John W. Bissell

E-mail address: jbissell@connellfoley.com
Phone: (973) 535 0500
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Practice Areas:

• Chair Alternative Dispute Resolution Department
• Business Litigation

Bar Admissions:

Biography:
Retired Judge John W. Bissell joined the firm in 2005 as Counsel and serves as Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Department (ADR). He is also a member of the firm's Business Litigation practice group.  As head of the firm's ADR department, Judge Bissell helps clients resolve commercial and other disputes more quickly and efficiently than can be accomplished through traditional litigation in the Courts. In addition to counseling clients in this area, Judge Bissell is available as an appointed arbitrator, mediator and fact-finder in ADR matters.

Prior to joining Connell Foley, Judge Bissell served 27 years on both state and federal courts in New Jersey.  Appointed a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey in 1982, he served in that capacity until his retirement on September 1, 2005.  From 2001 until 2005, Judge Bissell was Chief Judge of the Court.  From 1981-1982, he served as Judge, Superior Court of New Jersey, and from 1978-1981 he was Judge, Essex County, New Jersey District Court.  In the years before he was appointed to the judiciary, Judge Bissell served as an Assistant United States Attorney, District of New Jersey (1969-1971), and was in private practice as an associate and partner with a large New Jersey firm (1966-1969; 1972-1978).  Judge Bissell began his legal career as Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge A.S. Lane, District of New Jersey from 1965-1966. 

Judge Bissell’s diverse experience has made him a sought-after speaker at a variety of events.  He has recently delivered the Chief Justice Joseph Weintraub Lecture: A Tribute to the Weintraub Court at Rutgers University Law School in Newark (2002).  He also spoke at the Professional Awards Ceremony of the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law: Good Sportsmanship and Professionalism (2003), and delivered the Hon. Robert N. Wilentz Justice Forum Lecture: The Megan's Law Litigation: A Study in Principles of Separation of Powers and Federalism (2003).  Judge Bissell’s outstanding reputation is also demonstrated by the professional recognition he has been accorded.  Notably, he is a recipient of the 2005 John F. Gerry Memorial Award from the Camden County Bar Association; the 2005 Association of the Federal Bar of the District of New Jersey William J. Brennan, Jr. Award; the 1988 Princeton University Class of 1962 award for Distinguished Public Service; and the 1971 U.S. Attorney General's Meritorious Service Award.  His work was recently recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Seton Hall University School of Law Public Interest Network. 

Judge Bissell is a member of Union Congregational Church in Montclair, New Jersey.  He has also earned a reputation in Montclair as one of the Dapper Dans of Harmony—the barbershop harmony chorus of which he has been a member since 1982.  Judge Bissell also maintains an avid appreciation for sports officiating, and is a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Sports Officials.  He has been affiliated with the National Ice Hockey Officials Association’s Metropolitan New York Chapter since 1972, and served as a referee of High School and Division III College Ice Hockey until his retirement in 1999. 

Membership in ADR Organizations:

• American Arbitration Association, Certified Arbitrator, Mediator and Fact Finder
• International Chamber of Commerce, Registered Arbitrator with the International Court of Arbitration
• International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR), Certified Arbitrator and Mediator
• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London, U.K.), Member
• World Intellectual Property Organization's Arbitration and Mediation Center (Geneva, Switzerland), Registered Arbitrator and Mediator
• Certified Arbitrator and Mediator in Court-Annexed Arbitration and Mediation Programs of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

Membership in Professional Organizations:

• American Bar Association
• New Jersey State Bar Association
• Essex County Bar Association
• Morris County Bar Association
• Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey
• Federal Bar Association
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation

Publications:

• John W. Bissell, Bench Opinion on the Second Amendment, 10 SETON HALL CONST. L.J. 807 (2000).
• John W. Bissell, Comments on Jury Nullification, 7 CORNELL J.L. &. PUB. POL’Y 51 (1997).

Education:

• Phillips Exeter Academy (1958)
• Princeton University (A.B., History, 1962)
• University of Virginia (LL.B., 1965)

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