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CHAIR, PRINCETON OFFICEStephen Orlofsky leads&nbsp;the firm’s&nbsp;appellate practice and concentrates his practice in the areas of complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He&nbsp;counsels clients throughout the United States&nbsp;in federal and state civil and criminal courts, both at the appellate and trial level.&nbsp;He has experience litigating, arbitrating, mediating, and serving&nbsp;as&nbsp;a special master in&nbsp;a wide variety of matters, including:<ul>	<li>Advertising and Lanham Act disputes</li>	<li>Appellate litigation in state and federal courts</li>	<li>Commercial disputes</li>	<li>Securities</li>	<li>Antitrust</li>	<li>Patent and intellectual property</li>	<li>Malpractice and professional ethics</li>	<li>Legal ethics</li>	<li>Electronic discovery</li>	<li>White-collar criminal defense</li>	<li>Class actions in state and federal courts</li>	<li>Internal investigations</li>	<li>Environmental</li>	<li>ERISA</li></ul>Steve has extensive experience with regard to appellate matters, both as a litigation attorney and federal judge.&nbsp;He is a former United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, who served in that capacity from 1996 to 2003.&nbsp;He also served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey from 1976 to 1980.Prior to leaving the federal bench in 2003, Steve served as one of three federal judges on a 13-member Judicial Assessment Team, which traveled to Iraq to evaluate the Iraqi judicial system to assist the Coalition Provisional Authority in reconstructing the Iraqi court system.&nbsp;&nbsp; In 2005, he was appointed by the president-elect of the New Jersey State Bar Association to serve as the vice-chair, South Jersey, of the New Jersey State Bar Association's Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee. He served in that capacity from 2005 to 2007.&nbsp;Steve was also appointed by the chair of the ABA Litigation Section to serve as a member of its Ethical Standards for Mediation Task Force.&nbsp;He currently serves on the Uniform Law Commission, the national body that considers the adoption of uniform state laws, where he is one of New Jersey’s three Uniform Law Commissioners.In 2008, Steve was honored by the Camden County Bar Association with the Hon. Peter J. Devine Award for distinguished service. Steve was selected in 2000&nbsp;as one of the “50 of the Finest” graduates of the Rutgers–Camden campus during the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Rutgers University–Camden. Steve served as a captain in the U.S. Army, Field Artillery, from 1966 to 1970. He was inducted into the U.S. Army Artillery OCS Hall of Fame (Durham Hall), at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, on May 21, 1999. Steve was also inducted into the OCS Hall of Fame, Class of 2019, at Fort Benning, Georgia, on April 29, 2019.From 2009 to 2011, Steve served as the president of the Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit.Steve is a member of the Panels of Distinguished Neutrals of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention &amp; Resolution (“CPR”).&nbsp;He has been named to CPR’s National, Judicial, New Jersey, and Philadelphia Panels.&nbsp;CPR’s Panels are a source of the most qualified neutrals for the alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) of significant business and public disputes.Chambers USA ranks Steve as a leader in the field of general commercial litigation, stating that he is characterized as a&nbsp;“very highly regarded and very smart man,” adding that “commentators highlight his experience as a federal judge, noting:&nbsp;‘There is no substitute to having a former federal judge in your corner—he has a unique skillset.’”

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<ul>
<li>Obtained complete relief from seven consolidated wrongful death and personal injury suits in a New Jersey Supreme Court decision that will have significant implications for New Jersey taxpayers and the public interest.</li>
<li>Successfully represented a leading restaurant chain in a class action case before the New Jersey Supreme Court, resulting in a favorable, 90-page consolidated opinion that saved the client over a billion dollars in damages.</li>
<li>Served as a Special Discovery Master in a complex New Jersey State Court RICO matter.</li>
<li>Argued and won the precedent setting case in the New Jersey Supreme Court that established the standards for immunity for 911 call centers in New Jersey.</li>
<li>Served as a Special Master in an MDL class action antitrust action.</li>
<li>Retained as mediator, arbitrator, and special master in wide variety of disputes including complex commercial, environmental, class actions, employment discrimination, antitrust, securities, patent, and intellectual property disputes.</li>
<li>Conducted internal investigation resulting from alleged misconduct of senior corporate officer.</li>
<li>Senior executives, in significant white-collar litigation.</li>
<li>Successfully defended several class actions brought under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the District of New Jersey.</li>
<li>A commercial bank, in connection with regulatory issues pending before&nbsp;a banking commissioner&nbsp;and related litigation pending in state court.</li>
<li>A manufacturer of plastic, wire, and cable, in the first Superfund case filed in federal court in New Jersey, as well as related state court class action filed against the PRPs; and&nbsp;represented this manufacturer against insurance carriers in a dozen sites throughout the United States.</li>
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Stephen M. Orlofsky

Stephen M. Orlofsky

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