Somerset County Bar Association & Bar Foundation will install Steven K. Warner, Partner at Savo Schalk, as President of the Bar Association on September 21, 2022 at Neshanic Valley Golf Course. Please join us as we congratulate Steve on his installation as president!
More information can be found at https://somersetbar.com/
Savo Schalk is pleased to welcome Steven K. Warner as a Partner/Shareholder with the firm.
Mr. Warner’s practice encompasses all facets of civil litigation in both federal and state court at both the trial and appellate levels, and he specializes in complex commercial and estate and trust litigation. He also has a state-wide reputation as an expert in all facets of municipal zoning and land use law and he represents both municipal and private clients, including real estate developers and affordable housing law. Mr. Warner is admitted to practice law in the State and Federal Courts of both New Jersey and New York, as well as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Mr. Warner has been named to the New Jersey Super Lawyers list every year since 2011. He is a former member of both the District XIII Ethics and Fee Arbitration Committees.
Mr. Warner currently represents more than a dozen municipalities and local government agencies. He currently serves as the Attorney for the Zoning Boards of Adjustment for the Townships of Warren, Bernards, Branchburg, Long Hill and Readington, and the Borough of Watchung. He also serves as the Attorney for the Planning Boards for the City of Summit, the Townships of Morris, Chatham and Branchburg, and Long Hill, the Borough of Bernardsville, as well as the Attorney for the Joint Land Use Board for the Borough of Chester. Mr. Warner also serves as Redevelopment Counsel for the Boroughs of Manville and Middlesex and Affordable Housing Counsel for the Township of Morris.
Mr. Warner is a frequent lecturer in numerous areas of zoning and land use law, estate litigation, and chancery litigation. He has authored articles published in the New Jersey Lawyer Magazine and New Jersey Law Journal, among other publications.
Mr. Warner is a graduate of Clark University (B.A. cum laude 1985) and Boston University School of Law (J.D. 1988), where he was a semi-finalist and received the Best Brief Award at a National Moot Court competition. He is a member of the New Jersey, Union County and Somerset County Bar Associations. Mr. Warner is the Immediate Past Chairman and a Director of the Land Use Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association, and a Member of its Judicial Administration, Equity Jurisprudence, and Business and Commercial Litigation Committees. He is also an Associate Counsel of the New Jersey Planning Officials (NJPO) organization and a frequent lecturer for the NJPO. Mr. Warner is also the President and a Trustee of the Somerset County Bar Association, and is a former Trustee of the Somerset County Bar Foundation. He also has served as a Somerset County delegate to the New Jersey State Bar Association General Council and previously served on an annual basis as a Judge for the Vincent J. Appruzzese Mock Trial Competition.
Mr. Warner served as a Councilman for the Borough of Metuchen in the mid 1990s. He argued the landmark case of Brennan vs. Orban before the New Jersey Supreme Court (145 N.J. 282 (1996)), establishing the parameters for jury trials in marital tort cases.
Qualification: Clark University (B.A. cum laude 1985) and Boston University School of Law (J.D. 1988) (Semi-Finalist National Moot Court Competition)
Email: warner@centraljerseylaw.com
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On June 25, 2019, after four years of litigation and a trial that spanned eleven trial days from February to May, Essex County Chancery Division Judge Jodi Lee Alper issued a fully favorable verdict in favor of our clients, the Board of Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church in Newark. In this highly contentious and unique litigation involving several centuries of church history, a Royal Charter from King George II in 1753, and a $20 million property adjacent to the Prudential Center in Newark, our clients and the congregation they serve were able to fend off outside Presbyterian entities interested in gaining control of this valuable property located in the heart of the business district in Newark. Hats off to the hearts of our clients in fighting the good fight and to the hard work of Charles Schalk and the employees of our firm in obtaining this most excellent result. The matter received the attention of the New Jersey Law Journal: https://www.law.com/njlawjournal/2019/07/12/judge-rejects-challenge-to-autonomy-of-17th-century-church/.
After a multi-year battle with the Township of Franklin (Somerset), Mr. O’Grodnick prevailed after a Trial before the Hon. Michael J. Gilmore, J.T.C. in the Tax Court of New Jersey. Mr. O’Grodnick represented an owner of a residential house on land that was previously condemned by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Agency. The Court found that that since the NJDEP condemned the land for the 3 mile run reservoir, a public use that was never constructed, the subject land was exempt from local property taxation and that only the house could be assessed for purposes of municipal property taxes.
By Resolution dated February 5, 2019, the Raritan Township Committee appointed Michael P. O’Grodnick, Esq. and the Savo Schalk firm as the municipal prosecutor for the Raritan Township and Hampton Borough Joint Municipal Courts. Mr. O’Grodnick has also previously been appointed as the municipal prosecutor in South Plainfield in Middlesex County.
Thanks to the excellent work of John Bracaglia, we have had good success in mortgage modifications. Recently, we had five clients who each came to us with their properties listed for sheriffs sale. In these instances, John was able to stop the sale and successfully negotiate modifications which lowered the interest rate on their mortgages and extended the term so as to afford a payment within their budget. The foreclosures were dismissed. As a result, they get to keep their homes and were extremely happy with this result. When things look bleak, our firm is there to help.
The firm has recently continued its success in representing higher level education students. With his strong advocacy, Charles Schalk was successful in reinstating a nursing student who was wrongfully dismissed from a local university and she was happily able to resume her academic career. In another remarkable achievement, Mr. Schalk was able to reinstate a postgraduate dental student through careful analysis and explanation of a situation which brought understanding and reasoning to the professional school, much to the client’s delight.
With the extremely high cost and commitment of higher level education, it is priceless to have an effective advocate assist when there are issues with a college or professional school. The mission of our law firm is to assist these students because what is at stake is nothing more than their entire academic and professional career. You need someone in your corner when these important events occur.
Savo Schalk Attorney, Michael O’Grodnick, Esq., prevails at Trial in a foreclosure case filed by a hard money lender, PMJ Capital, against Central Jersey Regional Airport. In his lengthy decision, the Hon. Thomas Miller, P.J.S.C. ruled that the lender’s interpretation of the language in the contract was incorrect and that the lender was not entitled to millions of dollars in alleged debt nor were they entitled to foreclose the property. Rather, the Court ruled that the borrower in fact overpaid on the note and was entitled to a refund of $563,000 and the foreclosure complaint was dismissed.
February 7, 2017 (Somerville) – The firm of Savo, Schalk, Gillespie, O’Grodnick and Fisher is pleased to announce that, effective immediately, Christopher M. Corsini, Esq., is promoted from associate to partner in the firm.
Mr. Corsini is a dedicated and effective attorney with deep roots in Central Jersey. He is an integral member of Savo Schalk’s municipal and government law practice group, representing municipalities and counties in a variety of transactional and litigation disputes. He has represented government entities throughout Central New Jersey in a diverse array of matters.
In addition to his municipal and government law practice, Mr. Corsini also maintains an election law, campaign finance and government affairs practice, representing candidates, individuals, businesses, and political action groups in a wide variety of political and government matters.
Mr. Corsini also heads Savo Schalk’s worker’s compensation practice. Formerly the worker’s compensation attorney for the Somerset County Joint Insurance Fund (SCJIF), Mr. Corsini now maintains a petitioner’s practice, representing injured workers throughout Central New Jersey. He has represented virtually every type of worker and every type of injury during his time as a member of the worker’s compensation bar and has achieved results for his clients for injuries large and small.
Mr. Corsini is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College and Seton Hall University School of Law. He has served a variety of civic organizations, including the Somerset County Library Commission (which he has chaired since 2017), Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties) and as an attorney-coach of the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Mock Trial team. Since 2014, he has been a member of the District XIII Fee Arbitration Committee. He is a 2015 graduate of Leadership Somerset, Somerset County’s community leadership program.
William B. Savo
Charles Z. Schalk
Christopher Corsini
Steven K. Warner
Ellen M. Gillespie
Michael P. O’Grodnick
Alexander G. Fisher
Matthew R. Flynn
John J. DeLuca, Jr.
Christopher J. Sobieski
John F. Bracaglia, Jr.
Michael G. Friedman
Edward A. Halpern
Henry E. Rzemieniewski