Jay J. Rice is the managing partner of the firm in which he founded in 1983 with his boyhood friend Bruce Nagel.
Jay has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in complex litigation, including business litigation, class actions, mass torts, chancery, securities, construction litigation, professional malpractice, and estate litigation. He is a Certified Civil Trial Attorney and has tried numerous cases in state and federal courts to conclusion. By way of example, Jay has: (1) obtained a $16.5 million settlement in In re Ski Train Fire in Kaprun, a disaster which caused the deaths of 155 persons and which resulted in a settlement which included compensation from the Austrian Government; (2) obtained an $11 million estate litigation settlement; (3) obtained a $7.1 million judgment for a homeowner based upon the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act; (4) argued on behalf of Dairy Stores the landmark commercial libel case before the New Jersey Supreme Court. Jay has also been engaged by many attorneys as expert witness in numerous professional liability cases and he has been appointed by the courts as Arbitrator, Mediator, Special Fiscal Agent or Receiver in numerous matters.
Jay has served as Lecturer for ICLE and New Jersey State Bar Association in the following: 1989: Lecturer on “Restrictive Covenants” for the New Jersey State Bar Association; 1990: Lecturer on the “Corporate Deadlock Statute” for the New Jersey State Bar Association; 1991: Lecturer on “Law Firm Dissolution” for the New Jersey State Bar Association; 1991: Lecturer on “The Corporate Deadlock Statute” for ICLE, 1993; Lecturer on “Successfully Litigating the Closely-Held Corporate Dispute when Those in Control Have Engaged in Fraudulent Mismanagement” for the Essex County Bar Association, 1993; Lecturer on “Litigating Fraud and Mismanagement Disputes in Closely Held Corporations”, ICLE, 1995; Lecturer on “Marketability Discounts in Sales of Closely Held Stocks” for the New Jersey State Bark Association, 1999; Lecturer on “Law Firm Break Ups – Ten Years after Norris” for the New Jersey State Bark Association, 2003; 2011 “Trust and Matrimonial Alimony Issues,” and 2012 “Secrets of Success in Equity Jurisprudence.”
Additionally, Jay has authored “Equity Procedures” for New Jersey Practice, Vol. 19, Chapter 4 (1993) and “Responsibility of Insolvent Corporation for Environmental Cleanup”, New Jersey Law Journal, September 25, 1986.
Jay was also a member of the New Jersey District Ethics Committee For District V (1994-1999); a member of the New Jersey Lawyer Editorial Board from 1996 through 2008; founder and manager of the Essex County Chancery Division Early Settlement Program; and the recipient of the 1995 Essex County Bar Association Pro Bono Chancery Achievement Award.
In 2013, Jay was selected to the “Fellows of the American Bar Foundation.” Jay has served and continues to serve in many philanthropic endeavors including President of the Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel; President of the Jewish Community Housing Corp.; Member of the Executive Board of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest; Member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest; and President of the Gates of Israel Foundation of Temple Sharey-Tefilo Israel.
Jay was included in the Super Lawyer’s list as one of New Jersey’s Top 100 attorneys in 2007-2011, 2013-2020, and one of New Jersey’s Top 10 Attorneys in 2012.
Notable Representations
• Tannen v. Tannen – successful in defense of client’s right to have discretionary support trust excluded as an asset when determining alimony
• Obtained a $7.1 million judgment for a homeowner based upon the Consumer Fraud Act
• Obtained an $11 million estate litigation settlement
• Represented Dairy Stores, Inc. in the landmark libel suit, Dairy Stores, Inc. v. Sentinel Publishing, 104 N.J. 125 (1986)
• Obtained a $1.5 Million punitive damage award in American Urgy Center v. Lipsky & Zeltzer
• Obtained a $1.1 Million settlement against New Jersey Transit in the City of Camden in the Somers Construction litigation
• Obtained a $750,000 settlement for a plaintiff who suffered head injuries in a bike accident in Grossberg v. Township of Livingston
• Obtained a $16.5 million settlement in In re Ski Train Fire in Kaprun, a disaster which caused the deaths of 155 persons and which resulted in a settlement which included compensation from the Austrian Government
Past Employment Positions
• Hon. Baruch S. Seidman, New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, Law Clerk , 1977 – 1978
Pro Bono Activities
• President, Jewish Community Housing Corp., 1995 – 1999
• President, Gates of Israel Foundation of Temple Sharey Tefilo Israel, 2002 – 2007
• Member, Board of Trustees, Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center, 2007 – 2008
• Member, Board of Trustees, Jewish Community Foundation of Metrowest, 2005 – 2010
• Vice President, Temple Sharey Tefilo Israel, 2008 – 2010
• Vice President and Member of Board, United Jewish Communities of Metrowest, 2000 – 2011
• President, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, 2011 – 2014
Professional Associations and Memberships
• Essex County Bar Association
• New Jersey State Bar Association, Member, 1982 – Present
• New Jersey State Bar Association – Committee on Equity Jurisprudence, Chairman, 1989 – 1991
• New Jersey State Bar Association, Certified Trial Attorneys Section, Member
• American Bar Association, Member
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow, 2013 – Present
