609.750.2646 • fax 609.897.7286
S
TEPHEN
M.
O
RLOFSKY
orlofsky@BlankRome.com
Practice Concentration Stephen Orlofsky is the administrative partner of Blank Rome's Princeton, New Jersey, office, and is a former United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey who served in that capacity from 1996 to 2003. He also served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey from 1976 to 1980. He concentrates his practice in the areas of complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He also counsels clients on trial and appellate litigation strategy.
Prior to leaving the Federal Bench in 2003, Mr. Orlofsky served as one of three federal judges on a thirteen member Judicial Assessment Team which traveled to Iraq to evaluate the Iraqi judicial system to assist the Coalition Provisional Authority in reconstructing the Iraqi court system. In 2005, he was appointed by the President-Elect of the New Jersey State Bar Association to serve as the Vice-Chair, South Jersey, of the New Jersey State Bar Association's Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee. Mr. Orlofsky was also appointed by the Chair of the ABA Litigation Section to serve as a member of its Ethical Standards for Mediation Task Force. In addition, he was appointed by the Governor of New Jersey to serve as a Commissioner on the New Jersey Commission on Uniform Legislation. He is also a member of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and has been appointed to the Drafting Committee on the Electronic Records Act, as well as the Enactment Plan Coordinator for that Act. Additionally, he was appointed to the Committee on Federal Relations. Mr. Orlofsky is also an elected member of the American Law Institute. The American Law Institute was organized in 1923 following a study conducted by a group of prominent American judges, lawyers and teachers. As stated in its charter, the purpose of the Institute is "promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice, and to encourage and carry on scholarly and scientific legal work.” The membership of the ALI consists of judges, lawyers and law teachers from all areas of the United States as well as some foreign countries, selected on the basis of professional achievement and demonstrated interest in the improvement of the law. Mr. Orlofsky was elected in 2006 by the New Jersey State Bar Association to serve as one of its delegates to the American Bar Association House of Delegates.
Practice Concentration (continued)
He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law – Camden, where he teaches a course in Electronic Discovery.
Professional Background Blank Rome LLP—Princeton, New Jersey 2003–present
Administrative Partner, Princeton Office 2008–present
Partner, Commercial Litigation Group 1988–1996
Managing Partner, New Jersey Office 1987–1996
Chair, New Jersey Litigation Department
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey 1996–2003
U.S. District Judge 1976–1980
United States Magistrate Judge 1974–1976
Law Clerk, Honorable Mitchell H. Cohen, Chief Judge Commission on Uniform Legislation
2004–present Commissioner
Admitted to Practice Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1975
Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1980 United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1974 United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1979 United States Supreme Court, 1980
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1980
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 1991 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 1994
Educational Background Rutgers University Law School – Camden, Juris Doctor, with Honors, 1974
Dean’s List, 1971 – 1974
Winner of American Jurisprudence Awards in Criminal Law, Constitutional Law and Advanced Criminal Procedure The City College of New York, Bachelor of Arts, 1971
Honors June 2009 – Recognized by Chambers USA as a leader in the field of general commercial litigation.
Honors (continued) Association of the Third Federal Circuit.
March 2005 - Appointed by the President-Elect of the New Jersey State Bar Association to serve as the Vice-Chair, South Jersey, of the New Jersey State Bar Association's Judicial and Prosecutorial
Appointments Committee.
December, 2004 – Appointed to the Board of Directors of Legal Services of New Jersey, Inc., a non-profit corporation which provides legal services to indigents throughout New Jersey.
July, 2004 – Appointed by the Chair of the ABA Litigation Section to serve as a member of its Ethical Standards for Mediation Task Force. The Task Force was created to draft and recommend ethical
standards for mediators throughout the United States to be adopted by the ABA.
May 4, 2003 – June 19, 2003 – served as one of three federal judges on a thirteen member Judicial Assessment Team consisting of judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys who evaluated the Iraqi judicial system to assist the Coalition Provisional Authority in reconstructing the Iraqi court system. This mission to Iraq was jointly sponsored by the Department of Justice, Office of Overseas Prosecutorial
Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and the Department of State.
September 23, 2000 – Selected as one of the “50 of the Finest” graduates of the Rutgers-Camden campus during the celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Rutgers University – Camden.
U.S. Army Artillery OCS Hall of Fame (“Durham Hall”), May 21, 1999.
Professional Organizations Delegate, ABA House of Delegates, 2006 – Present
Treasurer, Bar Association of the Third Circuit, 2006 – Present Member, American Law Institute, 2006 – Present
Member, American Bar Association, 1974 – Present
Member, American Bar Association House of Delegates, 2006 – Present Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association, 1980 – 1996
Member, Philadelphia Bar Association, 1980 – 1996
Arbitrator, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, September, 1984 – December 26, 1995
Member, Historical Society of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1987 – Present
Delegate, Annual Judicial Conference of the Third Circuit, 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991
Professional Organizations (continued)
Arbitrator, Camden County Automobile Arbitration Program, 1988 – December 26, 1995
Member, Secretary and Chair, Supreme Court of New Jersey District IV Ethics Committee for Camden and Gloucester Counties, September 1, 1989 – December 31, 1992
Member, Historical Society of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1989 – Present
Member, New Jersey Supreme Court Standard Track Subcommittee to Evaluate Differentiated Case Management in Camden County, 1990 – 1993
Mediator, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1992 – December 26, 1995
Master, Camden Inn of Court, American Inn of Court #111, 1992-1993 Member, Lawyers Advisory Committee, United States District Court for
the District of New Jersey, January 1, 1992 – June 1, 1995 Member, New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on the Rules of
Evidence, 1992 – December 26, 1995
Member, Supreme Court of New Jersey Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, January 1, 1993 – December 26, 1995 Member, Supreme Court Historical Society, 1994 – Present
Member, Lawyers Advisory Committee, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, January 1, 1994 – December 26, 1995; Vice-Chair, January 1, 1995 – December 26, 1995
Member, New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Civil Practice, 1994 – December 26, 1995
Member, New Jersey Supreme Court Subcommittee on Frivolous Litigation (Civil Practice Committee) 1994 – December 26, 1995 Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Judicial Appointments and Committees
Co-Chair, Education Committee of the Judicial Council of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, February 1, 1998 – July 21, 2003
Member, New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in the Law, November 1, 1998 – August 31, 2003
Chair, Panel Selection and Management committee for the Criminal Justice Act Plan for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1998 – August 31, 2003
Chair, Criminal Law Committee, 1999 – August 31, 2003 Member, Case Management Committee, 1998 – August 31, 2003 Member, Technology Committee, 1999 – August 31, 2003 Member, Federal Judges Association, 1996 – August 31, 2003 Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit
Professional Organizations (continued)
Chair, Judge John F. Gerry Award Committee, 1995 – Present Trustee, June 1988 – June 1991
Secretary, June 1991 – June 1992 Treasurer, June 1992 – June 1993
Second Vice President, June 1993 – June 1994 First Vice President, June 1994 – June 1995 President-Elect, May 1995 – December 26, 1995
Member and Co-Chair, Long Range Planning Implementation Committee, 1989 - December 26, 1995
Chair, Federal Bench-Bar and Courthouse Facilities Committees, 1990 - December 26, 1995
Member, Early Settlement Panel Program Subcommittee, 1986 - December 26, 1995
Member, Budget and Finance Committee, 1991 – 1992 Chair, 1992 - December 26, 1995
Member, Program Committee, 1994 – December 26, 1995 Member, Fund-Raising Committee, 1994 – 1995
Chair, June 1995 – December 26, 1995
Delegate to the General Counsel of the New Jersey State Bar Association, 1991 – December 26, 1995
Member, Nominating Committee, January 1, 1995 – December 26, 1995
Member, Civil Practice Committee, January 1, 1995 – December 26, 1995
New Jersey State Bar Association
Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee Vice-Chair, South Jersey, March 2005 – Present Federal Practice and Procedure Section
Member, 1987 – Present Chair, 1992 – 1994 Vice-Chair, 1990 – 1992
Chair, Ad Hoc Committee on the New Jersey Rules of Evidence, 1991 – 1992
Section/Committee Trustee, 1992 - December 26, 1995 Member, Task Force on the Disciplinary System, 1993 – 1994 Member, Ad Hoc Ethics Oversight Committee, 1994 – December 26,
1995
Member, New Jersey Lawyer Editorial Board, 1994 – December 26, 1995, September 1, 2003 – June 1, 2007
Chair, New Jersey Supreme Court Complex Commercial Subtrack Advisory Committee, 1996 – 1997
New Jersey Bar Foundation
Association of the Federal Bar of the State of New Jersey
Member and Trustee (formerly known as Vice-President), 1987 – 1996, 2004 – Present
Member, Merit Selection Committee, 1980 – 1994 Member, Advisory Board, 1999 – 2003
Speaking Engagements Mr. Orlofsky is a frequent speaker on the topics of federal practice and procedure, professional ethics, evidence, and commerical and criminal litigation techniques.
