Best's Recommended Insurance Attorneys
General Defense

244 Fernwood Avenue, Parkside Corporate Center, Edison, New Jersey 08837
Established: 1978
Practice Areas
- Workers' Compensation
- Appellate Practice
- Insurance Defense
- Real Estate
- Coverage Analysis
- Civil Litigation
- General Liability
- Municipal Litigation
- COVID-19/Coronavirus
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About Us
Leitner Tort DeFazio & Brause, P.C. has a multi-disciplinary practice with a significant emphasis on Workers' Compensation. Our practice areas include Worker's Compensation, civil litigation, criminal defense, personal injury, real estate and appellate matters.
We represent clients in both New Jersey and New York.
Our staffing is more than adequate to accommodate regular and repeated court appearances, maintain prompt reporting to our clients and service our clients' needs. Our office is ideally located in the center of the state with access to all major arteries of travel. Our attorneys reside throughout New Jersey giving us easy access to all New Jersey courts and vicinages as well as easy access to New York.
We believe our office to be unique in its depth and breadth, particularly in the field of Workers' Compensation. We are proud of our reputation as one of the premier Workers' Compensation firms in New Jersey.
Be sure to read Randy Brause's white paper entitled, "Occupational Diseases in the Age of the Novel Coronavirus" at the end of our profile.
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Insurance Clients
- Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
- Inservco Insurance Services, Inc.
Non-Insurance Clients
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Personnel Information
Partners
Stephen M. Leitner
Edison, NJ
Admitted
- New Jersey, 1972
- New York, 1981
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Additional Biographical Details:
New Jersey Super Lawyer (2006-2012)
Memberships:
- New Jersey State (Workers’ Compensation Section; Secretary, 1981; Vice Chairman, 1982; Chair Elect, 1983-1985; Chairman, 1985-1987), Monmouth County and Ocean County Bar Associations
Education:
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, B.S., 1969
- New York Law School, J.D., 1972
- New York University School of Law, LL.M., 1975
Honors:
Jack O'Brien Award for Excellence in Workers' Compensation
John R. Tort, Jr.
Edison, NJ
Admitted
- New Jersey, 1973
- New York, 1981
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Additional Biographical Details:
Best Lawyers of America (2005-Present); New Jersey Super Lawyer (2005-2014; 2017-2020)
Memberships:
- American (Tort and Insurance Law Section), New Jersey State (Workers' Compensation Section Executive Committee, 2000-2009) and Morris County Bar Associations
- Master, James H. Coleman, Jr. Inn of Court
- New Jersey Workers' Compensation American Inns of Court
- Defense Research Institute
- New Jersey Defense Association
Certifications:
- Certified Workers' Compensation Law Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey
Education:
- Seton Hall University, B.A. Economics (with honors), 1969
- New York Law School, J.D., 1973
Joseph C. DeFazio
Edison, NJ
Admitted
- New Jersey, 1976
- New York, 1984
Additional Biographical Details:
New Jersey Super Lawyer (2006-2012); Lectures in Workers' Compensation (New Jersey Self Insurers Association)
Memberships:
- American (Tort and Insurance Law Section), New Jersey State (Workers' Compensation Section) and Monmouth County Bar Associations
- New Jersey Defense Association
- Defense Research Institute
Education:
- St. Peter's College, B.A., 1973
- Western New England College School of Law, J.D., 1976
Randolph Brause
Edison, NJ
Admitted
- New Jersey, 1986
- New York
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
- U.S. Supreme Court
Additional Biographical Details:
New Jersey Super Lawyer
Memberships:
- New Jersey State and Middlesex County Bar Associations
Certifications:
- Certified Workers' Compensation Law Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey
Education:
- Cornell University, B.A. Economics, 1983
- Boston University School of Law, J.D., 1986
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Associates
Brian Ruiz
Edison, NJ
Admitted
Education:
- Rutgers University, B.S., 2012
- New York Law School, J.D., 2016
Paul Lader
Edison, NJ
Admitted
- Pennsylvania, 1990
- New Jersey, 1991
- New York, 2005
Education:
- St. Joseph's University, B.A., 1987
- Villanova University School of Law, J.D., 1990
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Articles
Occupational Diseases in the Age of the Novel Coronavirus by Randy Brause
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