Law Office of Alexander Schachtel

Focus and practice areas

Civil litigation is the main work at this Jersey City firm. Alexander Schachtel founded it in 2016, and he also runs it under the name Schachtel Law. The firm covers civil and commercial disputes, and that reaches business and contract matters, real estate litigation and construction litigation.

The firm also takes personal injury claims. These cover car and truck accidents, slip and fall cases, workplace injuries, product liability and wrongful death. It handles employment law and business formation too, so it can form a company for a client and later handle a dispute that arises for that same client.

In my opinion, the list reads as a general civil practice with a litigation backbone. The firm represents both plaintiffs and defendants. That two-sided experience shapes how a matter gets read, because a lawyer who has argued each position knows the moves the other side tends to make.

What the practice areas involve

Business law at the firm covers formation and contracts, which are the documents a company relies on before any dispute starts. Contract work sets the terms, and formation sets the entity, so both feed the litigation side when a deal breaks down. Real estate and construction disputes bring their own paper, such as purchase agreements, permits and inspection records.

Personal injury is the firm's other main area. A claim here rests on two questions: who is responsible, and what the harm is worth. The firm takes these cases for people who are hurt and, on the defense side, for parties who are sued, so it works the same rules from both directions.

How the team is built

Three people carry the named work. Alexander Schachtel is the attorney and founder. He graduated from Duke University and Seton Hall Law School, and he worked as an associate at a large defense litigation firm before he opened his own office.

He holds licenses in New York and New Jersey. His admissions include the federal district court in New Jersey, the New Jersey Bankruptcy Court, and the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. That range lets him prosecute and defend civil actions in state and federal courts across both states, which is a wider door than a single state license opens.

Support beyond the founder

Mitchell Chan joined as a law clerk in 2024. Before that he clerked for the Honorable Thomas W. Sumners, Jr., Chief Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. He earned a history degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018 and his J.D. from Rutgers Law School in 2023. Time inside appellate chambers teaches how judges read briefs, and that habit tends to travel with a clerk into private practice.

Adam Witkowski is the litigation paralegal and joined in June 2023. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ramapo College and a paralegal certification, and he spent over four years at New Jersey law firms before this one, most recently at a plaintiff's personal injury firm. He works with clients and attorneys on the discovery calendar, and he speaks Spanish, which helps the firm reach clients who prefer to talk in that language.

The disputes it has handled

The firm has worked on fraud matters across the tri-state area. Two named examples are a Ponzi scheme case and an employment scam that targeted recent college graduates. Both kinds of case turn on documents and money trails, so patient discovery work carries much of the weight, and the result often depends on how well the lawyers read the records.

Clients include small and mid-sized businesses, sole proprietors, property owners and individuals. As a reviewer, I read that mix as a sign the firm is built for both company disputes and personal claims. The plaintiff and defense record fits that breadth, and it matches a firm that lists both business litigation and injury work side by side.

How these matters usually move

Civil litigation follows a set path, and knowing it helps a client picture the work ahead. A case opens with pleadings, then moves into discovery, where each side exchanges documents and takes depositions. Adam Witkowski's role on the discovery calendar points to the stretch of a case that often decides how long it runs and what it costs.

Business and contract disputes tend to start with a written agreement and a claimed breach. A judge reads the terms, and the judge weighs what each party actually did. Motions can narrow the issues before trial, and many such cases settle once the facts are clear on paper.

Different case types, different records

Personal injury claims run on a different track. Liability and damages both need proof, so medical records and accident reports carry the argument. A firm that handles plaintiff and defense work sees these files from each side, and that vantage sharpens how it prepares a claim or answers one.

Employment disputes and construction claims each follow their own rules. An employment case often looks at a contract, a policy and a record of what was said and done at work. A construction case looks at plans, change orders and the gap between what was promised and what was built. Both reward a lawyer who reads the file closely and keeps the timeline straight.

Where the firm works

The firm keeps two New Jersey locations, one in Jersey City and one in Hoboken. It serves clients throughout New Jersey and New York. Those two states match Alexander Schachtel's court admissions, so the reach on paper lines up with where he can actually appear.

Two offices in nearby cities give clients in Hudson County more than one place to meet, and the New York admissions matter for anyone whose dispute crosses the river. Many businesses and residents in this area work on both sides of the state line, so a firm that can file in either forum saves a client from hiring twice.

A client weighing this firm finds a small civil litigation office led by a founder with state and federal admissions, a law clerk with a recent appellate clerkship, and a bilingual paralegal who runs the discovery calendar. The site dates the firm to 2016 and names the fraud cases it has taken on.