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Robert A. Goodsell

Robert Goodsell is an experienced transactional attorney, closing substantial matters for the firm’s institutional and corporate clients. He has served as General Counsel to Morristown Municipal Airport, as well as General Counsel to the Warren Township Sewerage Authority, a position he held from 1988 until 2016. Bob also has extensive appellate litigation experience.

A man in a suit and tie with his arms crossed.

Experience

Representing DM Airports, Ltd., operators of Morristown Municipal Airport, Bob has handled:

  • Negotiating leases with long-term Fortune 400 corporate flight departments, fixed-base operators and specialized aviation service operators
  • Obtaining FAA and NJDOT Airport Improvement Program grants
  • Complying with FAA grant assurances
  • Part 15 and Part 13 proceedings
  • Negotiating and instituting condemnation actions to acquire aviation easements
  • Conducting accident investigations
  • Litigating construction contracts
  • Employment and personnel matters
  • Bidding public contracts in compliance with FAA and state requirements
  • Environmental permitting
  • Assisting in obstruction removal projects
  • Negotiating long-term fuel supply contracts
  • Serving as counsel to the aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARF) and negotiating contracts with the ARFF fire

On behalf of the Warren Township Sewerage Authority, Bob has handled a broad range of matters, including:

  • Environmental permitting for sewage treatment facilities;
  • Successful adjudicatory challenges to NJDEP permit conditions
  • Public contract bidding
  • Construction contract litigation
  • Employment and personnel matters
  • Formulation for RFPs and successful negotiation of contracts under the New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Public-Private Contracting Act
  • Connection fee and annual sewer service fee formulation
  • Creative financing of infrastructure improvements
  • Condemnation actions for sewer lines, pump stations and other facilities
  • Negotiation of agreements with regional sewerage authorities and with neighboring municipalities
  • Adoption and enforcement of local authority regulations
  • Procurement of electric cost savings agreements
  • Procurement of NJEIT grants and loans

Following law school, Bob was a judicial clerk to the Hon. Sidney M. Schreiber, New Jersey Supreme Court.

Bob is a member of the American Association of Airport Executives and the Association of Environmental Authorities.

Education

  • University of Michigan Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 1978
    • Michigan Law Review, Member and Executive Editor
  • Middlebury College, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1972

Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Second, Third and Fourth Circuits

Practice Areas

How Can I Help You?

Airport Law

Experienced in all aspects of administrative law, transactional law, land use and litigation relevant to the representation of airports and airport users.

Corporate | Business Law

Combining the broad perspective required to understand both the apparent and subtle ramifications of decisions concerning the businesses of our clients, with the breadth of experience necessary to advise on the most sophisticated issues and applications of law.

Municipal | Public Bodies Law

Our attorneys have represented the largest city in the state, suburban boroughs and even municipalities with special charters. We are experienced in municipal contracting and have substantial experience negotiating agreements for the procurement of potable water and the operation and maintenance of municipal utility systems.

Land Use | Real Estate | Redevelopment

Whether the matter is complex or simple our attorneys can handle all aspects of the land use process. Moreover, the firm’s attorneys can add value to the process by making optimal use of statutes that permit payments in lieu of real estate taxes.