtained favorable trial verdicts in multiple cases involving potentially high jury awards, including matters involving limb loss, kidney/liver injury, wrongful birth and wrongful death by demonstrating that the physicians were not negligent in the care and treatment that they rendered to their patients. He also handled a case for a physician involved in the Ortho Evra patch mass litigation.
Justin received a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from Drake University in 1986. While at Drake, he received various honors, including The Norcliff-Thayer Publishing Grant, election into the Order of Omega (honor society), and inclusion on the Dean's List. Justin received his juris doctor from Pace University School of Law in June 1989 where he was involved in the Health Law Program.
After serving a judicial internship with the Honorable John Marbach in the New York Supreme Court, Justin became associated with Jeffrey A. Krompier, Esquire, of Florham Park, New Jersey, from 1989 through 1992. In 1992, Justin became associated with Michael J. Lunga, Esquire of Fairfield, New Jersey, and became a partner at their newly named firm Lunga, Evers & Johnson in 1995. He remained at that firm until he joined Marshall Dennehey in 2007.
Justin is admitted to the bar in New Jersey and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and he is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the American Society for Pharmacy Law. He was appointed to the Medical Malpractice Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, as well as the Joint Committee of Essex County Medical and Bar Associations.
Justin is an active member of the community, serving as a member of the Harrington Park Lions Club and, when his daughters were younger, serving as a board member and coach of serveral recreational and travel softball and basketball programs. He is also a consistory member and first vice-president of the Community Church of Harrington Park, New Jersey.
Honors & awards
The Best Lawyers in America, Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants
2025-2026
The Best Lawyers in America, Health Care Law
2024
New Jersey Super Lawyers
2026
The Super Lawyers list is issued by Thomson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found here . No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Year joined
2007
Results
unanimous verdict obtained in a medical malpractice matter in Bergen County, New Jersey
Health Care Liability
February 23, 2026
We received a unanimous defense verdict of behalf of our clients. The plaintiff was a seven-year-old girl who presented with a sacral aneurysmal bone cyst, an expansile, lytic lesion that destroyed sacral bone and was causing compression on her lower lumbar and sacral nerve roots. The plaintiff experienced the inability to control her bladder and bowel post-operatively, and had no sensation in her sex organs.
Summary Judgment Secured in a Complex Medical Malpractice Case
Health Care Liability
May 2, 2024
We obtained summary judgment on behalf of an obstetrician in a medical malpractice action. The plaintiff alleged that our client did not obtain the requisite informed consent from the plaintiff to undergo a trial of labor after having two prior cesarean section deliveries (TOLAC x2). The court found that the plaintiff’s lack of informed consent claim was without foundation as she had an awareness of the risks of TOLAC x2.
Directed Verdict Obtained in a Subacute Rehab Case
Health Care Liability
October 11, 2023
We secured a directed verdict in a subacute rehab case in New Jersey. The plaintiffs claimed their father, who suffered from dysphagia, was negligently left unattended to choke and die in his room by the nursing staff while eating breakfast. At the close of plaintiff’s case, three motions for directed verdict were made. The court eventually agreed that the plaintiffs had not met their burden on causation with the expert testimony.
Thought Leadership
Marshall Dennehey Announces 2026 New Jersey Super Lawyers And Rising Stars
March 20, 2026
Eight attorneys from Marshall Dennehey’s Mount Laurel and Roseland, New Jersey offices have been selected to the 2026 edition of New Jersey Super Lawyers magazine.
98 Marshall Dennehey Attorneys Recognized in the 2026 Editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America
August 20, 2025
Marshall Dennehey is proud to highlight the firm’s 98 attorneys who have been recognized in the 2026 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. Less than 6% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S.
Marshall Dennehey Named 2023 New Jersey Regional Litigation Department of the Year Winner by The American Lawyer
December 5, 2023
Marshall Dennehey was named the 2023 New Jersey Regional Litigation Department of the Year winner at The American Lawyer Industry Awards held November 16, 2023 in New York City.
On the Pulse...Our Roseland, New Jersey, Office
Roseland
September 1, 2023
In February 1993, Roseland became the home of Marshall Dennehey’s North Jersey office. Its lone member, Howard Mankoff, was the original local managing attorney, and he is still with us today. Defense Digest, Vol. 29, No.
Classes/Seminars Taught
Risk Management Rounds in Anesthesia, MDAdvantage, March 17, 2015
AV Preeminent®: The highest peer rating standard. This rating signifies a large number of the lawyer’s peers rank him
or her at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards.
Distinguished: An excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. This rating indicates the attorney is widely
respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards.
Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards.
