OPRA: What You Need to Know in 2026
Category: On Demand
Member Price: $200
Non-Member Price: $250
Areas of Law: Local Government, Media
Featured Speaker
Moderator
- F. Clifford Gibbons, Esq.
- F. Clifford Gibbons, Attorney At Law, LLC, Princeton
Presenters
- Dominic P. DiYanni, Esq.
- Eric M. Bernstein & Associates, Warren
- Walter M. Luers, Esq.
- Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf LLP, Saddle Brook
- Samora F. Noguera, Esq.
- Counsel, Office of the City Clerk, Newark
- Michael D. Witt, Esq.
- General Counsel, Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, Newark
Presented in cooperation with the NJSBA Local Government Law Section & Media Law Committee
It’s been two years since then-Gov. Phil Murphy signed the most significant overhaul of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) in its history – and practitioners are still catching up.
The OPRA amendments significantly altered the rules on what counts as a public record, who can request one, and what happens when they do. Some say the changes gut the public’s right to know. Others call it a long-overdue fix. Either way, if your practice is impacted by OPRA requests, you can’t afford to be behind on it.
Join a panel of seasoned local government practitioners who’ve been in the trenches since day one of the new law for a practical, insightful discussion on where OPRA stands today. Whether you’re advising a public agency or fighting for access on behalf of a client, this program will get you up to date quickly.
Topics include:
- The new, broader exceptions to what qualifies as a public record
- Expanded privacy protections for requestors and third parties
- Mandatory-form requirements for OPRA requests
- The public agency cause of action against requestors
- Tighter limits on the right to proceed anonymously
- New restrictions on OPRA requests tied to pending litigation
- Prior case law reversed or undercut by the amendments
- Burden of proof in special service charge disputes
- Rules governing commercial requestors
- Effective dates and pipeline retroactivity