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Biography

Mr. Bershad has been a commercial real estate attorney for more than 40 years. He has been the lead attorney on some of the most significant real estate transactions in New Jersey.

Mr. Bershad is one of fourteen “Band 1” real estate attorneys in New Jersey listed in the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. He was listed in NJBIZ magazine’s 2016 “Power 75 Real Estate List” of leading individuals in real estate in New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Bershad was included on the New Jersey Super Lawyers “Real Estate Lawyers of the Year” list for the Newark region in 2017 and on the broader New Jersey Super Lawyers list in real estate for over a dozen years. He has been included on Best Lawyers® lists for many years and is one of a select group of New Jersey lawyers elected for membership in the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Mr. Bershad is the immediate Past Chair of the Gibbons Real Property Group, which he led for over 15 years. Mr. Bershad continues to lead the transactional real estate practice within the Real Property Group. The transactional real estate practice is included in the first tier of US News & World Report/Best Law Firms list in New Jersey.

In addition to his extensive experience focusing on acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, financing, and development projects, Mr. Bershad has broad experience regarding tax abatements and redevelopment area bonds financing.

Other Info About Russell

Experience

Legal Work Highlights

Some of Mr. Bershad’s representative matters include:

  • Representation of an international pharmaceutical company in acquiring and developing its new domestic US headquarters and disposing of its former office locations. The headquarters comprises over 660,000 square feet in its first phase, with over 150,000 square feet for expansion. The transaction was named “Deal of the Year” by the New Jersey chapter of NAIOP and the national “2012 Development Deal of the Year” by Real Estate Forum magazine.
  • Counsel in the sale of a portfolio of multi-family projects for over $650 million.
  • Lead real estate counsel representing an international pharmaceutical company in disposing of its New Jersey headquarters and research campus consisting of 118 acres and more than 15 buildings.
  • Representation of a joint venture of two leading New Jersey “Gold Coast” developers in developing, financing, and constructing two 48-story residential towers and a 36-story tower, with an aggregate of more than 1,300 units, and a 144-room hotel, with an asset value in excess of $1 billion.
  • Real estate counsel to a Fortune 100 corporation in a corporate reorganization into three new companies, including disposition of several hundred real estate facilities and completion of two new headquarters leases.
  • Counsel to one of the largest private equity real estate companies in the world in connection with its New Jersey and metropolitan assets.
  • Counsel to one of the largest multi-family pension investment companies in connection with its New Jersey and metropolitan assets.
  • Representation of a Fortune 100 manufacturing company in acquiring several hundred million dollars of Jersey City brownfield sites and entering into a public-private redevelopment agreement for remediating and developing the properties.
  • Counsel to seller in the sale of an 18-building warehouse/distribution center.
  • Counsel to two of the three end developers of a proposed 750 acre brownfield site, including representation on several hundred million dollars of proposed tax incremental financing.

Education

Rutgers School of Law – Camden|University of Pennsylvania

J.D.|B.A.

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Clerkships

Russell served as a clerk for the court(s) and judge(s) below:

Law secretary to the Honorable Herbert Horn, New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, 1977-1978

Courts

Russell is admitted to practice before the following court(s):

State of New Jersey|Commonwealth of Pennsylvania|United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

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Recognition

Local & National Recognition

Included on the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business list, Real Estate

Included on the New Jersey Super Lawyers list, Real Estate; Top 100 Attorneys in New Jersey

Recognized by Best Lawyers®, 2025 Edition: Real Estate

Recognized by Best Lawyers®:“Lawyer of the Year,” Real Estate Law in Newark, NJ (2017 Edition)

Included on the Martindale-Hubbell AV® Peer Review Rated list

Recipient, “Equal Justice Medal,” Legal Services of New Jersey, 2022

Recipient, “Excellence in Service Award” for pro bono work, Northeast New Jersey Legal Services, 2021

Included on the NJBIZ Real Estate Power 75 list, 2016

Professional Affiliations

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

American College of Real Estate Lawyers

 

Seton Hall University Law School
Adjunct Professor, Real Estate Finance Law

 

New Jersey State Bar Association

 

Florida State Bar Association

 

National Association Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP)