(Photo caption: 2010 Lawyer Achievement Award winner Barry Goodman (r) with Outgoing President Ed Rebenack)

Barry S. Goodman, Partner in the Litigation Department and Chair of the Real Estate Brokerage Practice Group at Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP in Woodbridge, was awarded the Lawyer of the Year Award by the Middlesex County Bar Association at their annual Installation Dinner at the Colonia Country Club on May 25, 2010.

Mr. Goodman concentrates his practice in real estate and real estate brokerage issues, as well as antitrust suits, corporate shareholders’ and partnership disputes and municipal law. He is also a member of the Community Association and Construction Law Practice Groups at the firm. He serves as General Counsel to the New Jersey Association of REALTORS®.

Mr. Goodman’s award is based upon the far-reaching impact he and his cases have had, community service and other factors. Several of Mr. Goodman’s cases have resulted in published opinions that set precedents. For example, he prevailed before the N.J. Supreme Court in CBTR v. Twin Rivers Homeowners’ Association (2007), where the Court held that homeowners’ associations’ policies regarding expressional activities will be upheld if they are reasonable but may be subject to constitutional scrutiny if they are unreasonable. He also conducted the lengthy trial in In re: Opinion 26 (1995), in which the N.J. Supreme Court decided that buyers and sellers of residential real estate can receive assistance from real estate and title agents during the closing process as has been the practice in South Jersey and do not have to retain a lawyer as typically has been done in North Jersey.

In addition, Mr. Goodman argued before the N.J. Supreme Court in RE/MAX v. Wassau (2000), where the court held that real estate salespeople are employees for purposes of workers’ compensation. In another case, H.I.P. v. K. Hovnanian (1996), he successfully represented a developer regarding an advocacy group’s claims that a development did not comply with the Fair Housing Act. Mr. Goodman also was lead counsel in a 12-year battle in Mortgage Bankers Association of NJ v. NJ Real Estate Commission (1995), in which the Appellate Division ultimately held that real estate licensees can receive a fee for providing mortgage-related services. More recently, in Exit A Plus Realty v. Zuniga (2007), the Appellate Division decided that real estate listing agreements are not automatically void but only voidable based upon the equities of the case if a real estate licensee violates the Real Estate Licensing Act.

In addition, in Inter-City Tire and Auto Center v. Uniroyal (1988), Mr. Goodman successfully defended a distributor in an antitrust suit who allegedly had conspired to monopolize a certain market and fix prices. Similarly, in G&W v. Borough of East Rutherford (1995), he prevailed before the Appellate Court in an antitrust action in which his client was precluded from competing for business in a certain municipality.

In other activities, Mr. Goodman is General Counsel and past president of the United Way of Hunterdon County, is a trustee of the Hunterdon Healthcare System and the Hunterdon Medical Center, and was the recipient of the 2006 Rutgers University Alumni Meritorious Service Award. He also is a former trustee of the Trial Lawyers of New Jersey, past president of the Rutgers University School of Law-Newark Alumni Association, and former Chair of the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, which distributes funds to worthy nonprofit legal projects in New Jersey.

Mr. Goodman, who is a frequent lecturer and author, received his B.A. cum laude from Rutgers College and his Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law in Newark.

He serves as counsel for the Boroughs of Flemington and High Bridge and resides with his wife in Tewksbury Township.

In 2010 Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP celebrates its 96th year of building business in New Jersey. The firm has over 100 attorneys in four main practice departments: Litigation; Real Estate; Corporate; and Tax, Trusts and Estates. The firm has offices located in Woodbridge and Roseland, New Jersey. For more information, call Erin P. Faltin at 732-549-5600 or visit the firm's web site at www.greenbaumlaw.com.

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