Dennis A. Estis

Partner, Litigation Department
Chair, Construction Practice Group
Member, Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group
Member, Green Building Practice Group
Member, Land Use Practice Group
Member, Planned Real Estate Practice Group

Practice Focus

Complex litigation, particularly relating to construction, condominiums, general business disputes, alternate dispute resolution (ADR), and real estate.

Representative Matters

• Mr. Estis has served as counsel to numerous developers, condominiums and cooperatives, several New Jersey municipalities, one of the major sewerage authorities in the state and a private school.
• He served as lead counsel for more than 100 developers involved in numerous law suits related to fire retardant treated (FRT) plywood.  He spearheaded efforts to obtain greater funding for replacement of FRT plywood. 
• He served as lead public entity counsel in the largest landfill case ever conducted in Middlesex County, New Jersey.

Professional Activities / Honors

• Listed in The Best Lawyers In America in the Construction Law category.
• Charter Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.
• Listed in The International Who’s Who of Construction Lawyers 2007.
• Listed in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, 2007-present.
• Recipient of the David Pavlovsky "Service to the Bar" Award from the Middlesex County Bar Association (2009).
• Past chair of the Construction Litigation Committee of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association.
• Member of the Ethical Standards for Mediation Task Force of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association.
• Member of the Forum on the Construction Industry of the American Bar Association.
• Member of the New Jersey Builders Association.
• Past chair of the Equity Jurisprudence Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association.  
• Member of the Construction and Public Contracts Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association.
• Past president of the Middlesex County Bar Association.
• Former Member of the Middlesex County Bar Foundation Board of Trustees.
• Member of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s General Council and former member of its Nominating Committee.
• Fellow of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.
• Member of the College of Community Association Lawyers.
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Local Government Attorneys.  
• Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Community Association Law.
• Served as a member of the board of directors of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey.
• Served as a member of the board of directors of the NYU Law School Alumni Association
• Past president of the New Jersey Chapter of the NYU Law School Alumni Association.
• Past president of the Johns Hopkins University New Jersey Alumni Chapter.
• Past chair of the Democratic  Party of Union County, New Jersey.
• Former President of the Board of Trustees for the Discovery Orchestra.
• Served on the faculty of the 18th and 23rd Annual Community Association Law Seminars conducted in Washington, D.C. and San Diego, California. 
• Mr. Estis clerked for the late Samuel Allcorn, Judge of the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. 

Publications / Articles / Presentations

• Co-Author, New Jersey Condominium and Community Association Law, published by Gann Law Books.
• Author, Defending the Developer, Chapter 8 of Condominium and Homeowner Litigation, published by John Wiley & Sons.
• Co-Author of the New Jersey Chapter of CPI Lien Law Online, Construction Publications, Inc.
• Author of the chapter, "Resolving Problems and Creating Solutions: Successful Construction Litigation," in the Inside the Minds's series book Legal Strategies for Construction Industry(Aspatore, 2006).
• Author, "MOLD…Is it a Threat to YOUR Community?" Community Trends, November 2003.
• Author, "Did You Say $30 Million Dollars?" New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, October 2002. 
• Co-Author, "Testifying and Non-Testifying Experts: What is Discoverable and What is Not," Construction Litigation, 1998.
• Author, "Partnering: Dispute Prevention Replaces Dispute Resolution," Dimensions, March/April 1997. 
• Author, "Partnering: Dispute Prevention Replaces Dispute Resolution," The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, October 1996.
• Author, "Helping Juries Get A Grasp on Complex Issues," New Jersey Law Journal, March 11,1996.
• Author, "The Economic Loss Rule in New Jersey," State By State Survey of the Economic Loss Doctrine in Construction Litigation, 1996 (The Section of Litigation, ABA). 
• Co-Author, "The New Jersey Statute of Repose Can Protect You From Liability," Dimensions, November 1995. 
• Author, "Admissibility of Computer-Generated Evidence," The Construction Lawyer, August 1994. 

Bar Admissions

• New Jersey, 1972
• New York, 1983
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1972
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1981
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1982