The Firm's Mission
Wasserman Legal LLC follows one guiding principle -- to truly partner with, and bring value to, clients with sophisticated disputes and transactions. The firm strives to be a trusted, value-added advisor, helping to devise and implement strategies for achieving each client's business and other objectives.
Business Disputes
Named one of the New Jersey Law Journal's "New Leaders of the Bar" in 2013, Jeff represents clients ranging from individuals to small businesses to Global 100 companies. Jeff is acutely focused on efficiently and cost-effectively advancing business objectives through creative, problem-solving, and risk-reducing strategies. Because he appreciates that "success" in litigation does not always align with a win-at-all costs approach, Jeff tailors his litigation strategies, whether in state court, federal court, arbitration or mediation, to meet the specific objectives behind each individual case.
Education Litigation
At both the highest levels, and in many local school districts, New Jersey's special education system is profoundly broken. At a macro-level, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) has failed to implement a dispute resolution system that complies with the federally-enacted Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), resulting in substantial, prejudicial delays in determining the rights of parents and their children with disabilities. Further, the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) routinely flouts the already deficient rules that New Jersey has enacted for hearing special education disputes. And, at the local level, many school districts take advantage of this broken system by dragging out disputes unnecessarily (and sometimes improperly), strong-arming parents into deficient settlement agreements (because parents often have no practical alternative to these proposals), and refusing to publicly disclose information even when disclosure is required by State and Federal law.
Wasserman Legal has teamed with some of the top special-education practitioners in the State to hold the DOE, the OAL and local school districts to their obligations for the benefit of all residents of New Jersey, but especially families with children with disabilities.
Experience
Jeffrey I. Wasserman
t. (973) 486-4801
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Named one of the New Jersey Law Journal's "New Leaders of the Bar" in 2013
Education
Fordham University School of Law, J.D., 1999
Lafayette College, B.A., with honors, 1996
State Bar Admissions
State of New Jersey
State of New York
Federal Court Admissions
Second Circuit
S.D.N.Y.
E.D.N.Y.
W.D.N.Y
Third Circuit
D.N.J.
Prior Firm Experience
Herrick, Feinstein LLP
Partner, Litigation Department
September 2012 to March 2016
Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Partner, Litigation Department
October 2010 to September 2012
Associate, Litigation Department
November 2001 to May 2005
Bracewell LLP
Partner, Litigation Department
February 2008 to October 2010
Associate, Litigation Department
May 2005 to February 2008
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Associate, Litigation Department
September 1999 to November 2001
Representative Matters
Multinational Beverage Company - Business Dispute - New Jersey Franchise Practices Act. Represented leading, multinational, bottled water company in major federal court litigation filed by a distributor that, based on New Jersey's Franchise Practices Act, sought substantial damages and an injunction prohibiting the client's exercise of its right not to renew a distributor agreement. Defeated distributor's motion for a preliminary injunction, which the Third Circuit affirmed following an expedited appeal. This result was particularly important to client because it prompted settlement without protracted litigation, and enabled client to reposition distribution model in the southern part of New Jersey to include channels of distribution that did not exist when the parties executed a distributor agreement two decades earlier. (Prior Firm Experience)
Multinational Food & Beverage Company - Resolution of Significant Supply-Chain Disruption. Represented leading, multinational, food and beverage company in connection with emergent issues resulting from avian flu outbreak, which caused egg suppliers to invoke force majeure and other contractual clauses to try to justify severely curtailing or terminating egg-supply obligations. Provided creative, strategic and business-focused legal advice that resulted in suppliers' continued, uninterrupted supply of eggs to client, without extensive and costly litigation. This resolution was critically important because disruption of egg supply would have severely damaged client, its leading brands and its top-selling products. (Prior Firm Experience)
International Financial Institution - Business Dispute/Financial Crisis. Obtained dismissal of complaint on behalf of major international financial institution in litigation commenced by an investment bank seeking a purported "success fee" arising out of a "bailout" transaction between the financial institution and its regulator, the Swiss National Bank ("SNB"), related to the financial crisis of 2008. Deciding an issue of first impression, the New York Court of Appeals dismissed the complaint. That result was particularly important to client because it avoided discovery regarding highly-sensitive matters from its high-ranking employees and from SNB officials, while saving substantial fees and costs associated with such discovery. (Prior Firm Experience)
International Diamond Grading Network - Trial Victory in Trademark/Unfair Competition Dispute. Trial victory in federal court in a complex case involving novel legal issues, alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, contributory infringement and trademark dilution. Court denied all claims against clients, including requests under the Lanham Act for $140 million in damages, and draconian and sweeping permanent injunctive relief. (Prior Firm Experience)
Contact
1200 Route 22 East | Suite 2000, # 2238 | Bridgewater, New Jersey 08807
171 Madison Avenue | Suite 305 | New York, New York 10016
(973) 486-4801 | jwasserman@wasslegal.com | (844) 486-4801