James M. Burns

Jim’s legal expertise spans the practice areas of Commercial and Regulatory Litigation, Insurance Law, Health Care Law and Labor and Employment Law.

Commercial and Regulatory Litigation

Commercial litigation in numerous industries has been a major part of Jim’s practice for decades. This includes challenges on behalf of the business community against governmental regulation. As general counsel to New Jersey Retail Merchants Association, Jim handled on behalf of the retail industry a prominent constitutional challenge to legislation, including a successful suit to set aside a New Jersey statute which sought to require retail industry gift card issuers to transfer to the State as unclaimed property an estimated $100M in unclaimed gift card balances [N.J. Retail Merchs. Ass’n v. Sidamon-Eristoff, 669 F.3d 374 (3d Cir. 2012), cert. denied, 133 S. Ct. 528 (2012)].

Hospital and Healthcare Law

Jim has over his career represented a large segment of New Jersey’s acute care hospitals in matters involving litigation, governance, mergers and business transactions, strategic planning, regulatory actions and other matters. On numerous occasions Jim has served as outside general counsel to acute care hospitals. He represented Somerset Medical Center in its merger with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

Insurance Law

As co-Leader of the firm’s Insurance Law practice, Jim handles insurance law, licensing, regulatory and transactional matters on behalf of brokers and agents, insurers and other insurance industry entities. Jim is co-founder and President of the Hudson Insurance Federation of New Jersey (www.hifnj.org).

Labor and Employment Law

Jim has decades of experience handling the full range of employment litigation and labor law matters on behalf of management.

Jim has Board of Director and Audit Committee experience in the banking industry and higher education, in addition to numerous leadership roles on large nonprofit organization boards.

• New Jersey Community Bank, former member of Board of Directors, Audit Committee member. Through merger with 1st Constitution Bancorp.
• New Jersey Institute of Technology, former Co-Vice Chairman of Board, member of Audit Committee for $250M, 10,000 student public research university. Tenure marked by large scale campus expansion and redevelopment. www.njit.edu.
• Covenant House International, Board member for $140M international nonprofit with 18 affiliate entities across U.S. and in Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala (2013 – 2017). Member of Audit and Governance Committees. Significant role in insurance and risk issues. www.covenanthouse.org

There are numerous other leadership roles Jim has held in trade associations and in the public arena.

• Hudson Insurance Federation of New Jersey. www.hifnj.org. Co-Founder and President of insurance industry trade association.
• Special Counsel, Office of Governor-Elect James E. McGreevey (2001-2002). - As counsel to transition committee, personally developed and implemented plan to identify and remove from positions approximately 1,000 State of New Jersey personnel in preparation for incoming administration. Advised Governor-Elect and Cabinet on transitional matters
• American Liver Foundation
  www.liverfoundation.org
  - America’s principal liver disease–related voluntary health association, headquartered in NYC with over 40 state chapters
  - General Counsel (1995-2000)
• National Hemophilia Foundation
  www.hemophilia.org
  - America’s principal hemophilia related disease organization with over 35 state chapters
  - General Counsel (1990-1995)

Specializations

Health & Hospital Law, Insurance Law, Class Action Defense

Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.