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Jones Jones Hosts Successful Second Annual Attorney Summit to Discuss Timely Trends and Introduce New Practices

 In February 2025 the Manhattan and New Jersey offices of Jones Jones LLC came together to host the firm’s second annual Attorney Summit. The entire Jones Jones legal team from both offices gathered to discuss growth for the firm, the state of the industry, expanding client services and future issues and trends in the space.

 

“The second annual Jones Jones Attorney Summit was a promising exercise in cross-office collaboration as attorneys from both New York and New Jersey gathered to discuss the future of the legal defense and workers’ compensation industries,” said Executive Partner Matthew Jones. “These summits allow us to zoom out to consider the bigger picture and trends of our industries collectively, and the ideas and input we gather provides remarkable benefit to our clients.”

 

Programming for the third-annual event included sessions on:

  • The future growth of Jones Jones LLC,
  • An introduction to the new Jones Jones Aviation and Retail Practices,
  • A Fireside chat between Alliant Vice President Cathie McGrath and Managing Partner Sarah Thomas on the state of the New York State Workers’ Compensation space, what the future holds for the industry and more.

 

“Continuing education and having regular firm-wide conversations on the current and future state of the industry are vital to the Jones Jones core tenets,” said Managing Partner Sarah Thomas, “Having Cathie attend and share her insights helped the entire team at Jones Jones gain perspective on how we can better support our clients in the insurance space. We thank Cathie for her time and look forward implementing her learnings in our day-to-day work.”

 

For more information on Jones Jones LLC and the annual Attorney Summit, please visit https://jonesjonesllc.com/.

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Jones Jones Partner Finds Success for Retail Client with Out-of-the-Box Strategies

Jones Jones is pleased to share the success of Partner and Retail Practice Lead Yvie Cherenfant, who recently secured a series of favorable settlements for a retail client through innovative, unconventional strategies.

 

When Yvie was introduced to the client in late 2024, she immediately took a hands-on approach, requesting a full list of open cases to ensure no claim was left unaddressed. She conducted a thorough review of each case, prioritizing those best suited for settlement while holding older, inactive cases to avoid unnecessary costs for the client.

 

Many of the claims involved slip-and-fall injuries, a top concern for supermarket and other physical retail clients. With this information, Yvie crafted a meticulous, tailored strategy for each case. For newer cases, those filed in 2020 or later, Yvie quickly secured settlement authority and worked to resolve each case efficiently. The client’s confidence and trust in Jones Jones enabled expedited approval of settlement authority when requested.  In each settlement, Yvie secured a general release and resignation with full approval from the board.

 

When opposing counsel claimed that cases were not ready for settlement or attempted to introduce additional injury sites, Yvie developed a targeted litigation strategy to challenge these claims head-on. Her approach included securing all necessary documentation, preparing strong cross-examinations well in advance and challenging questionable medical findings before independent medical evaluations took place.

 

Yvie’s diligence paid off. By effectively challenging efforts to inflate settlements, Yvie secured the disallowance of additional site claims in multiple cases, reducing the client’s financial exposure and streamlining settlements.

 

Named Partner in January 2024 and as the lead of Jones Jones’ new Retail Practice, Yvie continues to push boundaries with innovative and creative legal strategies that deliver results, even in the most complex cases. To learn more about Cherenfant and the Jones Jones LLC team, please visit https://jonesjonesllc.com/.

 

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Jones Jones Expands New Jersey Team with Workers’ Comp Industry Veteran

Jones Jones LLC is pleased to announce the addition of James Koblin to the New Jersey team. James will join Supervising Partner Christine Diana and Operations Partner and fourth generation Jones family attorney Kristina Jones among others in the New Jersey office.

 

“I met James in the Jersey City Workers’ Compensation Court during my first year of practice when we were on opposing sides of a case. His tenacity and skill impressed me then, and he continues to impress me today,” said Supervising Partner Christine Diana. “New to the practice, it feels like James has always been a part of the team. His keen sense of detail and proficiency in identifying issues of concern among other impressive traits, make him a great asset to the team. We are glad to have him aboard”.

 

In his role as Associate for the New Jersey team, James will handle claims from inception to resolution, attending hearings across the state in New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Court. His previous work as a petitioner attorney will bring our team fresh perspective from the other side.

 

With almost 30 years of experience in the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation space, James has strong relationships with the bench, respondent’s counsel and has spent considerable time handling claims across the state. He has resolved thousands of workers’ compensation claims to settlement or completion, including fully litigated motions, judgments, orders for total disability and Section 20 settlements. James is also certified in workers’ compensation by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

 

For more information on James and the rest of the Jones Jones team, please visit https://jonesjonesllc.com/.

 

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New Practices Areas and Service Offerings

Dear Valued Clients,

As many of you know, Jones Jones has litigated workers’ compensation cases in the aviation and retail spaces for years. We have successfully settled a number of cases and secured positive outcomes in others in both sectors. As these types of cases continue to manifest, we recognized a need for established practices in these spaces to best address the needs of our clients in this space and to further refine our expertise and build on our track record in both sectors.

As of February 5th, 2024, we are pleased to announce the launch of the new Aviation and Retail practices at Jones Jones LLC. Our aim is to expand our service offerings while continuing to innovate and provide excellence as part of our core tenets.

The Aviation Practice

The Aviation Practice will span both New York and New Jersey, led by Partner Simeon Stamm. The practice will manage and oversee claims handling and litigation, specializing in training teams in best practices related to workers’ compensation litigation in the aviation space. The practice will have a special focus on industry trends and emerging risks and will approach all claims through both a workers’ compensation and general liability lens.

The Retail Practice

The Retail Practice will also span both New York and New Jersey, led by Partner Yvie Cherenfant. The practice will also manage and oversee claims handling and litigation and will specialize in workers’ compensation litigation for brick-and-mortar retail businesses, including but not limited to:

    • Grocery Stores
    • Convenience Stores
    • Big Box Retailers
    • E-Commerce Sites
    • And more

The practice will have a special focus on effective settlement of active cases and industry specific risks and will approach all claims with a focus on workers’ compensation and general liability matters.

Both practice areas will be supported by me and Executive Partner Matthew Jones in New York and Operations Partner Kristina Jones in New Jersey. Both are fourth generation Jones family attorneys.

For more information about Jones Jones LLC or to inquire about the Aviation or Retail practices, please visit https://jonesjonesllc.com/ or contact us at clientservices@jonesjonesllc.com.

Signed,
Sarah Thomas
Managing Partner
Jones Jones LLC

 

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Update: Jones Jones Partner Joins Construction Team

Jones Jones LLC is pleased to announce that Partner Stacee Vaikness is joining the Jones Jones Construction Practice. The Practice spans both New York and New Jersey and is comprised of partners Rosanna Shamash, Dana Sabghir, and Katherine Caracappa.  The team is supported by Kristina Jones and Christine Diana in New Jersey.

 

A member of the Jones Jones team since 2011, Stacee heads the Jones Jones appeals department, as well as the controverted cases claims department. She has worked closely on fraud and construction cases, focusing her work on controverted cases and appeals. Stacee litigates in front of a law judge daily and has several major wins under her belt. Among Stacee’s wins is a schedule loss of use (SLU) case in which Stacee and her team saved the client nearly $1 million.

 

“As Jones Jones continues to grow, we are excited to have Stacee join the Construction Practice,” said Managing Partner Sarah Thomas. “Stacee is an aggressive litigator, using her experience in the appeals space and negotiation skills to secure positive outcomes on behalf of the client. These skills translate well to the construction space, which requires a persistent and proactive approach due to the layers of complexity involved in each case. We look forward to following Stacee’s success in this new space.”

 

In her current work for Jones Jones, Stacee regularly reviews controverted construction cases at their inception. This review and her previous work on construction cases gives Stacee extensive experience and an understanding of the landscape. As she joins the construction team in an official capacity, Stacee will focus her work on appeals, issues of coverage, negotiation and settlements.

 

“As a tenured member of the Jones Jones team, I have worked closely with construction cases for years. My previous work provided me with the experience, passion and desire necessary to join the construction team,” said Stacee. “I am looking forward to using my knowledge of the space, my experience in appeals and controverted claims to secure more wins for Jones Jones’ clients.”

 

For more information on Stacee and the rest of the Jones Jones Construction team, please visit https://jonesjonesllc.com/construction-practice/.

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