Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. Named New Jersey Law Journal’s Law Firm of the Year 2023*

Jennifer Borg, Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C. Photo

Jennifer A. Borg

Of Counsel
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Overview

Jennifer is of counsel in our media law practice and brings a unique set of skills and experience as the former in-house lawyer at North Jersey Media Group. At North Jersey Media Group, Jennifer ran the legal department for fifty (50) publications including the award-winning daily newspaper, The Record, and was instrumental in structuring the sale of the publications in 2016.

Jennifer provides counsel to organizations on a wide variety of issues assisting with business and legal strategy, the acquisition and sale of publications, content-sharing, governance, licensing, rights of publicity, contracts, and distribution. She routinely vets content prior to publication to safeguard clients against potential claims of defamation and privacy and advices on source protection, newsgathering, ethics, and newsroom policies.

Jennifer has broad experience in defending clients against claims of defamation and privacy and is a fierce advocate of open and transparent government. She has successfully litigated many cases under NJ’s public records law (OPRA) and has testified several times before the legislature seeking amendments to the law. Jennifer is a Visiting Clinical Lecturer at Yale Law School where she has been teaching at the Media Freedom & Information Access law clinic since 2019.

Jennifer is a cofounder of the Women’s Foundation of New Jersey f/k/a North Jersey Media Group Foundation, which she founded in 2002. Jennifer currently serves as a trustee of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government.

Jennifer has specific experience with the following:

  • Advising reporters with news gathering issues, pre-publication review of stories and defamation;
  • Advising documentary filmmakers regarding news gathering issues, use of drones and rough-cut review of films;
  • Representing the press and photographers with access rights to trials and hearings including the right to record trials;
  • Assisting media organizations with access to court records and court proceedings;
  • Drafting FOIA requests and FOIA litigation;
  • Representing media and non-media clients in defamation and invasion of privacy cases; and
  • Accessing public records and court records.
  • Defending media organizations in libel & defamation lawsuits

Jennifer is proud of the results she has achieved for clients, some of which are noted here and under the “Experience” section of this biography. Of course, each legal matter is unique on many levels, and past successes are not a guarantee of results in any other pending or future matters.

Experience

Representative Matters

Our firm is proud of the results it has achieved for clients, some of which are noted here.  Of course, each legal matter is unique on many levels, and past successes are not a guarantee of results in any other pending or future matters.

  • Represents the Marshall Project. The Marshall Project is a non-profit online news organization providing comprehensive coverage of America's criminal justice system with the mission of raising the profile of criminal justice issues and fostering a sense of national urgency that leads to meaningful criminal justice reform. Jennifer routinely assists reporters and editors with pre-publication review of their investigatory reporting
  • Regularly represents the Society of Professional Journalists (New Jersey Chapter) and its members on a myriad of media law issues.
  • Represented The New York Times, NPR and the Associated Press seeking disclosure of sealed documents in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against defendant Fox News Network and Fox Corporation regarding allegations that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen and that Dominion was to blame.
  • Represented the New York Times in seeking access to public records related to the State of New Jersey’s settlement of taxes owed by various Trump casinos in Atlantic City.
  • Jennifer has won numerous lawsuits on behalf of reporters to serve the public’s right to know through the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA).
  • Represented many reporters and publications defending libel lawsuits and invoking the Shield Law to prevent reporters from having to testify in connection with their newsgathering activities.
  • In 2013, on behalf of North Jersey Media Group, Jennifer filed a federal lawsuit against Sarah Palin and her PAC alleging copyright infringement for their use of the photo of the three firefighters raising an American flag at Ground Zero.
  • In 2001, in conjunction with the ACLU, Jennifer led a lawsuit against former Attorney General John Ashcroft after 9/11 in order to obtain information about secret detainee hearings held by the U. S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Recognition

Honors & Recognitions

  • American Civil Liberties Union, Legal Leadership Award, 2017
  • American Bar Association Journal, Record’s aggressive efforts to gain access to public records in “BridgeGate”
  • PolitickerNJ, “Power” List, 2015
  • Senate Majority Leader Weinberg’s, “Power” List, 2013-2014
  • NJBiz, General Counsel of the Year Award, 2013

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News & Insights

News

Publications

Associations

Community & Professional

  • Member of the Board, New Jersey Foundation for Open Government
  • Member of the Board, Women's Foundation of New Jersey, Inc.
  • Former Member of the Board, Table to Table
  • Former Member of the Board, First Amendment Museum (Augusta, Maine)
  • Former Member of the Board, East Hampton Historical Society (New York)
  • Former Member of the Board, Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC)
  • Former Member of the Board, HUMC Foundation
  • Former Member of the Board, Program for Parents Inc.
  • Former Member of the Board, Urban League for Bergen County
  • Former Member of the Board, The Dwight Englewood School
  • Former Member of the Board, Marilyn Horne Foundation
  • Former Member of the Board of Governors, The Hotchkiss School
  • Founding Member, Women United in Philanthropy
  • Founder and President, North Jersey Media Group Foundation
  • Former Chair, President, and Member of the Board, New Jersey Press Association (NJPA), and NJPA Foundation
  • Member, D.C. Bar Association
  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, New Jersey State Bar Association
  • Member, New York City Bar Association
  • Member, New York State Bar
  • Member, Bergen County and Passaic County Bars
  • Member, Women Lawyers in Bergen
  • Member, New Jersey Women’s Lawyers Association

Practice Areas

Bar Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • District of Columbia

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York

Education

B.A., Denison University, 1987

J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1990

Columbia Human Rights Law Review, editor

Moot Court, editor and judge

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