Meri Van Blarcom-Gupko
was
promoted to the position of Counsel at Wiley Malehorn Sirota & Raynes in
2008. She has been an attorney with the firm since 1998.
Meri has been published numerous
times in the area of motorsports and is becoming an authority in the
area. Her most recent article “Should Nascar Be Allowed to Choose the
Tracks at Which it Runs its Races?” 16.2 Seton Hall J. Sport L. 101
(2006), released in 2007, was cited by the Automobile Competition
Committee for the United States (ACCUS) in its brief filed in Kentucky
Speedway’s lawsuit against International Speedway Corporation.
In January
2008, Meri presented a seminar on legal issues for racing promoters from
13 states at the inaugural Promoter’s Summit in Atlantic City, New
Jersey in January, 2008. In addition, since 2005, she has been
presenting an annual seminar on Legal Issues in Racing at Motorsports in
Atlantic City (and its former location in Fort Washington,
Pennsylvania). Click for the
pdf
or
text version of an
article on one of the seminars.
Meri’s practice
areas serve the diverse needs of her clients and include general and
public entity liability law, business law, commercial transactions,
employment law, intellectual property, civil litigation, and land use.
She received
her Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1997,
where she served as the Research Assistant to Professor Elizabeth Defeis
for two years. Meri was a member of the Seton Hall Journal of Sports
Law. She had an internship with the Sports Law Committee of the New
York County Lawyers Association researching various areas including
statutes regulating athlete agents and an externship with the Internal
Revenue Service focusing on intellectual property and related issues.
Meri also participated in the Consumer Law Clinic where she advised and
represented underprivileged clients on various consumer legal issues.
Meri received
her undergraduate degree from Rutgers University, Newark College of Arts
and Sciences in 1994 with Honors and was selected to Phi Sigma Alpha
(political science honor society). She also was the Chair of the
College Republicans at Rutgers-Newark, 1992-1994.
She was
admitted to the bars of New Jersey in 1997, New York in 1998 and the
Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 1999. Prior to joining Wiley Malehorn
Sirota & Raynes, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Stephen F.
Smith, Jr., New Jersey Superior Court, Morris County, 1997-98.
Meri is on the
card ministry and serves as a substitute teacher for the 2 year old
class in her current church. At her former church she served as a
leader and Sunday school teacher for the senior high youth group; and as
a coordinator and teacher for the 2 and 3 year old program for over
eight years.
She and her
husband reside in Northern New Jersey with their son.
Karen L. Bashor
was born in Manila, Philippines. She graduated from the
University of California, Los Angeles in 2003 where she was selected Phi
Beta Kappa and graduated with Honors. She received her Juris Doctorate
from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2006, where she was a member
of the Seton Hall Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law and recipient
of the Best Brief Award for Appellate Advocacy.
Karen was admitted to the bars of New Jersey and
the United States District Court, District Court of New Jersey in 2006.
Prior to joining the firm, she served as a student practitioner for the
Civil Litigation Clinic at the Center for Social Justice and a judicial
intern to the Honorable Marie P. Simonelli, Superior Court of New
Jersey, Essex County.
Karen is a member of the American Bar Association.
She is also a member of the American Association for Justice and the
Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey.
She resides in Perth Amboy with her husband.
Elizabeth D.
Seitz
was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. She graduated from
Denison University in 2001 and earned her Juris Doctorate from
University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2006.
During law school, Elizabeth was a judicial extern to the Honorable
Maureen E. Lally-Green, Superior Court of Pennsylvania. She also worked
as a research assistant for Professor Ann Sinsheimer, Associate
Professor of Legal Writing and as a law clerk for a mid-size general
practice firm.
Elizabeth was admitted to the bars of New Jersey, the United States
District Court, District of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania in 2006.
Elizabeth is a member of the American Bar Association and the New Jersey
State Bar Association. She currently resides in Mercer County
with her husband.
Deric Wu
was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He graduated from the
University of California, Irvine in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Economics and Sociology. From 2000 to 2003, Deric worked in Taipei
as an English teacher. He received his Juris Doctorate from Rutgers
School of Law - Newark in 2006, where he served as President of the
Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. As a law student,
Deric also founded the Asian American Legal Project to serve the legal
needs of the Asian American Community in New Jersey.
Deric was admitted to the bars of New Jersey and the United States
District Court, District Court of New Jersey in 2007. Prior to joining
the firm, he served as law clerk to the Honorable James S. Rothschild,
Jr., New Jersey Superior Court, Family Part, Essex County.
His article, "Can International Human Rights Laws Change the State of
Minority Education in the United States?" was published in Rutgers Race
and the Law Review in 2006.
Deric is a member of the American Bar Association.
He currently resides in Jersey City with his wife.
