Robert S. Goldsmith

Partner, Real Estate Department
Chair, Redevelopment Practice Group
Member, Environmental Practice Group
Member, Green Building Practice Group
Member, Land Use Practice Group

Practice Focus

Mr. Goldsmith's practice focuses on redevelopment, transit oriented development, downtown revitalization, green building and public-private partnerships. He also has broad experience in complex commercial litigation, construction litigation and appellate work. 

Representative Matters

• Since 1983, Mr. Goldsmith has served as counsel to the Morristown Parking Authority. In that capacity he has been involved in numerous downtown redevelopment projects.
• He serves as counsel to Morristown Partnership, a Special Improvement District established in Morristown in 1994. 
• From 1978 to 1990, Mr. Goldsmith served as special counsel to the Town of Morristown for the Headquarters Plaza Project, a $100 million redevelopment venture in Morristown, where he handled all aspects of the negotiations, contracts and litigation relating to the project. 
• He has served as special counsel to the City of Long Branch with respect to major redevelopment projects and has served as special counsel for redevelopment to the municipalities of Morristown, Woodbridge, Princeton, Westfield, Millville, North Wildwood and Belmar. 
• He has also provided counsel with respect to redevelopment projects in Woodbridge, Rahway, South Amboy, Jersey City, Morristown, South Bound Brook, Matawan, Wildwood, Stanhope, Netcong, Phillipsburg, Trenton, Aberdeen, East Brunswick, West Orange and Cranford. 
• He also serves as counsel to Special Improvement Districts in the Wildwoods, Livingston, Seaside Heights, and Newark.
• He has provided counsel to SIDs in Atlantic City, Westfield, Keyport, Collingswood, Jersey City, Haddon Township, Bergenfield, Gloucester City, Teaneck, the Highlands, West Orange, Red Bank, Bound Brook, Seaside Heights, Ocean City and Summit, among others.

Professional Activities / Honors

• Recipient of a 2009 New Jersey Future Smart Growth Award. 
• Recipient of the 2007 President's Award for Distinguished Leadership in Planning from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association.
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Real Estate Law Category. 
• Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers in the Real Estate: Zoning/ Land Use category. 
• Past President of Downtown New Jersey and member of its Executive Committee. 
• Past President of the Rutgers School of Law-Newark Alumni Association and Current Member of the Executive Committee. 
• Serves on the New Jersey Committee of the Regional Plan Association. 
• Trustee and Board Member of New Jersey Future. 
• Member of the Main Street New Jersey Board of Advisors. 
• Member of the New Jersey Builders Association. 
• Member of the American, New Jersey State and Morris County Bar Associations. 
• Developed and currently teaches a course in redevelopment law at Rutgers University School of Law, Newark. 
• Teaches a course in redevelopment law at the Kislak Real Estate Institute at Monmouth University. 
• Served as an adjunct professor of environmental law in the Graduate Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development at Rutgers University. 
• Taught environmental law in the masters program for environmental engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. 
• Member of an ad hoc committee of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which addresses the needs and concerns of Special Improvement Districts throughout the state. 
• Served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Civil Practice and Procedure. 
• Former member of the Editorial Board of New Jersey Lawyer. 
• Mr. Goldsmith clerked for the late Honorable Milton B. Conford, presiding judge of the Appellate Division (1977-78), serving as clerk to both the Superior Court, Appellate Division and the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Publications / Articles / Presentations

• Co-Author, "Going Green by Building Green," New Jersey Law Journal, August 23, 2010.
• Author, "NJ Attorney General’s Office Limits Effectiveness of ERGG Program," Urban Land Institue - New Jersey Blog, July 2010.
• Co-Author, "What Will Happen to Redevelopment In New Jersey When the Economy Recovers?" Rutgers Law Record, Fall 2009.
• Presenter, "Impact and Opportunities: The New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009," Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Webinar, June 2009.
• Author, “Private Government or Public Policy Tools? The Law and Public Policy of New Jersey’s Special Improvement Districts”, 2008.
• Co-Author, Parking Matters: Designing, Operating and Financing Structured Parking in Smart Growth Communities, 2006.
• Co-Author, "Private Governments or Public Policy Tools?" International Journal of Public Administration, 2006.
• Author, "RAD Financing - Providing Capital for Municipal Makeovers," New Jersey Municipalities, April 2005.
• Co-author, "Amendments to Brownfields and Contaminated Site Remediation Act Offers Protection," Dimensions, December 22, 2004. 
• Co-author, "Recent Changes in Redevelopment Law" Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section Newsletter, Vol. 24 No. 1, November 2004.
• Co-author, "Recent Changes in Redevelopment Law" Exhibit A, Winter 2004: Vol. 8, No. 1.
• Author, "Mixed Use Is the Key to Downtown Success," New Jersey Municipalities, February 2003. 
• Author, "Downtown Living is on the Rise," Seniors' Housing News, Summer 2002. 
• Co-author, "New NRD Legislation Offers Protection for Developers and Redevelopers of Brownfields" Exhibit A, April 2005.
• Co-author, "Cities and Towns Are No Longer Just Gatekeepers," New Jersey Law Journal, March 5, 2001. 
• Author, "SID & Dalton Help Shape Morristown's Bright Future," Morris County Chamber of Commerce Newsletter, September 8, 1999.
• Author, "Special Improvement Districts Offer a Public-Private Partnership for Downtown Revitalization" Exhibit A, Fall 1997 Vol. 1 No. 3.
• Co-Author, "NJ Downtowns of Yesteryear Gain New Lease on Modern-Day Revitalization," International Downtown Association Newsletter, October 1999. 
• Frequently lectures on downtown redevelopment and revitalization issues.

New Jersey Supreme Court Cases

• Gallenthin Realty Development, Inc. v. Borough of Paulsboro, 191 N.J. 344 (N.J. 2007) 
• 2nd Roc-Jersey Associates v. Town of Morristown, 158 N.J. 581 (N.J. 1999)

Bar Admissions  

• New Jersey, 1977
• New York, 1989
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1994