When everything is said and done, most litigation is about one story with many possible endings. What I enjoy most is designing a strategy and developing the tactics to achieve the 'right' ending – the one that satisfies my client’s needs and goals – whether that is victory at the trial or appellate level, swift and amicable resolution, or anything in between.
Mr. Naar focuses his practice in complex commercial litigation. He represents a broad range of business entities and individuals in federal and state court civil litigation and appeals and before arbitration panels. He regularly serves as New Jersey local counsel for law firms in New York, Washington, DC, Chicago and other domestic and overseas locations. His practice also includes alternative dispute resolution as an advocate, mediator or arbitrator.
Mr. Naar’s diverse experience encompasses corporate and partnership disputes, business torts, securities litigation, product liability matters, trademark and unfair trade practice claims, trade secret litigation, antitrust matters, RICO claims, professional malpractice, employment litigation, land use and redevelopment challenges, and trust and estate litigation.
Honors & Awards
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© (a trademark of Woodward/White, Inc.) in the Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Labor and Employment practice areas (2007 – present)
- Selected by Best Lawyers® as Woodbridge "Lawyer of the Year" in Litigation – Labor and Employment (2023)
- Listed in Chambers USA (a publication of Chambers and Partners) in the Litigation: General Commercial practice area (2012 – 2019)
- Listed in New Jersey Super Lawyers (a Thomson Reuters business) in the Business Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Civil Litigation: Defense, Employment Litigation: Defense, Estate & Trust Litigation, and General Litigation practice areas (2006 – present)
- Listed as a Local Litigation Star in New Jersey in Benchmark Litigation (a publication of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC) in the Commercial Litigation practice area (2016- present)
- Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent (a trademark of Internet Brands, Inc.) (2001 – present)
- Recipient of a Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing (2008)
Please visit our Award Methodology page for a description of the standard or methodology on which these accolades are based. Attorney Advertising: No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Representative Matters
- As counsel for film and Broadway producer Marty Richards, Mr. Naar was successful in establishing at the trial court, Appellate Division, and the New Jersey Supreme Court, that Mr. Richards, as a surviving spouse of Mary Lea Johnson Richards, one of J. Seward Johnson Sr.'s children listed in a 1961 Charitable Lead Trust, was a beneficiary of the Trust and entitled to distributions from the Trustees of the Trust. The Trust had a value at the time of the trial of approximately $300 to $350 million.
- Has been involved in major product liability litigation in both the federal and state courts in New Jersey representing a major tobacco company, and was on the trial team in Cipollone v. Liggett Group Inc., et al., a nationally reported product liability action commenced in the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
- Has acted as New Jersey counsel for a number of international clients including the Republic of the Philippines in litigation against U.S. companies alleging fraud and bribery in connection with the awarding of contracts relating to the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the Philippines
Uniquely NJ
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; Certified Arbitrator
- New Jersey State Bar Association; Internet and Computer Law Special Committee; Appellate Practice Special Committee
- John F. Lifland American Inn of Court
- Middlesex County Bar Association
- Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey (former Trustee)
- Supreme Court of New Jersey District V-C (Essex County-West Essex) Fee Arbitration Panel
More Activities & Experience
- American Bar Association, Section of Litigation
- Columbia Law School Association (past Vice President)
Presentations & Speaking Engagements
- Sponsor: NBI Seminars, November 15, 2016
- December 12, 2013
- Panelist, Mediation & ArbitrationRepresenting Your Client in Federal CourtSponsor: NBI Seminars, December 12, 2013
- Presenter, Forming, Maintaining or Breaking Shareholder and Partnership Relationships in a RecessionSponsor: Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Webinar, June 23, 2009
- Sponsor: Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP, March 16, 2006
Publications & Alerts
- New Jersey Business (NJBIA), September 2012
- Author, E-Discovery: A Fact of LifeGreenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Client Alert, Fall 2010
- Inside the Mind: Mediation and Arbitration Best Practices, (Aspatore, 2007)
- Co-Author, The Revised Uniform Arbitration ActGreenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Client Aler, Fall 2003
- Co-Author, U.S. Supreme Court Limits the Scope of Permissible Punitive Damages AwardsGreenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Client Alert, Spring 2003
- Co-Author, Recent New Jersey Supreme Court DecisionsGreenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Client Alert, Fall 2002
- New Jersey Lawyer, December 2001
- Co-Author, Best Practices: A Return to A Rule Based Court SystemGreenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Client Alert, Spring 2001
- Co-Author, The Entire Controversy DoctrineGreenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP Client Alert, Fall 1999
- The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, 1997
- The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, 1996
- The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, November 1995
News
- March 26, 2024
- August 17, 2023
- August 18, 2022
Departments
Practice Groups
Education
Columbia University Law School, J.D., 1976
Rutgers College, B.A., summa cum laude, 1973
Bar Admissions
- New Jersey, 1976
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 1976
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1983
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1985
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 2000
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 2006
Recognized for his “skillful handling of civil disputes on behalf of corporate clients.” – Chambers USA 2019
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Please visit our Award Methodology page for a description of the standard or methodology on which these accolades are based. Attorney Advertising: No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.