John F. Gelson

Founder
Phone: 732.919.1044
Fax: 732.782-0368
Contact Mr. Gelson online
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Three decades of mediation and litigation experience

John F. Gelson is a respected attorney who has helped clients resolve their disputes for more than 30 years. An experienced trial attorney, he was selected by the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Complementary Dispute Resolution in 1995 to help develop a state-wide alternative dispute resolution program that offered a viable alternative to the court system. Since then, Mr. Gelson's practice has been devoted to mediation and arbitration. He has served as a neutral mediator in more than 800 matters, settling approximately 85 percent of these matters successfully. He is known for providing knowledgeable assistance to parties seeking to resolve disputes outside of the litigation process.

Mr. Gelson’s selection in this pilot program was based in part on his success as a litigator. He was board certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Civil Trial Attorney in 1994, focusing his practice on complex commercial litigation, including construction, employment, personal injury and franchise disputes. He served as appointed counsel in one of the leading Right To Die cases in the country in 1987. In 2000, Mr. Gelson obtained a jury verdict of $3 million in a wrongful death case.

He represented the Saint Barnabas Health Care System for more than 25 years, providing outside counsel services in construction and licensing matters. He served as counsel to Jersey Mike’s Franchise System, Inc. and its more than 450 franchises throughout the country. He has also represented plaintiffs and defendants in a wide array of civil and commercial matters in state and federal court. These experiences have instilled in him the ability to analyze cases from both sides, a critical skill for any mediator.

Getting started in mediation

Mr. Gelson’s interest in alternative dispute resolution arose from his experiences in litigating more than one hundred cases to Judges and Juries in State and Federal Courts. As counsel to the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, he was frequently called to draft and negotiate agreements of all types relating to construction projects, including construction management agreements, general contractor agreements, design and build agreements with design professionals, and to work with the construction team to keep a project on track.

These experiences were crucial in helping Mr. Gelson's clients protect their interests and grow their businesses, and he began to realize the advantages that mediation and negotiation offered in resolving disputes. He had become increasingly disenchanted with the inefficiencies, costs and delays in the court system, and he saw that mediation could be used to resolve clients’ disputes in a cost-effective, non-confrontational manner.

Forging a legacy of success

He has since become one of New Jersey’s most trusted and skilled mediators, focusing his efforts on resolving contractual and corporate disputes, earning a reputation as a "go-to" mediator in construction disputes. His dedication to dispute resolution has earned him a reputation for excellence among clients and peers. He has been recognized in New Jersey Monthly Magazine as a New Jersey Super Lawyer in the field of Arbitration/Mediation since 2005. He was also selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers of America, a leading peer-review publication in the field of construction and employment litigation. He was recently named as one of New York Area's Best Lawyers by New York Magazine in December 2010. Mr. Gelson has earned an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review RatingSM by Martindale-Hubbell® for more than a decade — signifying the highest possible peer review rating in legal ability and ethical standards.

HOURLY RATE

  • $400.00 per hour

BAR ADMISSIONS

  • New Jersey, 1981
  • Pennsylvania, 1981
  • U.S. Supreme Court,  1989

EDUCATION

  • Drake University Law School, J.D., 1981
  • University of Notre Dame Law School, London School of Economics, Programme in International Law, 1980
  • University of Notre Dame, B.A., English, 1977
  • Delbarton School, 1973

SELECTED DECISIONS

  • Totaro, Duffy, Cannova & Co., LLC vs. Lane, Middleton & Co., LLC, 191 N.J. 1 (2007)
  • Livingstone vs. Abraham & Straus, Inc., 111 N.J. 89, 543 A.2d 45 (1988)
  • Matter of Farrell, 108 N.J. 335, 529 A.2d 404 (1987)
  • Ellenheath Condominium Assn, Inc. v. Pearlman, 294 N.J. Super. 381, 683 A.2d 582 (App. Div.1996)
  • American Fire & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Manzo, 347 N.J. Super. 100, 788 A.2d 925 (App. Div. 2007)

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND CIVIC AFFILIATIONS

  • Past Chair Ocean County Civil Practice Committee, 1995 – 1996
  • District III Ethics Committee of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1992 – 1996
  • Notre Dame Alumni Association of New Jersey, Jersey Shore Chapter
    • President, 1993 – 1995
    • Trustee, 1990 – Present
    • Man of the Year, 1994
  • Delbarton School Alumni Representative, 2000 – 2004
  • Adjunct Professor, Georgian Court College, 1983 – 1989
  • President, Point Pleasant Beach Little League, 1998 – 2005
    • Inducted into Hall of Fame, 2007
  • Author, Sports Novel Cleats, co-authored with Ken MacAfee and George Berry, Juniper Press, 1978
  • Notre Dame Boxing Club, 1977

MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT SERVICE

  • Commissioned Officer in United States Navy, Honorable Discharge, 1981
  • Corrections Officer, Essex County Jail, 1977 – 1978

HONORS